Your first song

Starting a song takes one click. You can begin on an empty page right away, shape the idea first with a few short questions, or let Autodraft write a first draft from your idea.

#Where to find it

• Home is the first thing you see after signing in. A new account sees Where would you like to begin? with three ways in: Write today's pages, Start a song and Create your artist profile. If you already have lyrics somewhere, Import them brings them in (see Importing lyrics).
• Later, Home shows Continue writing with your last song and a few others, and + New song beside its heading.
• The left rail's New song (the + icon) works on every page.
• The Songs page has Start writing and Autodraft at the top.
• In the editor, ⋮ More has New song.
• Or press ⌘ ⌥ N (Ctrl+Alt+N on Windows and Linux).

#Step by step

+ New song opens a short dialog that asks one question at a time.

1. Who is it for? If you have artist profiles, pick one, or No profile. A profile gives the song its genre and gives the writing tools your style. + New profile… makes one and brings you back.
2. Ready to write? Choose a way:
   • Start writing: an empty page, right now.
   • Shape it first: idea, mood, genre and words, about a minute.
   • Autodraft ✨: give an idea, get a first draft.
3. If you chose Shape it first, answer what you like: What's the song about?, How should it feel?, Which genre? and Any words that inspire you? Each has Skip. Your answers build a small card beside the questions.
4. On the last view, Ready when you are, add Starting lines if you have them, then press Start writing or Autodraft ✨.

Everything you answered goes into the song brief, which you can change later in the side panel's Settings.

#Keys in the dialog

• Enter goes to the next question.
• ⌘ Enter (Ctrl+Enter) on any question does Start writing with what you have so far, or Autodraft once you've written an idea.
• Esc closes the dialog without making a song.

#Writing

The song opens in the editor with the caret in the first section. Just type. A few things to know right away:

• Press Enter twice to start a new section. The new section follows a common song form (Verse, Chorus, Verse…), and you can change its type from its label.
• Type / at the start of a word for a menu of section types and tools.
• Press Space on an empty line for lines and ideas from the writing tools.
• Click the title (Untitled Song at first) to name the song.

The editor tour shows the rest in two minutes.

#Saving

You never need to save. Every change goes to the server as you type, and the header shows where things stand:

• Saving… while a change is on its way, then Saved.
• Offline, changes kept on this device when you lose the connection. Keep writing: the changes are sent when you are back online, or the next time you open the song.
• Not saved if something went wrong. A notice tells you what to do.

Your songs live in your account, so they are there on any device you sign in on.

#Tips

• Want InnerHook to open your last song instead of Home? Turn on Open the last song at start in the account menu.
• Your new song shows up on the Songs page and under Continue writing on Home.