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The short course “Pop Song Writing – The Pop Song: Turning Your Ideas into a Song,” by Elisa Pucci aka Mille, is designed for those who want to learn how to write pop songs from scratch: from those who have always had something to say but don’t know where to start, to those who have ideas they can’t close, to those who want to understand how a song is really born. As the philosophy of the course states, “You don’t need to know how to play. You need to have something to say.”

Course content and structure

The course addresses pop songwriting as a comprehensive discipline that combines creativity, craftsmanship and artistic awareness. The pop song is a mirror of its time: to write one is to transform an insight, a phrase, an image or an emotion into something that remains.

Through a combination of essential theory and practical exercises, the course guides the student to find ideas and develop them, to build a song from beginning to end, and to understand what to write, how, and why. During the course, lyrics and repertoires of great songwriters, hit songs and pop phenomena are analyzed, as well as the cultural and political context in which the songs originated.

The first meeting explores the origins of creative inspiration: where songs are born, the difference between instinctive writing and conscious writing, and how to find your own point of view through guided exercises.

The second meeting works on the words that work and why: imagery, rhythm, repetition, and analysis of pop and singer-songwriter lyrics, until a first draft of the song is written.

The third meeting deals with song structure – verse, chorus, bridge – working on the balance between coherence and surprise, lyric editing, and individual discussion among participants.

The fourth meeting is devoted to interpretation and intention: body, voice, stage presence and first notions of how to present oneself to the record market, with a final sharing of the work.

For those who wish to go more in-depth, an optional studio recording session (3 hours for each student, with singer and producer) is available, dedicated to approaching vocal production, the ability to sing the words and not the notes, and performance support.

The ultimate goal is to arrive at a written-or strongly initiated-song and a greater awareness of one’s artistic language.

To participate in the course, fill out the form and complete the registration directly online:

Upon completion of the course “Pop Song Writing – The Pop Song” you will be able to:

  • Find and develop original song ideas from an emotion, image, or phrase
  • Build the structure of a pop song (verse, chorus, bridge) with consistency and artistic personality
  • Use conscious writing techniques: word rhythm, imagery, repetition, and text editing
  • Working on interpretation and stage presence, honing the communication skills of those who write and sing
  • Navigate the early dynamics of the record market and understand how to present your art project
  • Make, if you wish, a recorded version of your song through the studio session

Schedule of lectures

From April 14 to May 12, 2026, 5 meetings of 2 hours each, on Tuesdays on a weekly basis, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Mode: in-person, Saint Louis location in Milan

Total amount of hours: 10 hours

Participation fee: € 400 – concessionary fee for Saint Louis students and alumni € 340 ( 15% reduction )

How to register for the short course: fill out the form and finalize your registration by purchasing online.

Mille docente songwriting Saint Louis Milano

Elisa Pucci – Mille

Singer-songwriter, musician and theater actress, Elisa Pucci-known by her stage name Mille-has developed an approach to pop writing that focuses on the artist’s personal voice before technique. Herversatility allows her to speak to a wide audience, uniting seemingly distant musical worlds and generations. In 2020, after years as the leader of the band Moseek (a finalist in the ninth edition of X Factor Italy), she embarked on a solo career, driven by a desire to tell her story in the first person and choosing to write in Italian.

In 2021 she wins the Critics’ Award at the Festival Musicultura with the song “The Radio,” in 2022 the contest 1mnext and, during the following summer, she is opening act for Max Gazzé and Carmen Consoli. In 2023, she released her first EP, “Quanti me ne dai,” a work that marked the affirmation of her artistic identity and sealed the idyll with a growing audience, especially in live performances: in fact, in the same year, she set off on a tour of more than 70 dates throughout Italy, culminating in a performance at the 1st May Concert at Circus Maximus in 2024.

After further happy experiences also in the theater (where she acts and sings in the re-edition of “La Locandiera” in a contemporary key), MILLE returns in 2025 with a new record project and a tour that sees her on the stages of the most important Italian clubs. “Il Tempo, Le Febbri, La Sete” (TAIGA/Ada Music Italy).

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