Ray Badham Songwriting

Ray Badham
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Further | Faster Practical help for worship songwriters. Every fortnight, Ray Badham — songwriter for Hillsong, Hillsong United, and Darlene Zschech (with over 20 million streams) — shares the practices, processes, and mindsets that will help you write songs that bring people to their knees in loving awe of Jesus.

Episodes

  1. Oct 16

    Songwriting Gym! How to Build a Daily Songwriting Practice -The Habits and Mindset Making You Better

    Normally on this show, I'm the one teaching or asking the questions — but today I flip the script. This is a conversation with Ines Andre from Lisbon, Portugal, where she interviewed me. You don’t have to wait for inspiration to write a worship song that moves people. This episode gives practical songwriting habits, melody techniques, and chorus-writing strategies to help you create songs that are memorable, singable, and fresh. Drawing on a lifetime of songwriting and teaching, Ray explains how a consistent writing practice can build creativity over time. This conversation explores daily songwriting exercises, sensory language, melody rhythm, writing away from your instrument, and how to shape a strong chorus. It also covers the balance between writing for your church and developing your own voice, while keeping your theology grounded in the Word of God. For worship leaders, church songwriters, and creatives looking to improve their craft, this conversation offers practical songwriting advice and encouragement to write with greater confidence. Chapter Headings: 00:32 Introduction and Context 01:02 Introduction to Songwriting Journey 05:35 Daily Practices for Songwriting 09:00 When to move on from a song, when to know a song is finished 10:25 Inspiration vs. hard work 12:52 Daily habits of a worship songwriter 13:50 Pat Pattison's Object Writing 15:47 Better, stronger melodies and the art of rewriting 19:52 Songwriting process: lyrics first, melody first, or chords first? 22:27 Chorus-first writing 23:47 Writing for church, and from your uniqueness 28:00 Finding Your Unique Voice as a Songwriter 31:48 A student of songs 35:29 Free Workshop: Write FOR one, Reach Many Resources Mentioned:* Writing Better Lyrics: The Essential Guide to Powerful Songwriting, by Pat Pattison  *This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you buy something through one, I earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. It's one small way you can support my work while grabbing gear or books you were probably going to buy anyway. Thanks for being here. FREE 80-minute Workshop: WRITE FOR ONE, REACH MANY https://www.raybadham.com/#writeforone 🔥Take the KILLER CHORUS CHALLENGE Write the best worship Choruses you’ve ever written in just 5 days: https://www.raybadham.com/choruschallenge Subscribe to my channel here:    www.youtube.com/@RayBadham?sub_confirmation=1 My Website: https://www.raybadham.com/ Follow Ray Badham: Instagram: https://instagram.com/ray.badham?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ray.badham?mibextid=LQQJ4d

  2. Oct 9

    Songwriting with Ray Badham

    Worship Songwriting

  3. Sep 24

    If your song isn’t ‘There,’ it will go unnoticed

    "It's a good song — it's just not 'There’,” is what Hillsong songwriter Ben Fielding said to me about a song I'd poured myself into. And that was SO challenging to hear!  This episode digs into the gap between good and great worship songwriting, and why so many worship songs — good ones — never rise above the noise. This episode unpacks what it actually means for a song to be "There.” Imagine an ocean full of songs, where only a few islands ever break the surface and get noticed. Most worship songwriters are writing at "sea level" — good enough, competent, and… invisible. This episode explores why chasing greatness in songwriting isn't about ego or self-expression, but about serving God and reaching the ‘one’. Write more, write better, and write specific. And discover mindset shifts that keep songwriters stuck writing average, instead of remarkable worship songs. Chapters: 00:00 "The song just isn't 'there'" 01:46 Understanding the Concept of 'There' in Songwriting 07:51 1. Why you should want your songs to be 'There' 10:30 2. How to get your songs 'there' 17:56 3. What it will take to get your songs ‘There’ Resources Mentioned:* The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, Steven Pressfield https://link.amazon/B0aEB69bu *This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you buy something through one, I earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. It's one small way you can support my work while grabbing gear or books you were probably going to buy anyway. Thanks for being here. 🔥Take the KILLER CHORUS CHALLENGE Write the best worship Choruses you’ve ever written in just 5 days: https://www.raybadham.com/choruschallenge Subscribe to my channel here:    www.youtube.com/@RayBadham?sub_confirmation=1 My Website: https://www.raybadham.com/ Follow Ray Badham: Instagram: https://instagram.com/ray.badham?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ray.badham?mibextid=LQQJ4d

  4. Sep 10

    Fight for the Courage to Create

    Will your worship songs stay unwritten? Not because you lack talent — but because you lack the courage to write them. In this episode, worship songwriter and mentor Ray Badham unpacks what it actually takes to write brave, Spirit-filled worship songs instead of songs that just repeat familiar worship tropes. Drawing from 2 Timothy 1:6-7 and the story of the twelve spies in Numbers 13-14, Ray explores why so many worship songwriters hold back out of fear, comparison, and chasing the algorithm — and how to fan the gift of God into flame instead. This episode is a call to courageous worship songwriting: writing from conviction, not caution, so your songs can carry real faith-building power. Topics covered include creative courage, overcoming fear in songwriting, writing for an audience of one, and finding boldness in God's delight over you. Key points covered: Why creativity requires courage, and what's at stake when songwriters play it safeThe "ten spies vs. two spies" framework for facing fear in your creative callingHow fear of comparison and chasing the algorithm quietly kills the courage to write worship songsWhy God's delight in you — not your confidence — is the real source of couragePractical steps to prepare spiritually before you sit down to write My Website: https://www.raybadham.com/ Follow Ray Badham: Instagram: https://instagram.com/ray.badham?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ray.badham?mibextid=LQQJ4d

  5. Aug 28

    Deep Calls to Deep: Writing Worship Songs That Reach the Human Heart

    Ps 42:7 “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” There's something fundamentally wrong with a lot of contemporary worship — and if you're a worship songwriter, you're in the perfect position to change this. In this episode, we dig into what worship actually is, using Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 as our guide. Worship songwriting isn't about writing songs that feel good in the moment -feeding individualism and self-help ‘theology.’ It's about crafting worship lyrics that take people into the true depth of who God is.  Discover why so much contemporary worship music stays on the surface, how worship leaders can write songs that actually transform hearts — not simply produce a good feeling — and what it means to write from, and to, the depth of worship. In this episode: Why John 4 reframes what worship really isThe problem with individualistic, self-help worship songwritingMoving worship lyrics from expression to transformationA surprising discovery about worship that reshaped this approach Chapters: 00:00 — Introduction01:18 — Fundamental Problems in Contemporary Worship03:14 — The Depth of Worship05:34 — 1. The Deep Need of Humanity09:49 — 2. The Deep Desire of the Father12:16 — 3. The Deep Barrier to Worship14:26 — 4. Conquered by the Deep Love of God• • 29:07 — Conclusion Resources Mentioned:* The Church (sacraments, worship, ministry, mission) Donald G Bloesch “Stupid Deep” by Jon Bellion “How He Loves” by John Mark McMillan *This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you buy something through one, I earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. It's one small way you can support my work while grabbing gear or books you were probably going to buy anyway. Thanks for being here.

  6. Aug 13

    Can your melody be ten times better?

    Can your melodies be ten times better? Ray breaks down 10 practical ways to write melodies that people actually remember, sing, and feel. If you write worship songs and want your song to carry more impact, this episode gives you a clear path forward.  You’ll discover: How to run the “melody test” Why great melodies need to both follow the worship stream and diverge enough to feel freshHow to put your melody through transformationsWhy writing in-the-character of the song creates something more original and more trueHow to make your melody tell a story, use repetition well, and connect verse to chorusWhy contrast, focus, and a stronger chorus matter more than production or a great vocalRay also challenges the habits that keep songwriters stuck - overproducing too early, listening too narrowly, and assuming the first idea is the best idea.  Essential listening if you’re a worship songwriter wanting to write melodies that are stronger, more singable, and built to last. Resources mentioned:* “Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting” by Jimmy Webb https://link.amazon/B0jlEoWNB "The Anatomy of Poetry" by Marjorie Boulton *This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you buy something through one, I earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. It's one small way you can support my work while grabbing gear or books you were probably going to buy anyway. Thanks for being here.

  7. Jul 30

    Your Full Potential: Your Calling, Your Capability, and Closing the Gap

    If you are a worship songwriter who knows you’re capable of more than what you’re currently writing. If you feel there’s a gap, and don't know how to close it. That's the one problem this podcast episode will help with. How to close the gap between your calling and your capability (Ephesians 5:14-20): 02:28 1. Wake your imagination 07:17 2. Use wisdom 17:41 3. Walk in the light of His love for you

  8. Jul 30

    7 Steps to Writing Better Worship Songs: A New Vision for Worship Songwriters

    What if the biggest threat to your worship songwriting right now isn't a lack of talent — it's the overexposure to the rising tide of mediocrity hidden in plain sight? In this first episode, worship songwriter and mentor Ray Badham casts a bold vision for what's possible when worship songwriters stop settling for good enough — and write worship songs that genuinely change people. The episode maps out the enormous opportunity in front of today's worship songwriters, charts a clear path to get there, takes on the doubts and objections that keep writers stuck, and ends with a direct challenge to take your first steps — this week. Chapters 00:00 1. The Opportunity Before Us 09:49 2. The 7 Steps to Get There 15:10 3. Objections in the terrain and questions that may come up  33:03 4. Encourage you to take action.

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About

Further | Faster Practical help for worship songwriters. Every fortnight, Ray Badham — songwriter for Hillsong, Hillsong United, and Darlene Zschech (with over 20 million streams) — shares the practices, processes, and mindsets that will help you write songs that bring people to their knees in loving awe of Jesus.

Information

  • Creator
    Ray Badham
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ray Badham
  • Show Website
    Ray Badham Songwriting