Indie folk
They skip the radio and keep a dog-eared paperback in every bag. Their song should be fingerpicked and a little wild.
A custom folk song, fingerpicked and airy, about one person
Indie folk is the style for people who skip the radio: we ask for indie folk with fingerpicked guitar, airy harmonies and gentle percussion, around 95 beats per minute. It suits outdoorsy, bookish, slightly offbeat stories.
Hear the second a name lands
Maya and Sam, my heart is yours to hold
You wrote“We still split every dessert down the middle.”
The song singsWe split every single dessert down the middle
From a real song made here: “Down the Middle”, for Maya and Sam, from what the couple typed.
The moment you give it
The cell signal drops but the song is downloaded. Fingerpicked guitar, airy harmonies, and a verse about splitting every dessert down the middle while the sun goes behind the ridge.
Now playing
A song with your name in it
Somewhere past the last gas station
Passenger seat: the one with the map they refuse to fold
Mountain road, golden hour
Start with one memory
Pick a question. The form opens with your first line already started.
Every style has a voice of its own
These singers are fictional and AI-made, pictured in a studio, on a stage and behind the decks. Your song is sung by an AI voice in the style you pick.
A real indie folk song made here
"Down the Middle": a first dance song for Maya and Sam with fingerpicked guitar and a female voice, written from three lines about the two of them.
What you get for $12.99
You hear it first, free. You pay once, only if you keep it.
- Free preview
- The first 60 seconds, ready in about two minutes after you enter your email. No card.
- The song
- The full song, about two minutes long, as an MP3 to download and keep.
- Lyrics
- Every line is on the preview page before you pay. Unlocking adds the lyric sheet, to print or save as a PDF.
- Their link
- A private link that plays the whole song without an account, with your name and a short note. Switch it off any time.
- Photo video
- Free: a vertical 9:16 photo video of your photos with the lyrics on screen, plus 15- and 30-second cuts. Made in your browser.
- The name
- Unusual name? Type how to say it (SEER-sha for Saoirse) and the singer says it that way.
- Re-record
- One free re-record per song: change a line, the style or the voice and record it again.
- Name sung wrong?
- After you pay, a free remake with the name fixed, once per song.
- Languages
- Sung in English, German, French, Spanish or Japanese.
- Teaser
- Before you pay, a 15-second teaser link that tells them a song is on its way.
- For this song
- Not sure about the style? Your free re-record can switch it to any of the other six.
What our indie folk style sounds like
- Fingerpicked acoustic guitar instead of strummed chords.
- Airy, layered harmonies.
- Gentle percussion, sometimes just a soft kick and shaker.
- A little faster than a ballad, with an unpolished warmth.
Stories folk was made for
Nature details shine in folk: the trail name, the season, the weather on the day. Even the smell of the campfire can become a line.
- A couple who met hiking, camping or on a long train ride.
- A friend who moved to the mountains and never looked back.
- A grandparent’s farm, a lake house, a garden.
- A partner who reads in the bath and talks to plants.
- A sibling who taught you every chord you know on a borrowed guitar.
Folk or acoustic pop?
Both use acoustic guitar. Acoustic pop is smoother and more polished, with piano; indie folk is lighter and more textured, with fingerpicking and harmonies. If the person owns a record player or a canoe, folk is probably the answer.
Example brief for a folk song
Trails, plants, weather and a slightly odd habit give a folk song its texture. Someone might type:
- We spent our first date lost on a trail in the Smokies and found a waterfall instead of the parking lot.
- She names every houseplant after a poet.
- We are moving to a cabin with no cell signal next spring, and she cannot wait.
More song ideas
Questions
For the person with mud on their boots.
Start with their name and the place they love.