Quickstart Guide to Songwriting is especially recommended for those who have a song in mind, but lack the technical training to translate it to music. Typically, these would-be songwriters either work with a musician or never see their song to fruition; but Quickstart Guide to Songwriting offers an alternative path to making one's mental music become reality.

First comes an introductory reference chart providing music sample links to online examples that teach basics about tempo, chorus, variations in verse lines, and give pointers about songs that work and styles that lack. Then Randy Klein addresses the common barriers non-musicians face in translating their song to music, which range from ignorance about the parts of a song and what constitutes a song to the lack of any prior musical education and discussion on what subjects can become songs.

At each step, Klein offers much support in the way of tips ("It is not uncommon to write the hook first, then the chorus and then the verse. This happens because when writing a song, the feeling of what the song is about usually emerges first."), step-by-step exercises, clues to composing lyrics and feeling beats, and a basic understanding of how melody, harmony and rhythm work together.

As non-musicians absorb these fundamentals in a supportive environment that assumes no prior knowledge, they'll come to the point where they can learn from listening to other songs, reading others' lyrics and identifying what makes an effective song. The musical online links throughout reinforce this knowledge with concrete auditory examples of a wide range of styles and approaches.