Write the book and the lyrics in one place.

A musical is a script, a set of songs and a running order that has to hold for two acts. Aevon's Musical Studio keeps the book scenes, the lyrics, the song list and the demo recordings together, so a change to one is never lost from the others.

Start a musical projectHow to write a musical

Lamplight

Running order

Act One

  1. 1Last Night of the SeasonOpening, company
  2. 2Past the RocksI want, Ada
  3. 3Tomas Keeps the BookCharacter, Tomas
  4. 4No Lights on the WaterAct One finale

Past the Rocks

Nine counts and the beam comes round,

nine counts and it finds no ground,

and I am the only one who stays awake

Built around the song list.

Most musicals are rewritten song by song. The studio treats the song list as the spine and hangs everything else from it.

Book and lyrics
Write book scenes and lyrics in the same document, so you can see the dialogue that leads into a song and the scene that follows it.
Song list
Every number with its title, who sings it and what it is for: opening, I want song, charm song, finale, reprise.
Running order
Arrange the numbers across acts and see the shape of the evening at once: where the ballads cluster, where the show needs lift.
Demo audio
Attach rough recordings or a composer's demo to each song, so the lyric and the tune are reviewed together.
Lyric help
Syllable counts per line, rhyme scheme hints and a check that verses match each other, plus an estimate of how long a lyric takes to sing at a given tempo.

Lyrics that sing on the first try.

A lyric has to land on first hearing, in time, on the beat. The syllable count and rhyme letters beside each line make it easy to see when verse two has an extra beat that the melody of verse one doesn't have, or when a rhyme you meant as true is only a near rhyme.

These are aids, not rules. Slant rhymes and uneven lines can be the right choice; the studio only makes sure they are choices.

Past the Rocks, verse 1

Syllables and rhyme

  1. Nine counts and the beam comes round,7A
  2. nine counts and it finds no ground,7A
  3. and I am the only one who stays9B
  4. awake to watch the water change.8B

Lines 3 and 4 are a slant rhyme (stays / change). Line 3 runs one syllable long against verse 2.

Spotting songs, then writing them.

A common way to build a show. Writing teams vary, so use the parts that fit how you and your composer work.

  1. Outline the book

    Map the story on a story diagram. A musical spotting template marks where songs could carry the story.

  2. Spot the songs

    List the moments where a character has to sing because speaking is no longer enough, and give each number a job.

  3. Draft lyrics and scenes

    Write each song with the scene around it. Keep the transitions in and out of the song in view.

  4. Record demos

    Attach the composer's demo or a rough recording to the song and listen while you revise the lyric.

  5. Shape the running order

    Move numbers between acts, cut what repeats, and read the show from top to bottom.

Collaborating with a composer.

Invite your composer, director or dramaturg to the project. Editors can change the book and lyrics; viewers can read and listen. If you want to review changes before they land, the project owner can require approval for edits.

Demo files, reference recordings and rehearsal videos live in the asset library, with 5 GB of storage per writer.

Questions about Musical Studio

Does Aevon write music notation?

No. Aevon handles the book, the lyrics, the song list and the running order. Music is attached as demo audio from whatever your composer uses.

Can I attach demo recordings to songs?

Yes. Upload audio to the project's asset library and attach it to a song. Files over 25 MB upload through Rapidfile.

Can I adapt a novel or screenplay into a musical?

Yes. Convert the project to the Musical type or add the Musical Studio module. Your existing chapters or scenes and your world stay where they are.

Do the lyric tools work in languages other than English?

Syllable and rhyme hints are tuned for English. In other languages the counts are approximate.

Guides for this work

Also in Aevon

  • Comic Studio: Pages, panel layouts, art, lettering, script sync and PDF, CBZ or webtoon export.
  • Script Studio: Screenplay format, beat board, breakdowns, shot lists, storyboards, Fountain and FDX.
  • Game Studio: Design doc, quests, branching dialogue trees, levels and 3D assets.
  • Story diagrams: Plot diagrams and story structure maps for every project type.
  • Asset library: Concept art, references, 3D models, audio and video with the story they belong to.
  • MCP server: Connect Claude, Cursor and VS Code to your projects with revocable access tokens.

Every show starts with one song.

Create a musical project, spot your first numbers and start the opening.

Start a musical project