How to Write Songs in Sims 4: Requirements and Tips

 

This post was last updated on April 1, 2026

Sims 4, the latest title in the iconic Electronic Arts social simulator game series, comes with a myriad of career, relationship, and entertainment options.

You can make fun music and earn money in Sims 4 by learning to play different instruments, like a guitar and piano, and composing songs.

Learn all about how to write songs in Sims 4 and check out our list of the best traits in Sims 4 to choose the most helpful traits for a popular musician.

A Basic Guide to Writing Songs in Sims 4

Before your Sim can start writing songs, you need to cover the basics:

1. Access the catalog to buy a musical instrument. The base instruments are the guitar, piano, and violin. The Vampires Game Pack also allows you to choose a pipe organ.
2. Have your Sim practice on the same instrument until you reach Level 8 of the instrument skill. This will allow your Sim to write a song.
3. Interact with your instrument and choose the “Write Song” option to compose your own song. A meter filling will allow you to track your Sim’s progress.
4. Select a song type, such as a dramatic ballad or a playful tune. A higher skill gains you more genre options when you write songs.
5. Name your song and press OK. You can continue writing new songs and listen to your saved music tracks anytime by selecting “Play.”

Songwriting Tips for Sims 4

To help your Sim maximize their musical skills, you’ll need the appropriate Sims 4 expansions. City Living allows your Sim to sing, Get Together unlocks DJ mixing, and Get Famous enables your Sim to get into music production and publish their songs on a radio station.

Pro tip: Make sure all your Sim’s needs bars are full before they start to write. You don’t want the Sim to get too hungry or uncomfortable as they write songs in Sims 4.

However, if you need to pause as your Sim writes, Sims 4 will save your song draft. You can resume writing later by navigating to the inventory and clicking on the musical sheets icon. Choose the draft you opt to continue working on.

How to Write Songs in Sims 4: Song Lyrics

Making song lyrics in Sims 4 requires adding the City Living expansion to the base game. Composing lyrics is an extension of the singing skill. You need to reach Level 8 to write lyrics and Level 9 to license songs.

Predictably, the chief instrument for singing is a microphone. However, you may also use other instruments like the digiRAD keyboard.

City Living also allows your Sims to develop their vocal skills. Start practicing by singing in the shower or in karaoke, then use a microphone once you reach Level 2. Reaching Level 8 will allow you to record a vocal track.

How to License a Song in Sims 4

To license a song, your Sim needs to reach Level 9 of instrument use, like a piano, violin, or guitar skill. Once you write a song, navigate to your Sim’s mailbox and interact with it. Choose:

1. The “License Song” option
2. A musical instrument
3. One of the suggested songs

Next morning, your Sim will start receiving royalty payments. Royalties will continue arriving for a week, after which your Sim will need to either re-license the same item or compose a new piece. Keep in mind that you can only license one song from one instrument at a time.

The process for licensing lyrics is similar. Once your Sim reaches Level 9 of singing, they can earn money by licensing their lyrics. Keep in mind that you can license sheet music and lyrics simultaneously, which unlocks even more money-making options for your Sim.

Take Your Musical Career to the Next Level in Sims 4

To help your Sim achieve fame and fortune through music skills, enhance your Sims 4 base game with the Get Famous expansion, and then learn to produce media by creating and remixing tracks.

Once your Sim reaches Level 5 of media production and completes an item, send the track to a radio station by navigating to the inventory and selecting “Release Track”. Every track you release will gain you more fame.

If your Sim is into a full-blown musical career, you may be able to land a contract with a record label. To maintain your contract, you’ll need to make new songs almost daily.

How to Write Songs Faster in Sims 4

Developing a Sim’s music skills is a slow process. Learn to use an instrument and write songs more quickly in Sims 4 with the following cheat:

1. Access the cheat input box by pressing Ctrl + Shift + C if you’re using a PC or pressing all controller triggers at once on a game console
2. Type “testingcheats true” and hit Enter
3. Access the cheat box again
4. Type “stats.set_skill_level Major_(skill) (skill level)”

For example, to achieve level 9 of piano skills, enter “stats.set_skill_level Major_Piano 9.”

To write songs more quickly, try using one of the faster songwriting mods available online and run Sims 4. Depending on the mod, your songwriting time may shrink from 12 Sim hours to 4 hours or less.

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