Gorse & Quill

Gorse & Quill is a hybrid songwriting tool that combines a premium A5 hardback notebook with a companion iOS app, designed specifically to help songwriters capture and organize their creative process. The product addresses the common challenge songwriters face in losing ideas between analog notebooks and scattered digital recordings by linking each notebook page to a private digital folder via unique QR codes. This integration allows users to write lyrics, chords, and song structures on paper while instantly capturing voice recordings in the app, ensuring that both the written and audio elements of a song are preserved together.

The physical Songwriter’s Ledger features twenty-five song spreads, each with space for lyrics, chord diagrams, and structure, and each spread is tethered to its own folder in the app through a QR code. The notebook includes an index for tracking songs, sections for guitar tab and music score, and several reference materials such as the Circle of Fifths, chord progressions grouped by mood, open D tuning instructions, and a capo diagram. For inspiration, the ledger provides one hundred songwriting prompts and two hundred rhyming pairs. The notebook is constructed with 120gsm uncoated paper, Smyth-sewn binding for durability, a hardback case, and matte lamination for protection against wear.

The companion app is available for iPhone and does not require an account or subscription. Users can scan a notebook page to access its linked folder in the app and record a melody or idea on the spot. Recordings remain private, stored on the device and in the user’s iCloud backup if enabled. The app is free to download from the App Store.

Gorse & Quill is positioned as a specialized tool for songwriters seeking to bridge the gap between analog and digital songwriting workflows. 99, with the notebook designed in Scotland. No data is harvested, and the product emphasizes privacy and ownership of creative work.