How to Be a Good Songwriter
Relax and start writing whatever rhymes, phrases, or ideas come to mind., Write songs in whatever order they come to you., Consider song structure as you develop lyrics and melodies., Grab an instrument and start playing underneath your words...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Relax and start writing whatever rhymes
Don't lose the faith that brought you to this article just because a brilliant song isn't bursting out of you.
The only way to have creative thoughts is to do creative work.
So grab a pen and paper and start scribbling.
Spend your first 5-10 minutes writing just warming up your brain and relaxing into "songwriting" mode.
Freewrite for 5 minutes.
Put the pen to paper and put on a timer, and don't ever stop writing until the timer is done.
It doesn't matter what you say, just that you're saying something at all.
When you're done, read over it and see if any lines or ideas stick out for a song.
Improvise on your instrument, humming melodies or even blurting out lines, rhymes, and ideas.
If one catches your fancy, follow it and see if it leads to a song.
Review your old idea notebook and expand on one idea you like.
If you have a collection of ideas, lines, and melodies somewhere, pull it up and review it for a few minutes.
If you find an idea you like, spend a few minutes writing down every thought you can relate to that idea. -
Step 2: phrases
Some days you'll come up with a great verse, but have no chorus to back it up.
Some days you'll write a killer instrumental line but have no idea what lyrics it needs.
Most people think that you have to have a specified topic about something in order to write a really good song, but in reality all you need to do is write.
Keep working on ideas and you'll notice that they start to develop and join together naturally.
Tack up different song titles or ideas on your wall.
Each time you come up with a line or new part of the song, post it underneath the title, moving it around when necessary., Song structure is simply the order in which you place your parts, and is most commonly something like:
Intro → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Breakdown/Change Up → Chorus → Outro.However, there are a million ways to adjust this structure to fit your song and style, including:
Many songs feature a "bridge," which is a short, new set of lyrics or melody between the Chorus and Melody.
Songs off Bob Dylan's seminal album Blood on the Tracks" and Lupe Fiasco's song "Murals" both feature verses with no chorus or bridge, highlighting the wide-ranging ideas and songwriting talents of the artists.
You don't need to follow any form if you don't want to.
If you're an instrumentalist, where would you fit a solo, instrumental break, or change of melody? How, as a listener, are you pulled from section to section?, Now that you have all of your words brainstormed you can mix and match different sentence fragments to get some lyrics.
With an instrument in hand, start experimenting with different melodies that sound good to you.
Hum or whistle along while playing to make up the melodies for your lyrics, experimenting until you find something you like.
It is rare that the entire, finished idea will come to you at once.
So keep improvising until you find something that clicks. , If something doesn't make sense, write it again and try to accompany it with other rhyming words and sentences.
While rewriting, work on cutting away ideas that don't work and finding the theme of the song.
Now that you have some parts, what is the song "about?" Even if the answer is "nothing," you want to use your rewrite to hone in on this idea and make the song as impactful as possible.
After re-writing you want a nearly finished song structure.
It will change as the song develops, but you want to get to a point where you could play the entire song at once and see how it sounds., Play the song for a friend, share it on the internet, and start getting feedback.
Do people tap their feet? Do they hum along? Do they come up with the same theme for the song that you do? Music is meant to be shared with others, and you'll notice that your song will subtly evolve as you keep playing it.
This is natural, and it is often after a few performances that you can finally perfect the song and move on to another one.
James Brown developed the genre of funk at live shows when he noticed what songs, parts, and instruments people were dancing the most to., All writers, no matter what they are writing, get stuck from time to time.
The best advice if you get stuck is to keep writing.
Inspiration is not something that is turned on and off randomly
-- you need to sit down and write in order to write great songs.
Try the following tips and tricks to keep you writing, even when if feels like nothing is working:
Reverse the chords.
If you love the verse melody but have no chorus, reverse the chords.
What happens if you reverse half of them, or swap two out? Say it differently from your favorite song.
Rappers like Jay-Z used to re-write their favorite songs, keeping the same structure but changing the words inside and rhymes, as a songwriting exercise.Create contradictions.
If you've got a slow, long chord melody, try using short, staccato phrase when you sing.
If you've got a peppy, high-tempo song, try bringing down the energy in the bridge or breakdown.Write with a partner.
The most successful songwriting duo in history, Lennon/McCartney, had to be on to something.Drop your judgment and break some rules.
The best artists know the rules so that they can break them.
There is no "wrong" way to break a song, so listen to your own imagination and write what sounds good to you. -
Step 3: or ideas come to mind.
-
Step 4: Write songs in whatever order they come to you.
-
Step 5: Consider song structure as you develop lyrics and melodies.
-
Step 6: Grab an instrument and start playing underneath your words.
-
Step 7: Re-write once you feel confident in the developing ideas.
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Step 8: Get feedback and advice on the song.
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Step 9: Try a few simple tricks to adjust your songs if you get stuck in a rut.
Detailed Guide
Don't lose the faith that brought you to this article just because a brilliant song isn't bursting out of you.
The only way to have creative thoughts is to do creative work.
So grab a pen and paper and start scribbling.
Spend your first 5-10 minutes writing just warming up your brain and relaxing into "songwriting" mode.
Freewrite for 5 minutes.
Put the pen to paper and put on a timer, and don't ever stop writing until the timer is done.
It doesn't matter what you say, just that you're saying something at all.
When you're done, read over it and see if any lines or ideas stick out for a song.
Improvise on your instrument, humming melodies or even blurting out lines, rhymes, and ideas.
If one catches your fancy, follow it and see if it leads to a song.
Review your old idea notebook and expand on one idea you like.
If you have a collection of ideas, lines, and melodies somewhere, pull it up and review it for a few minutes.
If you find an idea you like, spend a few minutes writing down every thought you can relate to that idea.
Some days you'll come up with a great verse, but have no chorus to back it up.
Some days you'll write a killer instrumental line but have no idea what lyrics it needs.
Most people think that you have to have a specified topic about something in order to write a really good song, but in reality all you need to do is write.
Keep working on ideas and you'll notice that they start to develop and join together naturally.
Tack up different song titles or ideas on your wall.
Each time you come up with a line or new part of the song, post it underneath the title, moving it around when necessary., Song structure is simply the order in which you place your parts, and is most commonly something like:
Intro → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Breakdown/Change Up → Chorus → Outro.However, there are a million ways to adjust this structure to fit your song and style, including:
Many songs feature a "bridge," which is a short, new set of lyrics or melody between the Chorus and Melody.
Songs off Bob Dylan's seminal album Blood on the Tracks" and Lupe Fiasco's song "Murals" both feature verses with no chorus or bridge, highlighting the wide-ranging ideas and songwriting talents of the artists.
You don't need to follow any form if you don't want to.
If you're an instrumentalist, where would you fit a solo, instrumental break, or change of melody? How, as a listener, are you pulled from section to section?, Now that you have all of your words brainstormed you can mix and match different sentence fragments to get some lyrics.
With an instrument in hand, start experimenting with different melodies that sound good to you.
Hum or whistle along while playing to make up the melodies for your lyrics, experimenting until you find something you like.
It is rare that the entire, finished idea will come to you at once.
So keep improvising until you find something that clicks. , If something doesn't make sense, write it again and try to accompany it with other rhyming words and sentences.
While rewriting, work on cutting away ideas that don't work and finding the theme of the song.
Now that you have some parts, what is the song "about?" Even if the answer is "nothing," you want to use your rewrite to hone in on this idea and make the song as impactful as possible.
After re-writing you want a nearly finished song structure.
It will change as the song develops, but you want to get to a point where you could play the entire song at once and see how it sounds., Play the song for a friend, share it on the internet, and start getting feedback.
Do people tap their feet? Do they hum along? Do they come up with the same theme for the song that you do? Music is meant to be shared with others, and you'll notice that your song will subtly evolve as you keep playing it.
This is natural, and it is often after a few performances that you can finally perfect the song and move on to another one.
James Brown developed the genre of funk at live shows when he noticed what songs, parts, and instruments people were dancing the most to., All writers, no matter what they are writing, get stuck from time to time.
The best advice if you get stuck is to keep writing.
Inspiration is not something that is turned on and off randomly
-- you need to sit down and write in order to write great songs.
Try the following tips and tricks to keep you writing, even when if feels like nothing is working:
Reverse the chords.
If you love the verse melody but have no chorus, reverse the chords.
What happens if you reverse half of them, or swap two out? Say it differently from your favorite song.
Rappers like Jay-Z used to re-write their favorite songs, keeping the same structure but changing the words inside and rhymes, as a songwriting exercise.Create contradictions.
If you've got a slow, long chord melody, try using short, staccato phrase when you sing.
If you've got a peppy, high-tempo song, try bringing down the energy in the bridge or breakdown.Write with a partner.
The most successful songwriting duo in history, Lennon/McCartney, had to be on to something.Drop your judgment and break some rules.
The best artists know the rules so that they can break them.
There is no "wrong" way to break a song, so listen to your own imagination and write what sounds good to you.
About the Author
Janice Gray
Creates helpful guides on practical skills to inspire and educate readers.
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