You can learn how to write a song if you want to. It takes a bit of effort, but it’s definitely not something only the select few with “talent” can do, it’s just a matter of practise. So how does one start? There are many methods.
Title first
This is one way of starting. Come up with an idea about what you want to write about. It could be anything; a person, a place, a feeling, robot monkeys or the smell of coffee. You don’t need to have it all planned out, just pick a general topic that seems interesting. Now, pick a title for the song that fits with the topic and sounds interesting. It’s always good if the title doesn’t sound like three million other songs out there. Make it interesting, something that catches your eye and makes a person seeing the title on the back of an album go “Hmm? Now I’m curious”.Once you have the title, tell the story about it with the lyrics.
Lyrics first
Another way to start is to forget about the title, and just write down a catchy idea you might have for the actual lyrics. For example: “You threw it on the ground like it didn’t mean a thing”. If this is the first thing that pops into your head, run with it. Then expand on it. Threw what on the ground? Why? Who threw it? Where? When? Create a story around that first sentence. Once you have it all down, pick a title that fits the story. The title could be a word or a sentence that actually appears in the text, or it could be something different, but make it memorable.
Music first
Do you have an idea for a catchy melody? Go with it. Write the music first, then try to come up with lyrics that fit the melody. You don’t have to be too picky about the details, you can always adjust the lyrics to fit the melody, or adjust the melody to fit the lyrics. It doesn’t matter in what order you write things. You can start with the chorus if you have a good idea for one, and then add a verse, bridge or whatever part you might like. A finished song often starts with a verse, but that doesn’t mean you have to write that part first.
Song structure
Songs need some kind of structure. It might be a symmetrical structure, or completely random, but it might be good to be aware of the possibilities. By structure I mean the way the song is set up in terms of verse, chorus and other parts. Just to clarify, one could say that the verse is part that tells a story, the chorus is the catchy part which is usually repeated a couple of times, and the bridge is something that either provides a contrasting twist, or maybe an exciting build-up to the last chorus.
Here’s an example:
If we call verses A, the chorus B and the bridge C, a very common structure for a song is A B A B C B. Check out the song “Everything I do, I do it for you” by Bryan Adams. It has a very clear structure, and follows the above example: Verse – chorus – verse – chorus – bridge and short instrumental solo – chorus.
The chorus is often repeated at least two or three times, and one of the reasons for this is very commercial: People can’t request your song unless they remember it. If you repeat the chorus three times, it increases the chances for people remembering the song. Just look at the song “This is the life” by Amy MacDonald.
There are loads of variations on the structure. It could be AABBAABB, AAA, ABABAB, or AABAB, or BABCA or ABCABC, etc. The options are endless. Who decides what the structure of your song should be? You. Nobody else. Just pick one you like. Being aware of what the structure is helps you in evolving your music as well. If you always use the same one, your music might start sounding boring and predictable, so try out different structures.
To rhyme or not to rhyme
How do you construct a verse or a chorus? Well, the short answer is: it’s up to you. But here’s how others do it. A verse might have 4 lines. For example:
Take my hand and walk with me
The sky is very blue
There are things out there to see
I think I lost my shoe
Ok, so this verse is not likely to win any awards anytime soon, but you get the idea. See how line 1 rhymes with line 3, and line 2 rhymes with line 4? With letters we could say this is ABAB. The rhyming pattern can be anything you like. AABB, AABA, AAAA, or maybe ABBB. The amount of lines doesn’t have to be 4 either. It could be any number you like. You could write the verse in the shape of a limerick or a sonnet if you want. But the song doesn’t necessarily have to rhyme at all. You could write the whole song without any rhymes at all if you like.
It’s your song
An important thing to remember when attempting to write a song is that there is no “correct” way to do it. The above are suggestions, and different writers write in different ways. You can write your song backwards if you like. As long as you’re happy with the result, anything goes. And just because others write songs a certain way, it does in no way mean that you have to do it the same way. It might even be better if you write your songs in a way that is uniquely your own. A lot of the music out there sounds the same, so if your songs stand from the crowd, it’s probably not a bad thing. So don’t be afraid of going your own way, even if the result is something nobody has ever heard of before.
Another important thing to remember is to not judge what you are writing while you are doing it, since this is one thing that will often lead to you not getting anything written at all. If you have an idea for a song, try to finish the song without thinking too much about if it’s “good” or not. Then, once it’s all down on paper (or your monitor), you can start tweaking and rewriting parts you don’t like until you’re happy with it. If you start trying to filter out any bad ideas while you’re writing, chances are you will reject most of the ideas you have and end up getting stuck and not finish the song.
Have fun and good luck!
