Writing a song that people will love
Songs are like storybooks. They send out very powerful messages but in a different way – with a melody.
Have you ever tried listening to a sad song after a break-up? It makes you emotional, it makes you sad as well. Songs bring out the emotions and the feelings that are deeply entangled within you. Through song, people are able to convey a complex concept and in an entertaining way. Unspoken words are spoken and thoughts are turned into meaningful material.
Whether you want to write a song for your own personal use or you want to put it out there for people to listen to, it’s essential that you know where to begin. You might be wondering why you need to follow a set of constructed steps to write a song when musicians can create one in just as short as an hour. If you’re a beginner or it’s your first time writing a song, it is very helpful to follow a step-by-step process. Once you know the rules, you can then bend or break them. The fact is, writing a song is not as easy as you think. Even professional songwriters or singers often have a difficulty in drawing inspiration; so they go back to the basics.
If you plan to write a song for leisure or you’re just nurturing a hobby, then that’s not a problem because no one else will hear it, except for your family and a few friends. However, if you want to write a song for the public to hear, then you have to create one that will stir the interest of your listeners.
Songwriting guide for beginners
How do you write a song? This is the question that most beginners ask. Anyone can write a song, but the question is, can they write a meaningful, coherent and cohesive song? It is important to remember that there are certain technicalities in song writing that must be understood to be able to create a song that is sensible and understandable. To make the process easier, follow these steps to writing a song. This is a simple but helpful guide, which will surely teach you how to write songs people will want to play over and over.
1
Choose the theme of your track.
The first step on how to write a song is to choose a topic/theme. You can write about just anything. However, it best that you create something that is of interest to you and to other people. Think of things that are highly relatable. For instance, love, friendship, heartbreak, family, sorrow, loss, excitement, success, beginnings and endings. All people experience these things which make them excellent ideas for writing a song. They are popular topics because they are relatable to everybody. When people listen to your song they can think of their own experiences. Aside from all these, you can also think of current events and trending topics. Just think of John Legend writing All of Me for wife Chrissy Teigen. Or, Michael Jackson writing Heal the World, which sends a message to the world of the sufferings of many children.
2
Work on the melody of the track.
Without any melody, there’s no song. It’s important that you decide if you want something more upbeat, slow, mellow etc. There are so many categories of tunes these days and they are all good in a sense. But when choosing a melody you have to keep in mind if it suits the song you are writing. This step is a bit difficult, most especially if you don’t play any musical instrument or have no knowledge of creating electronic tunes. Although, as long as you’ve formed the melody in your head, you can see professional help from other musicians.
3
Write the lyrics of the track.
Writing songs for beginners can be challenging – Nonetheless, there are four basic parts on how to write your own song. The most common mistake that newbies make is that they tend to forget to incorporate the melody of the song to the lyrics. As a result, the end product is not what they’ve expected – kind of like stuffing a round peg into a square hole. To avoid this songwriting mistake, always keep in mind of the melody that’s in your head. The parts of a song are the intro, the verse, the chorus and the bridge. This is not a hard and fast rule… but a good place to work from. For a first timer, you don’t have to worry about rhyming so much but how many syllables are in each lyric you choose – and whether they fit or not.
4
Create a title that best fits your lyrics.
Contrary to what many people believe that the song title must come first, this is not the same for beginners. Creating a title first will only limit you during the process of writing. When you already have a title, you tend to stick to the title, you try so hard to write the lyrics so that it revolves around the title only. While it is true that the lyrics and the title have to coincide, it doesn’t mean that you have to form the basis of the words of your song entirely to the title. Song titles must be well-thought of because this is the first thing that your listeners will notice.
5
Proofread your lyrics and see if it makes sense.
At this stage, your song is already done. The last thing that you have to do is to check the lyrics. And, yes even if you’re a native English speaker, you still have to check for grammar and sentence construction. If you see that your use of words and the thought of your song does not make sense or flow properly, then you have to correct it immediately. It is also best if you let others read your song, they can give you important critique to improve what you’ve written.
Remember: Don’t take critique to heart… It’s incredibly important as an artist as a whole. Suck it up, and listen to what your peers have to say.
