For those of you keen on writing songs… I thought I would share some tips on where to start… Each person would write differently – so don’t follow the rules here too strictly. Your style will develop over time…
1. Find a topic that you can relate to emotionally – if it’s not real to you, it won’t work – usually a life changing event is the greatest to write about – your words will express what others feel but cannot express themselves – and if they can relate the song will grab them. Vulnerability is key.
2. Write down lines or expressions and words that make that experience come to life and evoke emotions.
3. Not everything has to rhyme.
4. Get a great “hook” going… a hook is the part that catches everyone’s attention… usually a riff or the chorus part of a song. I just recorded a song for my album where the chorus is the 2nd hook. The biggest hook in the song is a vocal doing a repetitive rhythm… “too-doo-too-doo”... it’s incredibly catchy and up-beat.
5. Decided which tense you are going to write the song in… there are times in which you can change tenses in a song – this works well in story songs. (Country songwriting is genius for this) PAST: “You did me wrong…” change to PRESENT: “Now I wait…” FUTURE/RESOLUTION: “I Will never again…”
6. Try not to repeat the same words… get a good thesaurus and find a new word – avoid cheesy, predictable lines… Every line can be expressed in more than one way… eg. “I love how you make me feel” vs. “I delight in how you move me” …
7. Perspective… Who is telling the story? 1st person? 3rd Person? – it is important to keep this person the same way through-out unless you are writing a duet.
8. Make sure the melody line is easy. If you aren’t a musician – you could always sing it onto your phone and ask a friend to help you work out the chords.
9. Remember to set the scene in the opening verse (or perhaps opening with the chorus can do that), middle part of the story in your second verse… and close with the chorus or ending of a verse to seal the song and bring closure to the listener.
10. The Bridge of the song is exactly what it says it is… It bridges main part of the song to introduce the end… It can build up into a key change or build and taper down into a low key chorus which then lifts up again.
11. Don’t be afraid to have someone crit your songwriting… you are writing for the audience and if they see areas in which you can improve listen with an open mind – try their suggestions… It will grow you as a song-writer – and ill do your character a lot of good!
Hope this helps a little… There are plenty more… but we’ll save those for later…
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