Many aspiring musicians and songwriters find themselves drawn to the craft of song creation, yet often feel lost on where to begin. At SongTown, we frequently encounter individuals eager to learn How To Write A Song for the first time, as well as those with some experience seeking to refine their techniques and develop effective songwriting habits. It’s particularly rewarding to guide beginners, ensuring they establish a solid foundation from the outset and avoid forming bad habits that could hinder their progress later on. So, let’s explore the question, “How do I write a song?” and break down a step-by-step approach to get you started.
1. Finding Your Song’s Core: The Topic
For your initial songwriting journey, it’s highly recommended to begin with a topic that ignites your passion or evokes strong emotions within you. Tapping into genuine feelings will naturally fuel your creativity and make the songwriting process more engaging.
For example, if you’re experiencing the exhilarating rush of new love, channeling that emotion into a love song can be incredibly powerful. Conversely, if you’ve recently navigated the pain of heartbreak, exploring those emotions can lead to raw and relatable songs. In our SongTown workshops, we often conduct an exercise where participants list three things they want to express to someone. This simple prompt consistently generates interesting and heartfelt song ideas. Choosing a topic that resonates with you personally and stirs your emotions will always be a more potent catalyst for your creative energy than a subject that feels purely fictional or disconnected from your experiences.
2. Catchy Song Titles: Brainstorming for Success
Once you’ve identified your topic, the next step is to brainstorm compelling song titles that creatively capture the essence of the feeling you aim to convey.
Let’s assume you’ve chosen heartbreak as your central theme. It’s generally more effective to focus on generating titles that are authentic and emotionally resonant rather than overly clever or convoluted. This approach enhances the believability of your song and increases its potential to connect with listeners on an emotional level. Consider titles such as:
- Never Again
- Why Did You Hurt Me?
- Nothing Good In Goodbye
The more titles you can generate during this brainstorming phase, the better. Selecting the strongest title from a diverse list is always preferable to settling for the first idea that comes to mind.
3. Choosing the Perfect Title: Your Song’s North Star
The next crucial step in learning how to write a song is selecting your title. Let’s say you opt for “Never Again.” By establishing this as your title, you’ve essentially identified the central theme of your chorus. The chorus serves as the most impactful and memorable section in contemporary songs across various genres.
Choosing your title early in the process is advantageous because it provides a clear direction for your songwriting. As the saying goes, “It’s easier to get to where you are going if you know your destination.” Your title acts as that destination, enabling you to write towards it with purpose, rather than aimlessly searching for direction. Audiences appreciate songs that take them on a cohesive journey, not a meandering and unfocused one.
4. Blueprinting Your Song: Structuring Your Ideas
Once you’ve settled on your title, employing a technique called “blueprinting” can be invaluable for outlining the content of your song. While the book “Song Building” delves into blueprinting in detail, here’s a concise overview.
Blueprinting involves crafting brief, clear sentences that summarize the core message you intend to communicate in each section of your song. It’s essential to remember that your verses should build towards and set up the central idea of your chorus. Think of your chorus as the “bottom line” or the ultimate takeaway of your song.
It’s helpful to consider the specific function each part of your song plays:
- Verse 1: Establishes characters, context, and setting, allowing listeners to understand the song’s narrative.
- Chorus: Introduces your main idea or emotion, often embodied in your title.
- Verse 2: Expands upon the main idea or emotion introduced in the chorus, developing the narrative further.
Using our chosen title, “Never Again,” a blueprint might look like this:
- Verse 1: You broke my heart, and now you’re seeking a second chance.
- Chorus: I will never trust you again.
- Verse 2: You’ll have to find someone else to deceive and hurt.
Notice how Verse 1 introduces the key players – the singer and the former lover who caused pain. It also establishes the context: the singer’s heart is broken, and the other person is attempting reconciliation. In this particular song, the setting is less crucial as the focus is on a personal conversation. However, in other songs, setting can be paramount. For example, a song about falling in love on a beach would require incorporating that setting into the blueprint.
The chorus then delivers the central idea: “Never Again!” This is a powerful declaration of self-protection and emotional boundaries.
Verse 2 advances the narrative by having the singer tell the other person to seek someone else to mistreat. This builds upon the chorus by emphasizing the singer’s firm stance and moving the story forward. A common pitfall in second verses is simply rephrasing the first verse, which can be repetitive and lose listener engagement. While it’s tempting to reiterate the pain caused, the first verse has already established that.
Mastering the function of each song section and the blueprinting technique provides a strong framework for crafting lyrics that are clear, coherent, and easy to follow. Blueprinting ensures you’ll never face writer’s block when developing your second verse, as you’ll have a predetermined direction for each section before you even begin writing. Once you have a blueprint you’re satisfied with, you’re ready to start bringing your song to life.
5. Groove and Melody: Setting the Musical Foundation
If you play a musical instrument, it’s beneficial to begin experimenting with it to discover a feel or groove that complements your lyrical content. Since our example song deals with a breakup, exploring minor chords might be appropriate. A ballad or mid-tempo groove would likely be fitting. Crucially, ensure the melody doesn’t sound cheerful, as that would clash with the lyrical theme.
If you don’t play an instrument, you can explore melodies vocally by singing or humming different ideas. While resources like “Mastering Melody Writing” by Clay Mills offer in-depth techniques for melody creation, the simplest approach is to experiment and see what melodies and grooves best align with the emotional direction of your lyrics.
One effective technique is to repeatedly sing your title while tapping out various rhythms. Continue until you discover a rhythm and melody that allows you to sing your title as naturally as you would speak it. This often indicates you’ve found the right groove for your song. You can then build the rest of your song’s melody around this central melodic idea.
how to write a song
6. Lyric Writing: Crafting Your Story
With a groove and feel you’re happy with, the next step in learning how to write a song is to begin crafting your lyrics. It’s often easiest to start at the beginning of the song, so revisit your blueprint for verse 1:
Verse 1 – You broke my heart and now you want a second chance.
Now, consider opening lines that creatively express this idea. Your blueprint is intentionally straightforward, providing a basic framework. Your task is to develop more engaging and evocative lyrics that still convey the core message. You might arrive at something like:
Baby, broken hearts don’t give second chances.
This line has a slightly edgy, assertive feel and effectively communicates the intended message in a more interesting way than the blueprint. Continue developing the verse from there:
Baby, broken hearts don’t give second chances,
So don’t you come crawling back to me,
You always took what we had for granted,
But you lost it when your goodbye set me free.
This verse effectively sets the scene and tone. Next, move on to the chorus. Since the title “Never Again” is central, you’ll want to emphasize it in the chorus. Consider lyrics like:
Never again,
Will you taste this kiss,
Never again,
Will your name roll off my lips,
Do I love you?
Will I trust you?
Never again.
Initially, you might have been tempted to use the word “hurt” in the chorus, but your blueprint reminds you that “hurt” is designated for verse two. Notice how each section of the song adheres to its blueprint, avoiding the mixing of ideas from different sections.
Learning to dedicate each section of your song to conveying one strong, clear idea is key to creating songs that listeners can easily grasp and connect with. If you’ve ever encountered a song that seemed to wander aimlessly, it’s likely the writer lacked a clear initial concept of what they wanted to communicate. Similarly, if you’ve heard lyrics that left you confused and wondering about their meaning, it’s often due to a lack of clear communication. Clear communication in songwriting is intentional; planning out the message of each section before writing is a highly effective way to ensure clarity and purpose in your lyrics.
7. Finishing Touches: Bringing It All Together
Continue this process to write the rest of your lyrics and refine the melody. After completing your second verse, consider whether a bridge could enhance the song and further develop the central idea. A seasoned publisher once advised, “Don’t build a bridge unless there’s a river to cross.” If you can identify a way to advance the story or add a new dimension, a bridge can be valuable. If not, an instrumental solo followed by a return to the chorus or choruses is often a good alternative.
Hopefully, this guide provides a solid foundation for writing your first song! For deeper exploration, “7 Books Every Songwriter Should Read” offers a curated list of valuable resources.
Remember, patience is key. Learning how to write a song well takes time and practice. May this be the first of many songs you create!
Keep writing! – MD
