Learn how to write a song...

‣ What is song craft and why do I need it???

Good songwriters use songcraft to give their songs emotional impact and make them memorable. The song-building tools and techniques we call "song craft" are not arbitrary; they weren't invented just to drive songwriters crazy or force us to create formula songs without depth or originality. They exist because, over hundreds of years, songwriters have found that they help listeners to understand, experience, and remember the emotional message at the heart of our songs.

‣ How does a song get started? (Good question!)

‣ Turn a title into a lyric. Here's how!

The best way to demonstrate this is to give an example. Let's say I'm interested in writing a song called "California Girl." (The title occurred to me one summer morning when I was sitting on the beach in Santa Monica eating sushi for breakfast, feeling very much like a California girl. You never know when a title will hit ya!) Okay... I don't know what this song is about yet or why this phrase interests me but it does, so I need to find out more.

‣ Step #1. Ask Questions!
Start by asking the questions this title wants to have answered. Let's say your title is "I Drove All Night." The questions that need to be answered might be "Where did you go?" and "Why did you do that?" Now apply this idea to '"California Girl": "Who is she?" "What has happened to her?" "What does it feel like to be her?" How I answer those questions will determine what my song is about. Now, you may answer them in very different ways than I do and that's just fine. There could be several songs written with the title "California Girl" and they would all be different! My "California Girl" is no longer the teenager of the Beach Boys songs. I want to know how her life turned out, what she feels when she remembers those long-ago, golden summers. This has a strong emotional pull for me so that's the song I should write. You might want to write a party song or a song about young lovers on a beach. Your choice will depend on which of those ideas has the strongest emotional appeal for you - THAT is the song you should write.

Notice that I didn't start this song by wanting to tell a story or recreate something that happened to me. Instead, I am just following my feelings. This is how songwriting (or writing poetry) teaches you about yourself. A song is a process of discovery!

‣ Step #2. Make a list of words, phrases, or images the title suggests to you!
"California Girl" obviously makes me think of summer, sun, warmth, ocean, beach, water - a kind of idyll, or paradise. So those words go on my list. Water makes me think of flowing, changing, so I add the words "flowing" and "changing" to my list, then try to think of things that express "flow" and "change" -- time, sand, dreams -- and add them to my list, too.

After you have a list of words related to your title, make a list of contrasting words, phrases, and images, ones that suggest the opposite of the words in your first list. My list of contrasts would include: winter, moon, cold, night, distant, caught or stuck in a lonely place. This is a kind of free-association game. Don't be judgmental, just write down whatever comes to you.

‣ Why is Song Structure such a big deal?

‣ Use hit song melodies to practice writing lyrics!

Many inexperienced songwriters begin by writing a lyric that looks like a poem, complete with nice rhymes and a regular, sing-song meter. But this type of lyric doesn't work well with today's melodies. Take a look at the lyrics to a few recent hit songs in the style you'd like to write in. Notice how the lines vary in length and the rhymes don't always occur where we expect them to. What you get when you write lyrics without music is usually something that sounds more like a greeting card or nursery rhyme than a hit song lyric. So, here's a suggestion: Start becoming familiar with successful, contemporary hit melodies.

GO AHEAD & DO IT! - Choose a hit song . Make sure it's a song you like because you're going to be spending some time with it! Play the song until you are familiar with the melody or sing along with the hit song until you know the melody Just doing this exercise will help you begin to acquire a "feel" for contemporary melodies. Read on for more.

Next, create a song title you comfortably sing where the hit song title is. Notice, I said "comfortably." Don't drive yourself crazy! You might be able to use one of the titles you created earlier but, if not, look for a new title.

Once you have your title, look for the questions it suggests, the ones you want to answer in your lyic, then make your lists of related words and phrases. Sing your title where the hit song title occurs. If it's used more than once, put your title in the same places.

Fill in the rest of the chorus lyric by answering the questions and using some of the words and phrases from your lists. This will keep your lyric focused which, in turn, makes it more emotionally effective for your listeners. Don't make a big effort to find rhymes (unless you are writing for animated films or musical theater); it's more important to say what you feel at this point. If you happen to find something that rhymes, and says what you want to say, that's great but don't bend your message out of shape to make something rhyme. Keep things conversational and honest.

When you have a chorus, try writing the verse in the same way. Again, try to use the questions and the related and contrasting word lists. If you used them all in the chorus section, go back and create another list. With each verse, try to give the listener more information.

You don't have to tell a linear story but there should be some development. And remember, the listener knows nothing at all about your situation or about you. Invite them into your song buy giving them plenty of information! Here are some questions you can answer in your verses: What are you feeling? Who are you feeling it about? What is the problem? How will you solve it? How did it begin? How do you think it will end?

The hit song melody is copyrighted so you may NOT use any part of it in your own song. This is just for practice. However, if you write lyrics only, you can look for a collaborator who can add a melody and chords. There are some suggestions below in the section called Find a Collaborator.

GO AHEAD & DO IT! - Choose a hit song and find a title you can comfortably sing where the hit song title is; make sure it's a title you want to write about. List two or three questions suggested by the title and make your lists of related and opposite words. Write a chorus lyric using some of the words on your lists and answering the title questions. Play around with phrases and ideas to fit them into the hit song melody. Keep the title where the hit song title is. After you finish your chorus, write your verses the same way.

‣ What happens next?

If you play guitar or keyboard and you're going to be writing your own melody and chords, you only need to write one verse and chorus lyric at this point. That's enough to give you a feel for what this song is about emotionally. You can finish the rest later when you have the final melody.

If you're going to be looking for a collaborator to put music to your lyrics, then you should go ahead and finish your lyric. Filling in the rest of the lyric while sustaining the emotional tone of what you've done is a tough job but if you've gotten this far, you can do the rest. IMPORTANT: Don't twist words out of order or write a line just to make something rhyme! A 'vowel rhyme' (rhymes like love/enough or mine/time/sigh with the same vowel sound but different final consonants) will work just fine for poplular songs. (Songs for theatrical musicals are different - they usually DO require perfect rhymes.)

Work on your lyric for short periods of time. If you're not getting anything usable, walk away... literally. Take a walk and let things settle for awhile. Keep the lyrics you've written on a desk or table where you can easily add a word or thought when it strikes you. Keep the hit song melody in your head. The most important thing (and the most difficult) is to keep the emotional integrity of the song intact. Don't settle for anything less. There are times when you'll lose your way. Stop working! Go away and come back when you're fresh. You'll be able to see what needs to be fixed. Keep working on the lyric until you are genuinely moved and excited by it.

‣ Songs for Film & TV

Many of today's top TV dramas and films use songs to add emotion and memorability to scenes. A lyric with a single, strong emotional focus is ideal for this use. If you're interested in this market, begin to study how songs are used in commercials, tv shows, and films. Notice how they enhance and deepen the effect of the scene. As an exercise, choose a scene and try writing a song that would work with it. Record your vocal and a simple guitar or piano part, then play it softly under the scene to see if it increases the emotional impact. For more information, read my book "Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV: 114 Tips for Writing, Recording, & Pitching in Today's Hottest Market" available at Amazon.com.

Visit my Film & TV Songwriting Facebook page for FREE tips on this exciting market for songwriters!

‣ Chords, melodies & rhythm made a lot less difficult.

Of course I wanted to call this section "Chords, Melodies & Rhythm Made Easy" but I didn't want to mislead anybody. Writing melodies and chord progressions does require some basic skills on keyboard or guitar. You need to be able to recognize chord names and play them - that's all. No note reading required. There are 'instant' piano and guitar courses you can take that will teach you to read and play chords. If you are going to take lessons, be sure to tell the teacher you want to learn to read and play chords. Otherwise, you'll waste a lot of time learning things you don't need. In general, songwriters aren't great musicians. We know chords, we know song craft, we know how to follow our emotions - none of this has anything to do with how many blues licks you can burn through on your Les Paul.

Easy to find chord progressions...

Many songwriters begin their songs by strumming a chord or two. Without really thinking about it, they let the chord progression lead them through the song. The downside is that we tend to use the same chord patterns over and over. How often have you caught yourself going to the V chord at the end of the chorus just so you can resolve to the I chord that habitually begins your verses? Your songs are probably sounding less than fresh but you don't know why. There are lots of exciting chord progressions that use the basic chords within a key. Think about starting your verse on the II min. or the IV chord. Shifting to a new key at the top of the chorus is a great way to grab the listener's attention at a crucial point in the song. So how do you start writing these new chord progressions if they're not already part of your existing vocabulary?

Melodies and lyrics ARE copyrighted, but, in general, the chord progressions that use I, IV, V plus a couple other familiar chords are not. C-Am-F-G belongs to everyone! What this means is that you can use this type of generic chord progression in your songs! I am going to suggest that, for now, you do just that.

Let's say you like Pop/Rock songs by groups like Nickelback or Country hits by a star like Toby Keith. Many of these songs use generic, four-chord progressions that have been used in lots of hit songs. These progressions are not hard to learn; just by listening to the track, you can learn to play along pretty easily on either guitar or keyboards. There are also "fake books" and web sites with the chord progressions for hundreds of hit songs. If you decide to use one of these chord progressions to practice writing a song of your own, just be sure you don't use any of the melody or lyric in the song. Remember, these are protected by the copyright law.

‣ Write a memorable melody!

It has been said many times that no one can teach you how to write a great melody. This may be true but there are a few tricks that will help you write a memorable one.

Memorable, emotionally powerful melodies use repetition and variation. A melody with no repetition sounds unfocused and weak, as if it's wandering around with nowhere to go. Listeners quickly lose interest and tune out. A melody with too much repetition is boring. Good melodies walk the line in between - mixing repeated phrases with variation.

As you listen to a song, you can usually feel where melodic phrases begin and end; there is a natural break there. Melodic phrases can be short (one bar) or long (four bars or more). Varying the length of your melodic phrases is a good way to keep your melody interesting. For example: try starting a verse with two short phrases followed by a long phrase. You can hear this in a song like "Breakaway," a big hit for Kelly Clarkson.

Melody also makes use of rhythm; notes are long or short, creating a pattern that can be repeated or varied. You can repeat the same rhythm pattern but vary the notes. Paul McCartney's "Yesterday" is a great example of this. The first line begins with a short phrase (Phrase 1: "Yesterday...") followed by a long phrase (Phrase 2: "all my troubles seemed so far away"). The next line repeats the rhythm of the second phrase but changes the notes ("Now it looks as if they're here to stay") followed by a new phrase (Phrase 3: "Oh, I believe in...") The very last phrase has the same rhythm and lyric as Phrase 1 ("yesterday") but the notes are turned upside down! (The ends of the second and third lines are variations of Phrase 1.) This verse is a great example of the use of repetition with variation and it's the reason why we can all remember this melody.

GO AHEAD & DO IT! - Choose a hit song you like and learn to sing or play the melody. Identify the melodic phrases. Identify the mix of long and short phrases. Notice which ones, if any, are repeated exactly - rhythm and notes. Notice which ones have the same rhythm pattern but use different notes. Using the same rhythm patterns and phrase lengths, write a new melody with different notes.

These phrasing concepts may be new ideas for you and it may take some practice to begin to recognize phrasing patterns. For more information, read my book "Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting: 126 Proven Techniques for Writing Songs That Sell" available at Amazon.com.

‣ Writing Rap and Hip-hop to a rhythm track.

If you're writing Rap or Hip-hop, a lot of the info and many of the exercises in the lyric writing section will be helpful. Obviously, rhyming plays a much bigger role in Rap and Hip-hop hits than it does in Pop, Country, Rock, or R&B/Soul. But the advice about writing from a title, staying focused by answering the questions suggested by the title and using lists of related and contrasting words all apply. The fresh rhymes are up to you!

You're going to need beats to write to. You can use software like Fruity Loops, Acid, or Reason to make your own or you can buy fresh beats on many web sites. Take your time and shop around for ones you like, ones that inspire you to write.

Commercial, mainstream Hip-hop songs do have a verse / chorus song structure, some even have a bridge. Crossover urban hits like Keyshia Cole and Missy Elliott's "Let It Go" or Kanye West and T-Pains's "Good Life" have big melodic choruses that break up the rap verses. You can use these songs to help you frame a solid song structure. Melodic choruses have a chord progression you can use. Verses usually imply a chord if they don't actually play it. You can use the chord progression or change it to suit your taste. Be careful that you don't use the melody or lyrics of the hit song - those are copyrighted.

GO AHEAD & DO IT! - Get a rhythm track together using one of the above methods. It can simply be a repeating loop but make sure it lasts about three minutes. Find a commercial Hip-hop song you like and create a chorus lyric using the information in the section titled Using hit song melodies to practice writing lyrics.

‣ Find a collaborator.

So let's say you now have this fabulous lyric (or melody), it's got emotional integrity and good song form but you don't play guitar or keyboards - or you're a musician who doesn't write lyrics - and can't take it to the next step. Time to look for a collaborator! But before you do that.... write out your lyrics or record your melody. Indicate which section is the chorus, verse, and bridge. If you used a hit song to get you started, BE SURE you did not accidentally use any of the lyric or melodic phrases from the original song. The lyric and melody are copyrighted material and you must not use them. Besides, that song is not your song; it doesn't say what YOU want to say.

And speaking of COPYRIGHT...

Before you show your lyric or melody to a collaborator, enter it in a contest, or otherwise spread it around, copyright it with the Library of Congress. You'll find a printable form, FAQ, and instructions at the Copyright Office Web site. There's a fee for each form you file, but you can register groups of lyrics or songs on a single form. There's also an e-filing service at the at the same web site. Just click on "Electronic Copyright office."

Back to the hunt for collaborators...

Idea #1: There is an excellent site for songwriters called The Muses Muse with a great e-newsletter and very active message boards. You can get feedback on your lyrics and look for collaborators. The Great American Song Contest has a category for lyrics only. It's a great way to get your lyrics out into the world and attract collaborators.

Idea #2: Check out the Collaboration Corner at TAXI.com. You don't have to be a TAXI member to join in the forum discussions and meet collaborators. Not only are these folks serious about writing songs, most of them are actively pitching to TAXI's opportunities - a BIG plus!

Idea #3: Go to the clubs and concerts in your area that feature local bands. When you find a band playing the kind of music you're interested in, ask if they're willing to work with an outside writer. When they tell you they write all their own songs, tell them you'd like to collaborate on songs you can pitch to publishers for other artists. They'll be interested, believe me!

Idea #4: Check out local music stores. They usually have a guitar or piano teacher or will put you in touch with one. The teacher might be interested in writing with you or may know a student who is looking for a collaborator.

‣ The next step.

Once you've written a strong song with a memorable melody, emotionally evocative lyric, and good structure that keeps the listener's attention, you'll want to make a demo to show it off. Advances in recording technology have revolutionized home recording. It's now relatively easy and affordable to put together a home demo studio. Although a course in home recording is beyond the scope of this article, here are a couple of ways to get started...

HOME MIDI STUDIOS: There are many inexpensive software programs that include both MIDI sequencers (for use with MIDI keyboards) and audio recording capability (to record vocals and guitar). Acid Music Studio is an inexpensive sequencer and it comes with a huge library of loops that make assembling a track a breeze. For Mac users there's Garageband for MAC. It's included in the iLife software package. You'll need a MIDI keyboard for use with both of these programs. Apple has one for under $100. Yamaha makes a good inexpensive keyboard.

SONGWRITING SOFTWARE: There is a unique software program called Band-In-A-Box (Windows/MAC) that I like a lot! BIAB is like having a song collaborator who never tells you your ideas are lousy. It will create a chord progression or you can type one in or play one on a MIDI keyboard. It will create a drum, bass, piano, guitar, and string arrangement based on your chords. BIAB will even create a melody and a title! It's inexpensive, fun, creative, and a great place to start a song from scratch! To find out more, visit my Resources page.

DEMO SERVICES: TThere are many good recording studios and demo services that can produce all or part of your demo. They can record the instrumental tracks so you can do your vocal at home, or they can give provide just the guitar or drums. You'll have a chance to give input or talk with the producer ahead of time. I suggest giving the service an idea of what you want by playing existing songs with a similar style, sound, or feel. Here's a list of services and online musicians I've used.

‣ One last thought...

Of course, all I have given you here is a doorway into songwriting. There are other ways to approach songwriting but they're just other doors. Once you go through the door, that's when you really begin to learn. Everything you need to know is right there on the radio, in your CD collection or on your iPod. Study songs by your favorite artists to learn what they're doing. Thankfully, you don't need to reinvent the wheel every time you write a song. Stand on the shoulders of giants; use what others have discovered and build on it. Make it your own! Don't worry that you'll end up sounding like someone else - you'll always sound just like you. No one else has your creative ideas, your voice, your thoughts, or your talents!


May your songs flow!

My books are used to teach songwriting at top universities and schools in the U.S. They're fun to read and filled with practical, real world information. Buy them at Amazon.com...

Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting    Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV