How to Write a Song
You need a special gift for a special person. Maybe you’re walking down the street on a sunny day and it feels like you’ll burst if you can’t express how good you feel. How can you say it in the best possible way?
Sometimes words just aren’t enough to express how you feel Nothing can be more frustrating. When you need a way to connect, put it in a song. Lie down in a quiet place and bang it out. This one thing is all you need or care about right now. To keep things simple and focused, we are writing an upbeat song which goes best with a verse-chorus song structure.
There are two components to a song:
1) Melody
2) Lyrics
1) The Melody - This is a natural thing. It is everywhere.A melody should feel easy. You may think it is hard to come up with a good one but it isn’t, you only have to let yourself go for a few moments.
-Just a few notes will come first. Don’t try to force a melody, release it. The first notes lead to more which wants to complete the phrase. Play with a few modifying variations.
- Record the best of what you can come up with. Use any device but always have one with you when you are working on your song, if you don’t, it will disappear like a mist in the wind.
- A musical phrase is very much like a phrase in speech, except that it demands to be repeated. Anyone who can talk can write a song. You don’t need music theory.
2) The structure of a song is determined by the lyrics.We are writing a verse-chorus song because it matches a happy mood, its the most popular and also the simplest form.It’s also the easiest form to write for because it is the most natural one.
-The chorus should be written first. The song’s main idea is expressed in it. Keep it very simple, It’s important to use active descriptive, colorful verbs and specific descriptions, following the line and rhythm of the melody.
- The best title for your song is the first two or three words of the chorus. People remember, or should remember, those words and will automatically use them to refer to a song.The chorus is the most memorable part of the song, it is repeated after each verse.
- The chorus is explained by the verses. Each verse explains the chorus a little more.The melodies of the verse and the chorus should compliment each other and the same goes for the lyric
-There is a big difference between a lyric and a poem, even though they resemble each other. A lyric should be direct, clear and to the point. Whether it rhymes or not is up to you but it should follow the rhythm of the music.
- Words and music in a song should fit together like Juliette and Romeo like a sword in the sheath, like the proverbial hand and glove, the closer you can make this happen, the better the song will be; a high note should have a key word so you’ll probably want the chorus to start on a high note.
Study the Beatles song “Yellow Submarine” as an example of a verse chorus structure. This is a nonsense song of course but, true to the structure, its a happy one too. Notice how the story is told in the verses and the core is in the chorus. When the chorus comes in, it begins on a high note to amplify the emotional value and emphasis.While a very simple song, its also memorable.
This is a great song and a great example to study if you want to learn to write an effective verse-chorus that people will remember.You have a song just as good in you. Bring it out
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Tags: how to write a song, songwriting, write you own song, writing a good song