Songwriting Tips

There is no doubt: songwriting is quite a complex task. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned songwriter, you probably know how difficult it can be to come up with a great song. If you are in the first stage of your songwriting journey, you may feel particularly lost and confused sometimes.
How do I structure my song? How do I adjust the lyrics to the melody? How do I come up with a good story? If you ever had a hard time replying to this kind of question, you are in the right place! In this article, I will guide you through some of the most common steps songwriters follow when writing their hits. Let me warn you, though. As you probably know if you have dabbled in the art of songwriting for quite a while, there are tons of different methods artists employ to compose music. This is why the steps presented in this article are not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution. However, they can be a useful blueprint for beginner songwriters, artists who feel their song lacks direction and structure, or anyone who wants to experiment with some music composition right now.
It is the blueprint I personally follow when I sit down to write my music and it usually works quite well. It is not an easy formula to write hits. It actually requires quite a lot of hard work, but the reward can be very satisfying in the end.
Are you ready to get started? Enjoy the ride!

Step #1: Choose a song structure

It may feel counterintuitive, but sometimes boundaries are a great way to enhance an artist's creativity.
By building your song structure beforehand, you can develop a clear idea of what you want to obtain. What kind of song are you going to write? What is its overall mood or feel? What is the message behind it? Once you have replied to these (not easy) questions, you can start thinking about how to develop this mood, story, or message. Think about how many verses you will need. Are you going to add a bridge or a middle eight? What about the chorus? How soon or how late do you want to reach the climax in your composition? Here are a couple of examples to help you decide what is best for your tune. The song She Loves You, by The Beatles starts with the chorus. The climactic part in the song is right there in front of the listener before any other section. This way, the Fab Four grab the listener's attention straight away, making them feel involved in the track from the first note they hear. Needless to say, this strategy is great if you have a very strong and catchy chorus, just like the one in She Loves You.
In the song Tiny Dancer, by Elton John, instead, the path toward the climax is quite slow and intricate. There are at least two different song sections before getting to the chorus. These sections get repeated and alternated with instrumental interludes before clearing the path to the "explosive part", where Elton finally sings Hold me closer, tiny dancer. This is another great strategy, but it leads to a different result. It creates a strong sense of expectation in the listener, stimulating their imagination before finally resolving on the chorus. It is another way to grab their attention, although probably a less obvious one.
This latter strategy allows me to introduce an important concept to keep in mind when building your song structure: find a nice balance between repetition and variation. Your song should not be too repetitive or boring. However, it should also present some repeated elements that reassure the listeners' ears before surprising them with some new elements. Whether you decide to go for a very simple or a very complex structure, keep in mind the most important rule: make your structure clear!

Step #2: Create the musical environment: build a chord progression

Once you have a clear idea of the structure to give to your song, it is time to start adding some actual building blocks. Since it can be hard to come up with the perfect melody at first, I suggest you do what David Bowie called "creating a musical environment". In other words, you want to tackle the mood and the pace of your song, but without being too specific or strict. The best way to do that is to play around with chords.
Building a chord progression means creating the atmosphere where your melody and lyrics will fit. Make sure your progression is cohesive and pleasant, but, above all, in line with the mood, the emotions, the story, or the message you want to deliver. Most importantly, your progression will have to fit the structure you have chosen in step one. Or, if you prefer, the structure has to fit the progression you found. Whatever point of view you will employ, make sure these two elements always go hand in hand.
Last but not least, don't forget you can open up infinite harmonic possibilities by adding variations and specific bass lines to your chords. If you are a more advanced songwriter or musician, take advantage of that knowledge in music theory to make your progression stand out. This way, a melody will come easier (more about this in the next step).

Step #3: Come up with a melody

There are quite a lot of different approaches when it comes to writing a melody. The approach you choose will depend on your skills, your knowledge of music theory, and your attitude. I personally enjoy improvising melodies with my voice over the chord progressions I build. Some other musicians prefer a more analytical approach instead. No matter the method you choose, there are some principles you should always keep in mind to make your melody functioning, memorable, and relevant.
First of all, it has to be easy enough to be sung, but complex enough to generate some interest and involve the listener. Once again, a nice balance between repetition and variation is what can make a real difference between dull and interesting melodies. Also, don't forget you will need a climatic part for your chorus (if you choose to have one). In other words, your melody will have to somehow lead to that focal point. It can be very smart to build a rather simple melody in the verse, make it a bit less obvious in the bridge or pre-chorus, and then create a sort of explosion in the chorus. If you start writing the chorus, you could even reverse engineer this process, although it is often easier to follow the natural path of your tune, like a listener would do, even in its writing stage. While you are creating your melody, pay attention to what you did in steps one and two. Does the melody fit the structure and the mood you have chosen? Does it fit the chord progression? If you need to make any changes, either to the melody, the progression, or the structure, feel free to do it.

Step #4: Pay attention to the lyrics

How do I write some great lyrics?
This question is often what keeps songwriters up at night, as it is objectively hard to be a poet and a composer at the same time! While the artistic vision you have for your song influences this step more than I could highlight, there are still some principles and guidelines I can give to help. The most obvious one: your lyrics need to fit the melody. Once again, remember this is not a one-way street. If you come up with a brilliant line that somehow does not fit the melody previously built, you can always change that bit of melody. Or vice versa. The important thing is that the rhythm and the flow of the lyrics perfectly blend with the rhythm and the flow of the melody. To obtain this, pay attention to how easy (or hard) it is to sing the lyrics you have chosen. Ideally, you should be able to sing your lines without effort. The words you choose should not be too long or too hard to pronounce. The stresses should fit the rhythm of your tune, without abrupt interruptions of the flow. A potential listener should also be able to sing along, so keep this in mind to avoid becoming too complex or cerebral. Keep a certain variety in your vocabulary to avoid being boring, but make sure your lyrics are authentic, relatable, and realistic. Always check whether they fit the mood and the message of the song. Lastly, don't forget about the importance of rhymes and figures of speech. These devices can help you build a smooth flow and tie your lyrics to your melody more easily.

Step #5: Work on your storytelling

This last step somehow goes hand in hand with the previous one, but I think it is easier to consider it as a separate aspect.
Songs are just another form of storytelling. With each song, we tell a story, as we would in a book or a movie. This is why it is quite important to keep in mind a couple of storytelling principles when we write or re-write our first draft of lyrics.
First of all, your song should have some defined characters, motivated by some clear goals. As an example, when writing a break-up song you should have two precise characters (the former lovers), animated by a specific goal. Maybe the stress will be on one of the two characters, who is now trying to put his or her life back together, their goal being to forget their ex and start anew. It should not be too hard to come up with a specific goal for your characters. If it feels too complex, chances are you are overdoing it. After all, the best stories often revolve around quite a simple course of events. The story behind your song should also have a clear structure, with a beginning, a development, and an ending.
To keep your story going, especially in the second stage of its structure, it is often necessary to add an element of conflict. What is an obstacle to your character's main goal? Is the person from our previous example still in love with their ex? How can they resolve this internal conflict and move on?
Coming up with a great structure, and linking it to the work you did in step one, can often make your story quite relatable for the listener. After all, these storytelling principles mimic how our life often works. Once you have planned and taken all these principles into consideration, don't forget an essential aspect: make your story authentic to your personality and life experiences. This way, you will write something you love, making it easier for other people to love it back.

I hope these five steps helped you plan your next song. Thanks for reading and happy songwriting!