This is my first songwriting tips post for the ones who care to explore what a song is. Every time I ask someone, ‘What is a song?’, many will shrug their shoulders and give me a weird look. Are you alright? ‘A song is a song! Go find something better to do.’ Well, they don’t say that out loud. But, that is the message from their look in response to my raw question.

The most basic and fundamental songwriting tips you can have is to begin from the very root of what a song really is. Seriously, make sure you know what a song is before you embark on writing your hit song! This may sound ridiculous but it is also probably the best songwriting tips I can give you, especially if you are a beginner. Let me say that again. The most fabulous songwriting tips of the day is ‘understand what a song is’ before you start writing your first song. If you are absolutely sure and know what a song is, then you can skip this post and article because it will be a waster of time for you. For the rest of the aspiring songwriters, let’s move on.

Songwriting Tips | Let’s Dissect A Song

Since our objective is about a song, let us tear a song apart and see what it really is. When you listen to a song playing on radio or CD, you probably hear someone singing the words with some tune to the words. Of course, there will be other sounds, which may be guitar, drum, bass guitar, piano, organ, violin and may be other instruments. These other sounds are there to support the song which in its naked form is basically the words (lyrics) and the tune (melody).

This is the greatest tip of the songwriting tips: a song is basically words and tune. The formula is lyrics plus melody. That is as simple as it will get in the science of songwriting. That is how a song get started. First, you may have some words in your mind you want to speak out. We call that the lyrics in the terminology of songwriting. Then you put or attach a tune to those words in your mind. And we give a name to the tune, we call it melody. Finally, you have a song. That’s it. Lyrics plus melody equals SONG! Some may argue that the tune or melody always comes to my mind first! Well, we are getting into another huge topic of how we write songs. We will touch on that a little later in this post.

Songwriting Tips | The Structure of A Song

All songs may have the same raw ingredients of words and sound but they can have different structures. The second songwriting tips of the day is songs can take many different forms. We are now getting into the song structure. This is a huge topic in itself. There is no right or wrong when it comes to song structure. However, there are common song structures which are used over and over again in songs. These are the ‘models’ of song structure. You may look at it loosely as formula or reference for your songwriting. But don’t take it as iron-clad rules or the commandment. As you start to gain more experience, you will likely explore different structures out of curiosity or interest.

One of the most commonly used or popular song structures is

Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus.

Many popular and hit songs conform to this structure or formula. The verse is basically your message. The chorus is  the message you really want to emphasize or drive home to the listeners. The bridge is additional message that may help strengthen your main message in the chorus. Often, the bridge is replaced by an instrument solo. The above is merely one of the most popular structures in songs. You will find that there are many different song structures as you begin to pay attention to songs which you listen to. Again, this is a fairly large topic. We will devote more posts and time to this topic down the road.

The third songwriting tips of the day is to analyze the structure of your favorite song and try composing your song in that structure. This is not written in stone but a matter of my personal opinion. I find that that is a good way to start if you are really interested in songwriting and do not know where to begin.

Songwriting Tips | How To Write A Song

The fourth songwriting tips of the day is there is no right or wrong method of writing a song. Earlier on, we mention that the words or lyrics of your future song may come to your mind before the melody takes shape. For some songwriters, the melody may appear first before the lyrics. There really is no hard and fast rule on which is right and which is wrong. Some songwriters ‘uses’ both ‘methods’. Some just happen to write in this manner. The method of songwriting is as interesting and unpredictable as we are human. We all have different characters and the way we write songs will often be different. If we fall into the trap of arguing ‘this is the right method’ and ‘my way is the right way’, there will be no end to the argument loop. And there will be no answer! Whether a certain way of writing is the best way, is purely a personal subjective view. What works for one person may not work for another.

The fifth songwriting tips of the day is develop an open attitude towards different methods of songwriting. Cultivate an open mind if you want to develop yourself in songwriting. Be open to new ideas and new way of doing things, particularly in the ways how others are writing songs. Many famous songwriters often do co-writing in different projects. One day you may be approached to co-write with some of the songwriters. If you adopt a ‘my-way-is-the-only-way’ attitude, no one would want to co-write with you.

There you have them, 5 songwriting tips in this post. I sincerely hope some of the songwriting tips will help you in some ways. If you have not found anything useful, hope you will still return for future songwriting tips. Thanks for dropping by. Come back to SongwritingTips.org soon for more songwriting tips.

Posted under Songwriting Tips.