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Song Writing
Song writing is one of the most popular
and most lucrative fields in music today.
Songwriters can either perform their own
songs, sell them, or work on salary for a major
publisher who matches songs to performers.
Songs are everywhere; radio, TV, movies,
advertisements, shops and malls, and in live
performance. Most people can come up with
tunes, lyrics, titles and ideas for songs. Working
them into a viable and marketable song takes a
bit more work and crafting.
Most popular songs have the same sections and
a similar form. They have composition features
that help to tie the songs together and make
them more enjoyable.
The Sections of Songs
Introduction
This is more important than you think as
it makes the song sound well crafted. An
introduction is often instrumental and 8 – 16
bars long. The musical material from the intro is
often used in either the chorus, bridge or outro.
Bridge
This is a very important section and one which
most young songwriters don’t get to. It gives
the song variation. The subject matter, melody
and sometimes accompaniment to this section
need to be – different. Many songs have
instrumental bridges and it is a good time to
move to a related key before returning to more
familiar material.
Verse
The verse tells the story of the song. It tells
what is happening or led to the feelings. The
music from each verse is repeated with the
words changing for each verse.
Outro
There are many ways to end a song. Try and
avoid the fade, it is out of fashion. Many songs
end with the repetition of a main line (hook)
before a final chord. This is the wrong time to
use any new material. It is actually one of the
most difficult sections to do well.
Chorus
This is the main point, the part
of the song where you ‘sum
up’ the verse or state how
the ideas in the verse affected
you. The melody in this section
usually has often got fewer
notes. They are often longer
notes, or have bigger gaps
between notes or phrases.
Space around notes or phrases
makes them sound more
important. This section should
get stuck in people's heads.
1. Put the sections above in a
logical order. You will repeat some sections.
1. ___________________5. _________________
2. ___________________6. _________________
3. ___________________7. _________________
4. ___________________8. _________________
Hook
While not a structural section of your song this
is very important and needs careful placement
in your song. This is literally the line that hooks
the listeners. It is the one that is supposed to
stick so that they go away singing it and can’t
get it out of their heads. The hook can be the
first line, the last line of the verse, the first line
of the chorus or the climax of the chorus. It can
also be used as a title. Examples of hooks: 'Beat
it' and 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight'. The
hook, especially if it is the title can be a good
starting place for your song. It should be short
and to the point and have a clear message, the
same main message as your song.
2. Come up with two hooks to build a song
around. Just the words at the moment.
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Melody
Your hook also needs a clear, catchy, clean melody to go with it. It should not be complex or people
won’t remember it quickly.
3. Take one of your word hooks and write a melody to fit. Try and keep it short - about two bars.
Rhyme
This is a difficult one. Rhyming is a great way of establishing a pattern, especially in the verse, but if
it is over done it can also sound very naff. Whatever you decide to do, you need to be consistent so
all verses are the same. They can be different from the chorus or bridge though.
Common rhyming scheme:
You could also try:
Twinkle twinkle little star
A
How I wonder what you are
A
AABA
Up above the world so high
B
ABAA
Like a diamond in the sky
B
Twinkle twinkle little star
A
ABAB
How I wonder what you are
A
Riff
Tying your song together with a musical idea or riff can assist with structure. This idea needs to be
really catchy but doesn’t have to be set to words, it could be a guitar riff that is used in the intro
and then repeated at the end of phrases in the chorus or not again until the bridge. As you may
have guessed the hardest part of song writing is not waiting to be struck by inspiration but what
you do with it after you have got your basic idea.
Start writing your song!
4. Write out your hook line in the centre of a some mind mapping software or website. You can
use a new one if you like the others but don't spend ages at this point trying to create the ultimate
hookline.
5. Brainstorm all the ideas, lines, rhymes and words that come to mind when thinking about this
line or subject. Write these around your hook. Do not edit any out, write down everything no
matter how silly it sounds. It could lead to new ideas later on.
6. Start putting words or phrases together from above to write lines for your verses.
Remember: This should be the most wordy section.
Verse one:
Verse two:
7. Start putting your ideas together for the chorus. Remember to think about hook placement.