How to Write a Song

Posted on March 26th, 2009 by Marck

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading ...

No Comments (Post Comment)

Republish

Barry Manilow may write the songs that make the whole world sing, or write the songs of love and special things, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only songwriter in the world. You may not have the voice or the stage presence to sing the song, but writing a good song is just as creative and fulfilling as singing it yourself. If you have problems writing a song, here’s how you can do it.

Draw Inspiration

Like paintings and sculptures, songs are inspired pieces of art. It’s useless to write a song if you don’t have a source of inspiration. You can write a song on just about anything:

Ordinary experiences. Often the most mundane and senseless things create good songs. You can write a song about work, nature, or everyday scenes on busy city streets.
Exceptional experiences. Love songs are written by people who are in love or are infatuated, and angry songs are written by people who are fuming mad about life.

List the Lyrics

There’s no single way to write a song, but the simplest way to write a song is to write a poem. Simple songs can be made from words and phrases that are in tune with a melody. Here are some tips to make writing lyrics easy:

Keep the lyrics simple. Use simple words that appeal to the emotions or to the senses. Make sure you’re using words that are easy to pronounce, and stanzas that can be sang within a breath.
Pay attention to measure. A simple song has a regular beat in the syllables of every verse. Think of your song as a poem; if it is easy to recite, it is even easier to sing.
Look for meaning. A song does not have to mean anything, but a simple song can contain meanings like a story, a thought, or an emotion.

Make a Melody

The musical part of the song is a melody, and it all depends on how you wrote the lyrics. All songs have common parts that tie them together:

The intro begins the song. It may be composed of a few lines of notes and verse.
Stanzas make up the body of the song. A song may repeat stanzas, but most songs have different stanzas for every measure. A rule of thumb to keep in mind is that all stanzas follow the same notation and sound in the score.
The refrain or chorus is the highlight of the song. In some songs, the chorus follows the refrain, which is considered by some songwriters to be the “introduction” to the chorus. The refrain or the chorus do not have to contain the title of the song.
The bridge is a part of a score that adds a different beat to the song. The bridge is typically used to break a group of stanzas towards the end of the song.
The coda is used to end the song. Like the intro, it may be composed of a few lines of notes and verse. A coda may be sang to fade, where the score and verses gradually fade out to silence as the song ends.

Like Barry Manilow, songwriting means to be music as you write the songs. With these tips, you can write just about any song about everything, whether it’s from you or from me or a worldwide symphony.