Songs satisfy our need to communicate emotions. Just like other art forms such as dance, painting, poetry or theatre, a song describes our emotional attachments, and helps us make sense of the world. In short, it forms an emotional connection which we find stimulating, life enhancing and therapeutic.
Each song is unique, so there can never be a cast iron reliable method for writing one. This means every song involves an element of trial an error which is time comsuming. There are also several skills we need to learn because songs are a jumble of fast moving parts and it's easy to write one that doesn't work.
Like cake, good songs need a few special ingredients, otherwise they turn out a bit flat and boring. And it's just as important to know if you've overdone the fairy dust, as it is to know when something's missing. Now, some of these ingredients are not all that secret, but all are a bit special and often overlooked and misunderstood.
To the human mind, songs often appear out of no-where. As if the mind is on autopilot, entertaining itself. Sometimes a voice is telling the writer what to write. Sometimes it's like background noise or a nearby radio playing short stories. It might also appear as a semi-audible ear worm, with musical phrases popping in and out of existence.
Let's face it, writer's block is demoralising and depressing. It's heartbreaking to suddenly find that you hate what you create and feel imprisoned by fear and incompetence. So, whether you're stuck for new ideas or paralysed in the middle of a project. Here, we'll look at 40 realistic methods for getting you moving again.
Music theory is difficult to grasp because it uses visual methods to describe what we hear. That's a big problem for music theorists because our brains interpret music hundreds of times faster than it takes to explain it. This is why music is powerful. It's also why music theory seems SO COMPLICATED and SO BORING and UNNECESSARILY WORDY.
The first fundamental to writing songs lies in being able to identify underlying emotions. A song may appear upbeat, aggressive, reflective etc. But will always resonate around emotions which are being explored. The second fundamental is having a flexible, practical method which encourages you to focus on your personal creativity.
Songs about heartbreak can be easy or difficult to write depending on how personally involved you are. If you can easily identify and put words to your emotions, your heartbreak song will almost write itself.
Comedy songs are the easiest songs you'll ever write because the music doesn't have to be fancy and you can adopt any attitude or persona. You just need something unexpected to make it funny.
No need to be stuck for inspiration - you can write brilliant songs about any subject. You just need to build a story around an emotion and add a bit of attitude. Here's 30 ideas for you to get your teeth into.
You should write a heartbreak song because it helps you understand your emotions. It also helps you recover from them. And if you share it with others, it also helps them and your relationship with them. But most of all, you should write a heartbreak song because ultimately, it will help make you happier.
What is a Hook in a Song ? : 7 Different Types Explained
A hook is any part of the song which is designed to catch listeners' attention and drive home a message. It can be a single note or whole chorus or a rhythm which underpins the whole song. A hook should be unusual or outstanding or clever or funny. It must be sonically challenging but at the same time irresistible.
Comparing piano with guitar is like comparing buckets with spades because they both do different jobs. A piano is a bigger, more capable instrument but it has drawbacks. A guitar is more portable and easier to get along with, it's also better suited to certain styles of music like rock, folk or Latin.
After the first flash of inspiration, our train of thought often gets derailed. This is because we need other skills apart from just creativity to get the song finished. If we add bit of organisation to our lyric writing, it soon becomes fun and easy again.
An interval can be described as either a gap, or a relationship between two pitches.
While a single pitch, or note is nice, in order to make complex and interesting music, we need to understand how any two pitches will combine. Knowing about intervals will tell us if the sound they produce will be good or bad, happy or sad.
Best Guitar for Songwriting : 7 Essentials to consider
A songwriter needs a guitar which is easy to use in different environments. So it doesn't need to be loud or special, but it does need to score high on playability and usefulness. It needs to be portable and light, and of good enough quality to inspire creativity.
Trying to emulate the very best music is a fantastic way to improve our songwriting because if we can get close to genius, some of it's bound to rub off. Most of the work lies in studying the song with our musicology hat on. But it's not as hard as it sounds and I'll walk you through it, step by step.
Finding the right chords for you song depends on 5 things. 1. Deciding how you want your song to sound. 2. Having an appreciation of how complex chords and harmony can get. 3. Knowing how chord progressions work. 4. Matching your songs needs with your understanding of harmony. 5. Trial and error - because music theory never tells the whole story.
How to Start Writing a Song For Beginners : 7 Starting Methods Explored
How you begin writing your song is a very individual enterprise which will very much depend on your own strengths and weaknesses. A drummer might start with rhythm, a singer with some words or a poem. A guitarist might start with a hooky guitar riff. But there are hidden depths to songwriting which underpin everything, and luckily, they're accessible to non musicians. I'm talking about attitude and emotions.
The most common problems songwriters face can be roughly split into two types. 1. Skills Problems and 2. People Problems. Common sense would tell you that if you're skilful in your craft, then you will naturally attract people to work with and an audience.
Hi, I'm Paul Johnson.
I've been writing songs all my life and get great pleasure from sharing my experience
with others. For me writing a song is one of the most thrilling and rewarding things a person can do.
There are several articles on this site containing lots of insight for songwriters of all ages
and experience. I hope there's something here for you.