Education to Write Songs

Song writing tips are widely available on the internet but how much of it can you actually use practically? I always looked for step by step song writing tips when I started out and always seemed to end up reading pages and pages of music theory or people just telling me to “write from the heart” and “use your emotions” without giving me any advice on how to actually DO that. No song writers sit down to write and think “Ok, I’m just going to write from the heart and everything will be fine.” They all have a set of techniques they use to tap into their creative energy so they can consistently write great songs!

Here are a few PRACTICAL song writing tips you won’t hear anywhere else to get you started writing great songs straight away…

ONE: Choose a topic to write about, say you want to write a song about a recent relationship gone wrong. Take a few sheets of paper and brainstorm words, phrases and lyrics that all relate to it. You’ll need at least two or three sheets so keep writing for as long as you possibly can. Then…put it to one side and leave it alone for a while.

TWO: Grab your instrument and create as many musical ideas as you possibly can. Aim for ten, twenty or even more ideas, chord sequences, riffs, melodies get them all out and most importantly record them on a simple tape recorder. The most important thing here is that you’re not editing ANY THING, you’re recording all of your ideas even the bad ones. Then once you’ve finished, put them to one side and do something else.

I always leave some time after my initial idea session before I try to write the finished song just to allow my mind to sort through the ideas. Often I’ll get ideas pop into my head while I’m not even thinking about song writing even a few weeks after the idea session. When I do come back to my ideas, I’ll take my brainstormed lyric sheets and spend time singing my favorite lines over all of my favorite musical ideas. If things aren’t working out, I’ll move onto the next idea, then the next and the next. Trust me, it will only a matter of time before you hit upon the combination that could lead to your next hit record!

Well, luckily for some, you don’t have to be an extremely experienced music composer to be a good song writer, just look at some of the world’s best song writers of today.

Some of the basic questions that you may have to begin with are do I start with an instrument or with the chords or lyrics? Do I have to ponder the idea for days or just pump out a melody? To tell you the truth there is no one correct way to write a song. It really all depends on you, the song writer, your strengths and uniqueness when it comes to writing music. Over the next few minutes, I am just going to try and convey to you some tips on how to write a song, some starting points and other various ideas.

For your basic song, it doesn’t really matter what particular genre you are in, most songs have the same basic structure. An example of your basic song is as follows:

Intro, Verse One, Chorus, Verse Two, Chorus and Repeat Chorus.

Listen to some of your most loved songs and you’ll almost instantly start to hear that this is the basic structure you hear every time. Remember, the best way to learn, especially in music is by listening to the work of others and then using portions of what you hear as examples.

To begin with, you have your intro. An intro is just as it sounds, the introduction. Your song can be introduced by any instrument or vocalization. As a matter of fact, some songs don’t even have “real” intros so you can skip this part or make it a short rhythm or chord sequence, the choice is yours. You basically are just looking for a start to your song, an opening and a bridge to take you from nothing to something.

Next you have your verse. When you are just learning how to write a song, you want to keep in mind that this is the core sum of what your song is about. These are the lyrics, accompanied by music that help the listener to be able to relate to what you are feeling or thinking.

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