Most people would probably believe that songwriting is something that cannot be taught. \”You\’re born with a natural talent for songwriting or you\’re not\” is what a lot of people say. This is far from completely true. Many or in fact most songwriters have worked for years to improve. Along that journey they will have written plenty of average or even bad songs before they have become hit songwriters. So it takes time and lots of work to improve as a songwriter, especially with original lyrics which are often considered the hardest part of songwriting. Lyrics can be incredibly difficult at times and then at other times the words can just fall from you and make all that you are trying to achieve seem like a walk in the park.
The question is, how do I write a song? Also, how do I write a hit record? Hooks will become an important part of songwriting for you. Hooks are the parts of songs you find yourself humming all day sometimes without realising you are doing so. It\’s the part of a song you can\’t get out of your head. A hook can be found in a bass line, a guitar riff, a drum beat, a vocal melody and in the lyrics of a song. It\’s important to have a strong lyrical hook at the beginning of your song and it helps to have hooks in your songs throughout. It\’s also the way the words sound together. The more hooks in your song, the better. They roll off the tongue, which often makes a lyric catchy and easy to remember.
What is a hook? It can be anything. A great lyric that we can\’t or even don\’t want to forget. A great guitar riff, a bass line, a drum beat, a wopbabalubob bawop bam boo, a do wah diddy diddy dum diddy doo. It can be any sound that becomes very memorable. Once it is memorable it is catchy and you will hum, sing or whistle it all day. Once you start creating hooks, you could be writing a hit record or two.
One of the most basic elements of music is melody. String a series of notes together one after the other and you have a melody. The melody is the notes that catch your ear as you listen; the line that sounds most important is the melody. Melody ideas for songs are everywhere. Working with melody productively will require imagination and creativity. When you start to create new melodies it is very important that you capture it. Record your melodies all the time. Create a bank of melodies. It is always handy to have all your melodies recorded, however short. Most song writers have pages and pages of unused lyrics. Very few have unused melodies.
Melody is one of the most basic elements of music. String a series of notes together one after the other and you have a melody. The melody is the notes that catch your ear as you listen; the line that sounds most important is the melody. Melody ideas for songs are everywhere. Working with melody productively will require imagination and creativity. When you start to create new melodies it is very important that you capture it. Record your melodies all the time. Create a bank of melodies. Most song writers have pages and pages of unused lyrics. Very few have unused melodies. It is always handy to have all your melodies recorded, however short.
Of all the aspects involved with songwriting that we discuss, working on writing a strong melody is highly important and easily overlooked. Melodies need consideration. If you hear someone whistling a tune, do you hear them whistling the bass line, or the guitar riff? More often than not you will hear them whistling the vocal melody. So this is where you need all the catchiness in your song.
So how do we understand lyrics and the complexity of our own ability to write them? It helps to feel inspired before writing a song. To write what you know about is probably good advice too. After all, everything in your mind you have learnt. So you can take it out and write about it. It\’s making it fresh and interesting that\’s a challenge. And it\’s knowing and recognising that you have found inspiration. Then it\’s turning that inspiration into your own creation that is an even bigger challenge. So don\’t give yourself such a hard time. Many of the past master greats of songwriting have had to work incredibly hard before starting to write hit records. Songwriting is difficult! Creation requires a spark
Hopefully with this brief article on songwriting you can start to understand more about the starting point in writing your songs and in the process you will start to understand a little bit more about yourself as a songwriter. Perhaps, most importantly, this is where you will learn to break bad habits and improve your skills.
Steve Pidley writes for many websites. His articles cover many subjects including advice on songwriting. You will find Steve\’s articles around the internet. His main website is set up to help songwriters.
How to improve your songwriting skills
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