Music Scrapbook

Music Tips

Songwriting

When writing a song, I like to use the following process at times:

1. Write down lyric ideas for the song on paper ("paper" could be digital or real paper)
2. Try putting music to the words (I try to think of what emotion or mood fits the lyrics)
3. Record the ideas using some sort of music recorder
4. Cut extra words from the lyrics (sometimes it's easier to sing when there are less words on a line)

Sometimes, I find that it's easier to start with the chorus of a song—at least to get an idea down. Then, it's possible to start adding other parts of the song, like a verse or a pre-chorus, afterwards.

Also, something that I think can be helpful is to put something musically (or lyrically) into a song that makes a listener want to come back to the song to hear. Maybe it could be something catchy, or something that has a really nice groove, or something really unique-sounding. I think a lot of songs have passages that end up getting boring to listen to—or might be too similar to past songs, etc. But I think the listener might be more willing to come back and listen (or sing along to) a song if it has something like this within it.

But, I think the lyrical content of a song really makes a big difference. Time goes so fast in this life—I think lyrically-meaningful songs are important.