How to Write a Song a Certain Way

Think of the best and most interesting story that you would like to tell and hear in the form of a song.. Think of someone who is or has been very dear to you like a girlfriend or boyfriend, a spouse, a friend, a mom, dad, sister or brother. A song can be created and sung about anyone. You may have an animal or pet that you cherish and would like to write and sing about. The more you feel for who or what you write about the more sentimental value and feeling you give in that song.

And if you can or are learning also to play an instrument like a piano, guitar, horn and etc. then the better for you. You can add that as to musically accompany the words and ideas.

The first thing you need is a quiet place where you can focus and concentrate. You need pencil or pen and paper around at all times. Keep in mind that you want to write about a person or object that you are passionate about. Let's say you're a young woman or young man and you're courting someone and you want to write a song about how you feel about him or her. 1) Start jotting down respectfully, how you feel about that person, how and what that person does to make you feel a certain way, why that person should continue to be in your life and what you're going to do to keep that person around. You're not attempting to organize it into a song yet but just jotting down important notes about the relationship. It is always good to have a thorough explanatory dictionary around too in case you need to look up meaning of a word that you may want to rhyme with. We will get to organization a little later. If you write poetry then you have another head start. If you feel you are gifted and have writing talent then that is another bonus. So now, you have jotted down some ideas and expressions of how you feel about someone.

As you tell a story beginning with the first verse, you want to try to rhyme so that the listener can make sense and pay strict attention.You can start to organize and tell your story with your first two lines. The end of the second line should rhyme with the first one. Keep also in mind that there are various ways to construct a song. You may construct five songs from five different ways. You may have the melody first with no words. So again, let's continue in this way that is more basic. You can rhyme your second line with the first one or you can rhyme the second and fourth lines for example, rhyming lines one and two, "Heaven is right here on earth, I'm given new life, a new birth." This next one is a rhyme pattern where the second and fourth lines rhyme. "I'm walking down the street, it's a cloudy day, No one's out but me, No one to get in my way." Now, as a beginning songwriter you should only concern yourself with writing expressive ideas, organizing them, coming up with a simple title and maintaining a catchy chorus/hook line that recites the title.

• catchy title
• verse I
• a change (can be repeated in all changes)
• the chorus (where title is repeated)
• Verse II
• the change
• the chorus
• the bridge (optional)
• the chorus

You want the verse, change and chorus/hook to have a sentimental value in the words. A songwriter can be successful by only writing words like putting poetry in a song but it’s a double bonus if you create the melody also because that is creating the music too. Now, let's get back to the basic structure of creating words for your song. At this point, if you have a title from which to write a verse, a change idea, a chorus/catchy hook line then you have a good structure started. You can start your two to four line first verse by singing the words in an original and interesting melody, over and over like practicing it until it is sounding so good to you. By including the rhythm and rhyming of a four line verse and sometimes called the phrase, for instance, "I'm feeling so up tight, things just aren't going right, I feel so all alone, having no one to call my own." If your words are flowing and your idea stretch into a second verse then continue flowing until you feel like changing the idea and melody. That can also be four to eight lines of rhymes and then come to that powerful chorus/hook line title like, I - want - to be - in - love, Is there someone to give me love... (Repeat the phrase again and again). The structure of your song is really basic and that is the plan of what you want to say, how you want to say it and the perfect time and place in the song to say it. Your song should be interesting in every part of it. It should captivate you first and then the listening audience second. There should never be a dull or weak phrase. It should make since from one point to another. Now, as you sing the melody to the first verse and maybe the second, you should maintain a rhythm by patting your feet or snapping your finger to feel the rhythm and rhyme. It depends on all that you have accomplished. You can go on to the next section/phrase which should be a change that can consist of four... or eight lines with rhyming or non rhyming endings but telling a good and interesting story to a listener. After creating that very interesting change then you come to create that catchable hook line/chorus that listeners should remember. This part of the song should be the simplest one-liner of the title and repeated the most from four to eight to times or more. It depends on how good it feels to you. If you're interested in writing songs then you should listen to the arrangement of popular songs. They all have a standard that can be followed. Very few of the arrangements may be slightly off standard but the patterns can be figured out if they are studied long enough. Another way that a song can be started is quite easy. A writer can create a hook line with the title in it that had been created for some time ago but never added a verse, change or music to it.

After you have a good song structure then you should either sing it yourself or teach it to someone who sings and then get some one to play music to it. You can create the music in the melody as the verses, the change and hook (Chorus) were sung. If all that is done then that should make you creator of words and music. You can then copyright your song as author of the song as far as registering the finished song for copyright.

It could have been the case in Michael Jackson's "Beat It." The hook went, “Just beat it, beat it, no one wants to be defeated, Showin' How Funky Strong Is Your Fight, It Doesn't Matter Who's Wrong Or Right.” He could have been singing just those four lines for years or a month until it was time to add verses and structure it into a song for an up coming album.http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/michaeljackson/beatit.html

Pat your foot: 1-2-3-4, keep patting and say 1-2-3-4, open up a better door, 5-6-7-8, who do you appreciate, 9-10-11-12, you've got to be yourself, 13-14-15-16, stay away - from nicotine 17-18-19, 20, love is great, give me plenty...

Once you become good at putting together a song you'll need all the components to make it a hit. A song can have a simple or intricate arrangement, one accompanying instrument or a full band with orchestra. Remember, any instrument makes a beautiful sound. It all starts with your feeling good about it. Right? Duh... You shouldn't write a song that you don't feel good about anyway.