Songwriting Tips?

[The Brand New]

if you got'em share'em

I'm still learning on how to be a better songwriter.

[Optimalroat]

There's really not any more tips than what you've probably heard before, but here it goes.

Sing from the heart. (yea blah blah you've heard that one)
Make it catchy.
Rhyming is a good feature to have in songs.

Don't make it too short, neither too long.

I write songs before.

Here's an example of a verse of one of my songs.


"Go away, you radioactive decay."

[The Brand New]

Optimalroat

There's really not any more tips than what you've probably heard before, but here it goes.

Sing from the heart. (yea blah blah you've heard that one)
Make it catchy.
Rhyming is a good feature to have in songs.

Don't make it too short, neither too long.

I write songs before.

Here's an example of a verse of one of my songs.


"Go away, you radioactive decay."

lol thanks man biggrin ! Sometimes making it catchy is the hard part

[GrampsOG]

Take some improvisation classes

impov makes composing 10x easier

[JustAnotherLatin]

A good tip for making a catchy chorus is making it with short sentences and making it "rhyme" (works some times)

I compose songs in spanish and the latest one has this kind of chorus


"Cuase it dosen't matter how far, I have to travel to find out where you are" (just came up with that....)

[ThreadHead]

get depressed but not too depressed, you've gotta stay positive enough to believe that writing songs may somehow cure your problems

[JustAnotherLatin]

ThreadHead

get depressed but not too depressed, you've gotta stay positive enough to believe that writing songs may somehow cure your problems

Thas a good way to compose but sad,love/coomeback songs and all but I feel sometimes it actually es an obstacle for composing other stuff besides of the "generic" sad song...

I had some days where I was writing in a sad mood and only things that could come out were like giving out negative energy and blah blah blah

Music shows our energy more than anything, imagine that on a full song :/

[ThreadHead]

JustAnotherLatin

ThreadHead

get depressed but not too depressed, you've gotta stay positive enough to believe that writing songs may somehow cure your problems

Thas a good way to compose but sad,love/coomeback songs and all but I feel sometimes it actually es an obstacle for composing other stuff besides of the "generic" sad song...

I had some days where I was writing in a sad mood and only things that could come out were like giving out negative energy and blah blah blah

Music shows our energy more than anything, imagine that on a full song :/

those are my favourite songs man

[JustAnotherLatin]

ThreadHead

JustAnotherLatin

ThreadHead

get depressed but not too depressed, you've gotta stay positive enough to believe that writing songs may somehow cure your problems

Thas a good way to compose but sad,love/coomeback songs and all but I feel sometimes it actually es an obstacle for composing other stuff besides of the "generic" sad song...

I had some days where I was writing in a sad mood and only things that could come out were like giving out negative energy and blah blah blah

Music shows our energy more than anything, imagine that on a full song :/

those are my favourite songs man

oh.....cow...

[Gerbos]

The way I go about song writing, I try to think of a time of day I would listen to it. Is it a song I'd listen to by myself whilst walking through the city centre at night? Or is it a song I'd play with a group of friends in the park on a sunny day?

In my personal opinion, if you can't think of a situation the song would be played, then there's no point writing it.

I like to think of a scene - maybe one you made up, or something that happened between you and someone else. Writing a song is like writing a story. It has a beginning, an end, rising tension and a climax. in this scene your song will be playing all the way through it. At which points does the tension rise, which points does it fall? When does the emotion explode because it cannot contain itself anymore?

I think that you will have a much easier time writing about something you have actually felt. better if it's something you've felt recently. It's a marriage between situation and YOU. For me, I recently left my job, my girlfriend and all my friends to go travelling the world alone. It was something I really felt like I needed to do. So if I were to write a song about it, it would be wanderous and open sounding, but the more I sing about my friends and my ex, the more saddened it would become. There's the situation. But the emotional climax would be in the bridge, when all I want to do is say sorry for hurting her, and right now, that is the strongest emotion I feel about the whole thing. But that's just me. There's the situation + person. But I am going travelling, which is awesome, so I'd end the song on a positive, yet unresolved note.

So yeah -

+ time of day
+ target emotion
+ has a situation
+ from YOUR unique perspective
+ has a definite beginning, climax and end

If you can't think of anything to write, do something awesome then go back to writing.

If it's melody you're struggling with, then here's some practical advice -

Make a backing track. Pick four chords and record them, then play them on loop. Then play scales over it and then start skipping between notes. Think about the rhythm and how your notes rise and fall, what they're rising and falling towards.

In fact, you don't even have to write the backing track. Just find a song you really connect with and play over it.

Hooks come second, imo. Once you have a definite idea of what feeling the song will have, the hook will write itself. And I really really don't think you need it to rhyme. Some of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard don't force rhymes. It's better to be honest in my opinion.

But I still think you can only write about something you've experienced. If you've not experienced anything you can write about, put the guitar down and go experience something

Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO0svGjVEP8

[A Silly Bugger]

When you manage to get down a solid instrumental part that you're happy with, my advice to writing a vocal part (if vocals are part of what you're goin for) is to play what you've put together over and over again, then record yourself humming over the top of it. Chances are you'll have EUREKA! Moment where something just comes out that you like, and you can expand on it.

Another suggestion I would give is to do that more than once, and have a few differwnt ideas goi at once. One melody that you like might go well with something you recorded on a previous attempt. Then when it's sorted, you can write lyrics and adapt them to the melody.

I can't offer any advice with lyrics though, that's personal to you :3 I wish you the best of luck with your writing man, feel free to send me a PM if I can offer you any more advice (or I might gt advice from you) and maybe show me any ideas you end up with! ^-^

[mint apple tea]

what I typically do is write two lines, and then create a general theme/feeling for the song.

all that 'I have a deep connection with the song' bullcrap that musicians pull is just that. Sometimes your lyrics don't mean anything, and you don't connect until after, and that's okay.

I really feel sometimes music only has to be skin deep, what you're feeling or thinking now.

You have to keep at least some part of you to yourself.

[abby_lovely]

Sometimes I find one line I really like, and then I build the song around that line. Sometimes I just write down a bunch of stuff I feel in my heart, and then turn that into a song. When I'm trying to find better words that rhyme, I just write down every word I can think of that rhymes or slant rhymes and I usually can find something kind of cool. 3nodding