Photo by ~ Ladч Aчυмι

So you want to write a song?! That’s awesome and I commend you on your pilgrimage towards personal enlightenment and/or chart topping success. First thing’s first…differentiating between the two. If you want to write a song about peanut butter using your ball-gag and whip as a metaphor, from the perspective of your pet rock as a trilogy in 3 parts then go ahead. But rest assured that it will not have that chart topping timely hit sensibility about it. A few things to do:

ALWAYS carry around a notepad. ONE notepad and keep it with you at all times. When it’s not with you, keep it in one place and ONE PLACE ONLY. This is to capture any lyric, or melodic ideas that you have. Song catalysts are fleeting and you have to catch them. Like when Ralph Macchio caught that fly in his chopsticks. Or when Van Damme snatched the coin from his sensei’s hand in “Blood Sport” and was thus ready to meet his greatest challenge. The second of the two is actually not at all applicable, but worth the watch…if you’re bored…and it’s on a late night. Either way, I once carved a phrase into my arm using an exacto-knife. You don’t want it to come to that.

Break up or make up…it’s up to you, but either way, make sure you can get a song out of it. Face it; most of the songs on the radio, EVER, have been about love in some form or another. I recommend finding an artsy way to break up with him/her to create a state of movement/alteration, and pain as this state has proven to spawn hit songs. Maybe first write a song to that special person telling them that you’re breaking up. That way, you can get TWO songs out of it because later you’ll cry about it, which will give you another song. Stagnation does not inspire creativity. Stagnation does not inspire creativity. I don’t care about listening to songs with subjects like: “we got a few kids and a dog and a mortage…it’s all good.” I want to hear something, and something I feel is sincere! Nobody likes their kids…oh, they say they do, but mostly they just want to smack them around. If you don’t agree, then you don’t have kids. So, item #2…. what’s my point?! a. Love songs always work. b. Live your life and draw upon your own experiences in order to write something that at least feels sincere to the listener. Also, try and write about subjects that most people understand or relate to. Go write that song about peanut butter and see what happens…

Learn how to write music! You don’t need music paper to write down a melodic phrase. Here’s what I do…in my notebook, I write down the time signature. Then, as if I had standard music paper in front of me, I write down rhythm slashes from left to right. Each “measure” is then separated by a vertical line. Above each rhythm slash I write the solfege syllable to give me the melody attached to the rhythm. Underneath, if I have room…let’s say I do, I’ll write the lyrics under each slash. Learn your solfege (“do re mi fa so la ti do”) and learn how to develop strong relative pitch so that you can name any interval above what you decide is “do.” For instance, if the melody starts on “do” and then goes up by a minor third and then up by another minor third, you would write: “do me se” (or “do re fi”).

Don’t change perspective! If YOU are talking to THEM, make sure that it stays that way unless something really important, musically or otherwise, makes you feel as if it’s appropriate. But listeners are VERY easily confused. listeners are VERY easily confused. In fact, they are not as smart as you. If they were, they would be able to write a song too. Or, maybe they’re smart enough to know not to, in which case they’re smarter than you and will scoff at anything you do…no pressure though.

Keep the phrases musical enough so that someone can sing along after 1 or 2 listens. I’m looking upon this as the art of “pop” music. If you want to write a 12 tone fugue utilizing Coltrane changes, be my guest. Make sure it’s about peanut butter…see what happens.

Build tension… a good practice is to try and write each section with a higher melodic content. You don’t want the prechorus to top out at the end vocal range only to shoot all the way back down to ground zero for the chorus. That’ll squeeze all of the energy out of the song. Create tension by writing each subsequent section at a higher note value. It’s a good practice to have the chorus as the highest melodic point in a song.

Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Double Chorus. It works. Find other useful song structures. There aren’t too many and I suggest that you don’t try to be a pioneer. I dare you to come up with something better. Proven theories work…they’re proven, so why not use them. Food for thought…what song structure does John Mayer’s “Gravity” fall into? A-B-A-B-A. No definitive chorus either. BUT, approaching it like a pop/blues wizard, the main focus of the song, i.e. “GRAVITY” is presented at the beginning of every verse phrase. It’s the same idea as how a hip hop artist will come right out with it and state the chorus as the first musical phrase so that it hits you. Think about it…think about song structures.

Keep any intros relatively short. I’m not saying this to stifle your creativity, but people want to hear the bulk apex of the song. Your intro is self-serving if it is too long. What I really mean to say is…GET TO THE LYRICS BY 10-15 SECONDS & GET TO THE CHORUS BY AT LEAST UNDER A MINUTE. Give or take. 45 seconds is optimal for a chorus entrance.

Do not use clichés. Well, try not to at least. They’ve been done to death and just sound cheesy in new songs at this point. “Twisters” were not “born to walk alone.” “Darkness” does not “fall into the night.” There are some very horrible simile clichés out there. The mere word “cliché” holds negativity as far as we’re concerned. Come up with some new clever twists and turns of your own. Let it sit for a bit…maybe even a few days. Your brain will subconsciously work on things and something amazing and new might hit you. Some words just sound good together is all. Just don’t rely on clichés. They are lame.

Don’t be afraid to be visual. Think of a scene or story. Let it play out in your head vividly. Maybe come up with a metaphor so it takes on a dual meaning or just write about it simply. Matchbox 20’s “Bright Lights” starts off strong: “She got out of town. Railway New York bound. Took all except my name. Another alien on Broadway.” It tells the story point blank using words that sound good together while staying away from clichés. How about “Slow Dancing In a Burning Room.” It’s a John Mayer song about a relationship that is at an obvious end. Is there a better use of imagery out there? I submit to you there is not!

Time to produce your demo. I’ll leave the bulk of this for another article, but some amazing songs that have eventually made millions for the writer/artist have been pitched using nothing more than a guitar or piano/vocal cassette demo. This part of the process is not about writing cool musical parts, but rather having a solid song. Lyrics, melody, underlying harmony.

Some final points/things to consider when writing your songs… It can be for your own “act” or for someone else’s (publishing deals, etc.). Bear in mind that considerations in writing a pop song with commercial potential are not “rules” but rather good suggestions and theories. PHISH was a movement but their lyrics rarely made sense. Gavin DeGraw is “In Love With a Girl”… = pop chart success. Just don’t let any of what I say stifle your creativity. If you decide to build a new type of car with only 3 wheels, an engine that runs on potatoes, and no windshield, chances are that most people will not want to go for a ride in it. Wow! I just made a metaphor! Go figure. FYI: I haven’t written a hit song. I’m going to listen to some Hendrix and eat peanut butter potatoes now…