HOW TO TUESDAY

Hello ladies and gets this is the Viking telling you that today we are going to learn about

How to Write a Song in Ten Steps

1. Start with the title.  Create a phrase of one to six words that sums up the heart of your song’s message. Try using an image or action word in your title to give it energy and interest.

2. Make a list of questions suggested by the title. Start by asking yourself what you want to say about your title and what you think your listeners might want to know. Make list of questions. Your list might include: What does the title mean? How do you feel about it? What happened to cause this? What do you think or hope will happen next? You’ll need three to four questions.

3. Choose a song structure. Currently, the most popular structure is: Verse / Chorus / Verse / Chorus / Bridge / Chorus. Many recent hits add a short section called a “pre-chorus” or “lift” between the verse and chorus to build anticipation

4. Answer one question in the chorus and one in each verse. Select the question you want to answer in your chorus. Look for images and action words to bring your answers to life. What emotion are you describing? How does it make your body feel? Is it warm or cold? Dark or light?  If you get too poetic, add a line that makes a clear statement so listeners don’t get lost.

5. Find the melody in your lyric. Choose the lines you like best for your chorus. Say them out loud. Now say them again with LOTS of emotion.  Exaggerate the emotion in the lines. Notice the natural rhythm and melody of your speech when you say the lines with lots of feeling.

6. Begin to add chords to your chorus melody. Try a simple, repeated chord pattern. Play with the melody and chords until you find something you like. Record a rough vocal – even if it’s only on your iPhone. Just be sure you get it down so you don’t forget it.

7. Choose a question to answer in your first verse. Make it one that will draw the listener into the situation.  Go through Steps 4 – 6 with you verse lyric and melody.

8. Connect your verse and chorus. After you have a verse and chorus create a transition between them. You may need to raise or lower your verse melody or change the last line to get to your chorus smoothly.

9. Build your second verse and bridge. Choose another of your questions to answer in Verse 2. Proceed through Steps 4 – 6. Your second chorus will have the same melody and lyric as your first chorus. You are now almost finished with your song. You just need to add a bridge. The bridge section adds a peak emotional moment to your song, a realization, or an “aha!” moment.

10. Record your song. A simple piano/vocal or guitar/vocal can often be the most effective emotional statement of your song. If you wrote a Rock song, do an “unplugged” version. You don’t need lots of strings and synths – in fact, these can detract. Practice both the instrumental and  vocal parts until you are comfortable with every chord, every note, every word. The less you have to focus on playing or singing, the more you can focus on the emotion in the song

We hope you like this post and as always have a chilled day from the viking