How to Write a Song

If you've ever thought about writing your own tunes, but had no idea where to start, don't worry, you're not alone! This article has some tips to help you out.

Your voice, some paper, and a pencil.

Taylor Swift said that, "I’m always going to be a girl who writes songs in her bedroom in my own personal perception of myself. And I think it’s important that I don’t necessarily think too hard about what everybody else’s perception of me is or else I’d just get completely lost in it. It’s just easier to think of myself that way.”

This basically means to take inspiration from your own life, write what you want to write, and don't let anybody change it.

Billie Eilish has a unique way of writing songs. She says she watches a movie or a show, and tries to write a song inspired by it. Her song, 'Fingers Crossed', is inspired by the show 'The Walking Dead.'

The 80/20 rule means 80% of a song's impact or success comes from 20% of its elements. For example, if you want to make an inspiring, strong song, you need to make sure the song's elements, vocals, sounds, and acoustics sound inspiring to you. For a sad song, try violin or a higher pitched instrumental sound in the background.

VCVCBC stands for 'verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus' and is used for songwriting. Did you know about 90% of songs use this structure? For a classic structure, VCVCBC would work the best. If you want to put your own original, creative spin to your song structure, make your own kind of VCVCBC!

The mood of a song depends on the tempo (how fast a song is going), key(Major/Minor), instruments (guitar, violin, etc.), lyrics, and dynamics (how loud a song is).

For a bright, happy song, the tempo would be fast, the key would be Major, the lyrics would increase happiness in you and your listeners.

For a sad song, try a slow tempo, a minor key, soft music, and depressing or soothing lyrics.

If you're looking to find a title for your song, try to name it after you finish your lyrics. One tip I would suggest is perhaps looking into your lyrics and trying to find one word you repeat in the chorus multiple times. You don't have to, but many songs use this tip.

To look for a song title, you could look for one the same way you could look for inspiration for a song; in a show or a movie. You could also look for one in a book or the dictionary.

Another idea is to use alliteration in your title. It makes your title more catchy.

I hope these tips have helped you on your songwriting journey. Good luck on your song! (P.S. If you read this article and used these tips to make a song and publish it, tell me the name of it and I'll try to listen to it!)