When you want to reach an audience through music, there’s a lot to consider. Here are four tips for writing songs.
- Study Songwriting
Start by learning as much as you can about the skill of songwriting. Read books about it, as well as other aspects of the music industry. It can also be helpful to study writing in general. Since songs are very similar to stories and poems, read books or take classes about creative writing, analyzing literature and writing poetry. Build lyric writing on a solid creative writing foundation so you understand how to construct verses, bridges and hooks to reel your audience in and support the message of your song. You can also learn to write songs just by listening to songs. Listen to the genres you want to write for. Figure out what aspects of hit songs in those genres work and connect with listeners.
- Write about What You Like
A lot of popular music seems to be about topics like love, heartbreak and nostalgia. To write good music, think about the things that have affected you. That’s really why many songs are love songs. Most people are affected by love in some way. But not all songs are about things like that. For example, Dan Avidan writes parody songs based on video games, as well as songs that fuse music and comedy because he was inspired by musical comedy groups like The Lonely Island. If you were inspired by something like a movie, a sport or a family vacation, write about it. You may surprise yourself.
- Collaborate
Find a group of people to share your writing and ideas with. This doesn’t have to be a commitment to a band. You can find other songwriters and musicians on social media or in your personal life to talk with and bounce ideas off of. Learn from them about ideas for songs and musical structure, and teach them things you’re knowledgeable about in the music world. You can also ask friends and family who may not be into writing music but enjoy listening to it. It can be good to get the perspective of someone who just listens to music because he or she can react on a less technical level to your song.
- Experiment and Practice
You need to be willing to take risks and make mistakes when you’re learning to write music, and even when you’re a pro at it. Even the best artists sometimes release songs that just don’t connect with listeners. Take any failed songs or mistakes you make as learning experiences. Learn what didn’t work and learn from the experience so you can avoid the mistake in the future and make your music even better. Experimenting can also be a way to help you find your musical style. Do you only want to write lyrics or do you want to try your hand at instrumentals too? What genre do you want to write in? Do you want to try fusing genres? The only way to answer these questions is to experiment.
Music is a creative endeavor but also involves many technical skills. You need to have the drive to learn and develop those skills, but also the willingness to have fun and not take things too seriously all the time to write good songs.
