Songwriting is a great way to express oneself in a unique and fulfilling way. The question is, how do you start? Here are some practical starting points when you sit down to write a new song.
In my teaching practice, we usually start at any of these places:
Start with the Lyrics
Start with the Melody
Start with the Background Part/Accompaniment
Start with a catchy Instrumental riff
Note that the old adage holds true: “The journey of a thousand steps begins with one”. In other words, you don’t have to hold yourself to a standard where a song jumps fully formed from inside your head. Write down chunks and put them away, then come back to them. Here’s a little more detail on each of above starting points.
Lyrics – You can write the lyrics of the song first and let the meaning of the words set you up to write the music. In other words, the cadence, lilt, length of phrases, etc. can let you know whether to write a fast, slow, poppy, rock-y, or other song. The number of syllables in a line can tell you how many notes are in your musical phrase.
Melody – You can write the melody of the song and then fit lyrics to the style and tone of the melody. If you already know the tune, you know approximately how many syllables of lyrics to put to that tune. You can also tell a lot about what mood the song is relating, depending on whether the melody is major or minor, happy or sad, or othewise.
Background Part/Accompaniment – You can write a set of interesting chords or a fun groove and then use that to come up with a melody or set the tone for a set of lyrics. A lot of Stevie Wonder’s music used this method.
Instrumental Riff – You can write a catchy instrumental riff or a “hook” and build the rest of the song around that. Often the hook can be used as the vocal melody, as well. Check out “Come Together” and “Day Tripper” by the Beatles for examples of this.
Remember, your own personal art is ever-evolving; all of you experiences in the world contribute to what you create in your songs. So, experience and relate it back in your own words. If you are honest and true to yourself, your message will affect someone else who has been in the same situation.
Another tip: if you are interested in songwriting, you can also consider studying with an instructor with a great deal of experience in teaching songwriting and music theory. The real trick to it is no trick at all though, just start a piece and see where it leads.
First Steps to Songwriting
Songwriting is a great way to express oneself in a unique and fulfilling way. The question is, how do you start? Here are some practical starting points when you sit down to write a new song.
In my teaching practice, we usually start at any of these places:
Note that the old adage holds true: “The journey of a thousand steps begins with one”. In other words, you don’t have to hold yourself to a standard where a song jumps fully formed from inside your head. Write down chunks and put them away, then come back to them. Here’s a little more detail on each of above starting points.
Remember, your own personal art is ever-evolving; all of you experiences in the world contribute to what you create in your songs. So, experience and relate it back in your own words. If you are honest and true to yourself, your message will affect someone else who has been in the same situation.
Another tip: if you are interested in songwriting, you can also consider studying with an instructor with a great deal of experience in teaching songwriting and music theory. The real trick to it is no trick at all though, just start a piece and see where it leads.