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Be one with your instrument.
Find a quiet place where you can work. This should be wherever your instruments and/or computer is located. Once there, connect with your instrument. I use a piano, and before I write a new song, I always play some scales or chord progressions, other people's songs, or other songs I have written. Play around a little. Also, do some vocal warm-ups so that you don't hurt your voice during the songwriting process. (See my article "How to Improve Your Singing Daily" in the Resources Section below.) - 2
Okay...let's start with some music.
Once you are all warmed up you have two options. Start with writing music, or start with writing lyrics. (Side note: All "songs" have lyrics-words. If they do not, they are "pieces of music.") I would advise starting with the music because it is much easier to put words to music than to put music to pre-existing words or melodies. - 3
Don't write a song to make money off it! Write a song out of inspiration.
Decide what you want to write about. Are you writing a love song, an upbeat dance song, an inspirational song, a protest song... My advice: Write about something meaningful for you. Songs that come from the heart are always better in my opinion.
Once you decide on a subject, figure out the mood of the song. Is it sad, happy, angry, mellow? Then, find a key that fits that mood. (Major keys are usually associated with happier feelings, and minor keys are usually associated with sad or dark feelings, but you really can do what you please. Use what feels right.) - 4
You can add a little spice to chord progressions later.
Once you have a key, come up with a basic chord progression in that key that can work for the first verse of your song. Chord progressions or patterns are made up of different chords from your key. One common chord progression is I, IV, V, I. So if you were in the key of C Major, that would be: I-C chord-CEG, IV-F chord-FAC, V-G chord-GBD, and back to I-C chord-CEG. Once again, use what sounds right and feels right to you. And remember, even if you just have a simple chord progression now, you can always spice it up later. - 5
Choose your format.
Come up with a few chord patterns and then start to figure out the format of your song. Do you want Verse, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus OR do you want Verse, Verse, Bridge, Chorus, Verse, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus. You decide! I will say it again... use what feels and sounds right to you. It's your song after all. - 6
Your words need to fit your message, not just rhyme with each other.
Once you have a basic structure that you can play on your instrument (or have programmed into your laptop computer)you can start coming up with lyrics. You may find that you have already had words popping into your head as you came up with the music. Music inspires, and even basic chords can move us and make us think. If you do have some words, jot them down. You may use them!
The hardest thing for most people when writing lyrics is making them rhyme and flow, without sounding too corny. (Hey girl I want you, do you want me too, We can go to the zoo, that's what I'm telling you. You make me really blue, when you don't call me Boo, and I am asking you, to come and make it new... Okay, so that wasn't THAT terrible, but you can see how that kind of rhyme scheme could get old.) I advise rhyming, but not at the expense of your message. Some words "kind of" rhyme with each other, and that's good enough. Here's an example from one of my songs:
"There's a lonely tear, streaming down my face. It's a kind of pain, I cannot erase... and I'm trying to tell myself that I'm not missing you at all, but I fail... more tears fall. There are times I feel, you're not really gone, that you're standing right here, but I reach out and know I'm wrong..."
The "rhyming words" here, aren't exact, but work! Face/Erase, All/Fall, Feel/Here, Gone/Wrong... See what I mean? - 7
Write from the heart.
The main thing to remember when writing lyrics is to make them REAL. Don't write about thugs and poppin' caps if you know nothing about it. Write from the heart. - 8
Put it together slowly.
Write you words in your head as you play the music you came up with, sing them out loud, and then switch to pen and paper or computer every few lines to jot it down. Go back and put things together piece by piece each time you jot down an idea. For example:
:::Playing music::: "I always felt alone..." :::jot, jot, jot::: Breathe. Think. :::Playing music::: "I always felt alone... with the others around." :::jot, jot, jot::: Breathe. Think. :::Playing music::: "I was always on my own..." :::jot, jot, jot::: Breathe. Think. :::Playing music::: "I was always on my own... with the others around. I was always on my own... until you came around." :::jot, jot, jot::: You have a first verse. - 9
Save those ideas for later too!
Once you have your lyrics and your music, keep working on molding the two together to create one entity: the song. Make sure you know it really well or record it on your computer so that you don't forget it. Add details as you like later (maybe with band mates... come up with drum parts, guitar solos, or harmonies). When it becomes "complete," record it again. Make sure it has a title, and there you go. A good song from the heart. "What about all the extra words and ideas I didn't use?" you ask? Save them. Make a folder or a box that is dedicated to song lyrics and ideas. You may use them when you write future songs.
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