Song Writing Help
The Song Writing Process

Indications that you need Song Writing Help:

**You are asking questions like: "Which should I write first, the music or the lyrics?"; "Do I start with the chords or the melody?";"When do I write the rhythm?"..........

The answer is that there is no correct answer! There are probably as many procedures for writing songs as there are song writers. But there IS song writing help!

Your own procedure will most likely vary with each song you write, depending upon what first pops into your mind when you begin. There ARE a few common "starting points":

Melody

The melody is, of course, the part of the song that the singer will sing or the lead instrument will play.

If a melody comes to your mind, you will want to determine what notes make it up. You could just sing the melody and match up the notes on your keyboard or guitar and then write down the letter names of the notes.

Knowing what notes are in your melody will help you to determine what KEY it is in. This knowledge will, in turn, aid you in choosing a CHORD PROGRESSION.

CHORDS

If you find some chords that you think would sound good together in a song, write them down and try to figure out which KEY they belong to. Then you will get some ideas of what other chords belong in that key and of whether you might want to "spice up" the chords by altering them or using EXTENDED CHORDS

Rhythm

Your choice of rhythm can make a world of difference in the sound of your song. If you find yourself using the same rhythms all of the time, maybe you should get some new input! One option might be to use a DRUM MACHINE to give you some ideas. A drum machine can also be very useful when practicing or trying out songs that you write.

FORM

A SONG'S FORM refers to the organization of it's basic components: INTRO, VERSE, PRE-CHORUS, BRIDGE and CHORUS, and OUTRO.

Need more help? Try PROFESSIONAL SONGWRITING SECRETS

The next lesson in song-writing-help "Tips for Songwriting--Structure" addresses each of these components in detail.

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