Songwriting is a phenomenal way of reaching catharsis, though the process itself can be just as excruciating as the weight of burden being purged. To ease the process of writing a song, realize now that there are fundamentals and methods in place to get those thoughts on ‘paper.’ I can already hear the eyes rolling at the thought of having to stifle creativity by abiding to a structure. Relax, take a deep breath, and realize that these are more so guidelines that can be bent and broken as needed. With practice, you’ll find that your artistic prowess will take over and all the fundamentals will run on autopilot. Look at it this way, you can drive a car with your feet and push the pedals with your hands but I’m pretty sure you’ll find it easier to drive down the highway in the established method.

Whether or not you’re gifted with artistic talent, you’re obviously here because you want to be a better songwriter. Talent accounts for a lot though passion will help push you through the ruts and help you find the means to make your vision a reality. Aside talent and passion, honesty is going to help make your songs truly your own. Without it, you’re just going to come off as another artsy-hack trying to fake it. It’s this openness, and willingness to bear your all to the world that will help you connect with your listeners. Sing it like you mean it, and the audience will feel your passion.

Let me begin by saying that poets and lyricists aren’t necessarily one in the same. Most beginners are going off of their adolescent, high school experiences writing poems for English class, and believe that their basic knowledge qualifies them to write songs. It’s a good foundation to build on, though you’ll probably kill yourself banging your head against a wall when you find that you’ve written an awesome line and can’t find anything to rhyme it to, later in a verse. Take a step back and realize that not only can a song chock full of rhymes sound amateur and repetitive, it is constraining, and in time, annoying.

Lyrics to a song, or the words for that matter, can bend and shift to accommodate the music that goes along with it. You’ve probably heard two impossibly un-rhyme-able words magically strung together in a song or two. This is a consideration for the lyricist. Also be aware, and it’s best to accept this now, that some lines and words just refuse to cooperate with the music, and you’ll find that a lot of your time will be spent rewriting and recomposing. Like I said earlier, that passion is going to help drive you through the challenges of brining life to your vision.

Content should rarely be an issue. Unless you’re a cold-hearted, apathetic robot, you feel emotion on a daily basis. If you step out of the house, flip on the t.v., browse the web, read, or god-willing, have an actual conversation with at least one person during the week, you will have something to write about. If it provokes even the slightest emotion that you feel an itch to write it down, write. Songs are best when it’s about what you know best, and there’s nothing you will know better than your emotions and experiences. Your first efforts may sound simple and childish at first though this is where your originality will grow from. Your unique style will develop with practice and time.

Everything up to this point has been nice and fluffy, mildly inspiring, motivational stuff that can be drawn from within yourself. Your experiences, honesty, passion, talent, and rudimentary understanding of writing lyrics will take you far. Now it’s time to kick it up a notch.

What makes a song a song is its composition. They are very simply composed of an introduction, a verse, a chorus, another verse, another chorus, and a coda ( aka: outro ). You can see it as the structure of a book or story, though it’s best to do so only briefly, since not all songs will have a definite story arc, or not have a story, at all. The song structure itself, can be adapted to your needs, though the overall structure follows the melody of the song, which is established at the beginning of the song.

Uh-oh, “melody,” you say, what is that! Relax, it’s simpler than you think. It’s the soul, the very essence of the song. You know the part of your favorite tune that you can hum, and somebody on the street can pick up on and be familiar with; that’s the melody. To make a basic melody, start by taking a line, say from the verse, and singing it, you establish a pattern and rhythm. This, in extremely simple terms, is going to be your melody. From here on in, you will be forming following lines, verses, and choruses based on this melody, and complimenting it accordingly. It is also at this point that I recommend that yet another, very helpful tool to add to your bag of tricks as a songwriter, is some music theory. Surely there are dozens, if not hundreds of hit songs out there that were written without a basic understanding of music but we’re here to make the process easier. Knowing music theory will also help you to communicate with your collaborators.

Rewarding as tapping into your heart and soul, to take advantage of your creativity to write songs can be, it’s best to know that unless you’re a gifted virtuoso , which is not a requirement, it will take dedication, practice, and time. Trust in your inherent talents, and be unafraid of your honesty so that you can express yourself wholeheartedly in your songs. Your passion will push you to tackle any of the snags that come along the way, and convey all that you mean to your audience. Every adventure and emotion you feel is a source for inspiration, worth sharing with the world, and with just a little bit of formal training, and an understanding of standard musical principle you can hone your skills and be a successful songwriter.