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Songwriting
Tips & Hints
Song
Title
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Top Ten Twist
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Opening Line
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Song Structure
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Lyric Writing
Melody Writing
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More Tips & Hints
Demo Recording & Submission
Tips
Record
Professionally |
Your Singer
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CD and Lyric
Sheet
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First Impressions
Instrumental Leads
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"The Law"
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Get Permission |
Song Checklist
Songwriting Tips
& Hints
Song Title
Eye-Catching
-- The
title of your song is possibly the most important part.
This is especially true when you're an unknown songwriter
trying for your first few cuts. Your title must be
eye-catching
-- interesting, clever, and unique -- it must entice the
music industry person who reads it to want to hear the
song.
Obvious
to the Listener
-- After hearing your song only once, it should be
easy for
the listener to guess the title of your song.
"Top Ten Twist "(The Song Idea)
A
"Top Ten Twist" is a
twist or a spin that you put on a simple song idea
that makes your song different from other songs
already written on your subject matter. It's also often
referred to as your "hook" -- used to lure the listener to
your song.
For example, many,
many songs have been written about the idea,
I Love You.
Here, we've listed samples of how to put your
own individual "twist" to this simple song
idea --
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I Love You
and Every Little Thing You Do
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I Love You
and I Just Can't Wait Until You Love Me, Too
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It's Time That I Admit It,
Honey -- I Love You
Each "twist" calls for a
different story line.
The songwriter's goal is to
find that new, clever way to "twist" simple song ideas
to make them into
HIT SONG ideas.
Opening Line
You must
grab the listener's attention
from the very beginning. The song's opening line
should
clearly depict what the song is going to be about -- and it
should make the listener curious to hear line 2, line 3,
line 4, and so on.
When possible, the first
line alone should
tell
the whole story.
For example, if your
song idea is that two people meet for the first time and one
of them thinks they've
found their perfect mate, an opening line that would "tell
the whole story"
is, "From the
very first time we met, I knew I had to make you mine."
Song Structure
Country
music song crafting is the most structured form of all the
songwriting styles. A well-written country
music lyric is so precisely crafted and structured that
most any style of music (blues, rock, bluegrass, pop, etc.)
can be added to it, and the lyrics will fit the new
musical style perfectly. The same is not true, however,
when one tries to take a blues or rock lyric, for example,
and fit them to a country song's strict structure.
Song structure refers to
the song's form and determines where the title is
placed within the song's layout. In country music
songwriting, as well as in many other types of music, there
are three basic
songwriting structures. They are:
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Verse - Chorus
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A-A-B-A
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A-A-A
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Read More About Each Structure Below:
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The "Verse - Chorus" Song Structure
In the Verse -
Chorus
structure, your title line is placed in the Chorus.
Listen to
our songs, One Tiny Little Bluebird and The Nights of the
Round Table to hear this structure.
 
In this
structure, Verse 1 should
clearly establish the song's idea or story line. The last
line of Verse 1 should set up and lead well into the
Chorus.
Likewise, your Chorus must set up, and lead well
into line 1 of Verse 2, etc. Your story line must flow
smoothly and clearly from each section of your song to the
next.
Chorus -
A typical 4-line chorus
structure is outlined below
1 --
Title
line (including your "Top Ten Twist")
2 --
Answers
your title line.
3 --
Sets up
your title line once again.
4 -- Title
line is repeated.
Example 1
shows this chorus structure with all 4 lines rhyming.
Example
1:
It's time
to admit it, Honey, I love you.
Yeah, I know that's exactly what I need to do.
I've waited long enough to tell you the truth.
It's time to admit it, Honey, I love you.
Chorus
Example 2
shows a rhyming scheme where lines 1 and 2 rhyme, and lines 3
and 4 rhyme.
Note that in this case again -- line 2
answers line 1, and line 3 sets up line 4, (but in this
example, line 4 has been reversed lyrically.
Example
2:
It's time
to admit it, Honey, I love you.
Yeah,
I've waited long enough to tell you the truth.
When it
comes to lovin' you, I couldn't be more committed.
I love you, Honey, and it's time to admit it.
Bridge
In the
Verse - Chorus
structure, the writer
may or may not choose to include a 2- or 4-line bridge
between the last two choruses. Lyrically, a bridge
should add something new to the story line.
Melodically, a bridge should push or lift the song and
should be an obviously different piece of music from the verse
or chorus.
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The "A-A-B-A" Song Structure
In the
A-A-B-A
structure, your title line is placed at the end of each
A (Verse).
Listen to
our song, Whatever's Gotten Into You (Is Gettin' Into
Me) to hear this structure.
Each A
must paint a complete scenario within itself that sets up
line 4 (the title line). In this structure, each
A ends with the same line 4, the title
line. Below, the example shows the first two
A's
of a song.
Examples of First Two A's
in an A-A-B-A Structured Song
A1
You're the first thing I think of each and every day.
I
love everything you do and everything you say
The time has come for me to say what I know is true.
It's time to admit it, Honey, I love you.
A2
I
hope that you can feel it just the same as me.
I
know I'm the one for you,-- I'm just what you need.
And if 'm right, I hope you'll say that you feel it, too.
It's time to admit it, Honey, I love you.
The B or
Bridge in this structure, again should say something
unique, something not yet covered in the story line, and it
should lift or push the melody of the song. (An option in
this structure is to repeat your title line on the
last line of your B -- just as in your A's.)
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The "A-A-A" Song Structure
In the
A-A-A
structure, your title line is placed at the end of
or the beginning of each
A (Verse) (or sometimes at the beginning of
AND the end of each A..
The
A-A-A
is written exactly as the
A-A-B-A
structure, less the bridge. It is the rarest written
of the three structures listed.
Good examples of this song structure are:
"Blowin' In the Wind" by
Bob Dylan" and "Something in Red" by Lori Morgan.
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Lyric Writing
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Be clear with your
story line.
Paint pictures with your lyrics to establish the song's
setting. Who is the singer, and who is the singer singing
to? Be clear. Develop your storyline from line 1 of
your song all the way through to it's
ending.
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Always paint the singer in a good light.
If your song makes the singer into someone that the audience
can't sympathize with or relate to, write a different song.
Don't
waste time writing a song that paints the singer as someone
you wouldn't want to know. (What artist would want to cut
it?)
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Be
consistent in your point-of-view.
Don't make the mistake of switching from a first person
point-of-view to a third person
point-of-view somewhere in mid-song. Don't begin talking
about "me" and "you" and then suddenly jump to "he" and
"she" or
"they"
and "them". Granted, sometimes switching points-of-view, in
your choruses for example, might work, but most often you
should maintain the same viewpoint throughout your song.
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Be
consistent in your rhyming scheme. If you rhyme
lines 1 and 2, and lines 3 and 4, in verse 1, then use the
same rhyming scheme in subsequent verses.
Melody Writing
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Strive for perfect
prosody.
Prosody is the union of the lyrics and music. If
your song lyric is sad and "tear-jerking," your music should likewise
tug at those emotions; whereas if your song lyric is happy, your
music should have more of an upbeat and positive feel to it.
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Be consistent on melodies
when repeating song sections.
For Example: Be sure to sing and play the melody the
same on each line of verse 2 as they were sang and played on
verse 1.
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When you write a chorus that has
your title line in lines 1 and 4, and it's written exactly
the same in both lines, also repeat
the melody of line 1 in line 4. You
establish both
a lyric and a melodic
"hook"
by following this rule.
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Use modulations
(raising the song melodically by
1/2
or full steps) or musical
dropouts to
add dynamics and contrast to your
songwriting. If your song seems to lack push toward the
middle or end, try modulating into the final chorus or
A (or modulate when going into your B or bridge if you have one).
More Songwriting Tips &
Hints
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Learn the rules
of songwriting before you break
them.
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Solicit feedback
and critiques of your songs
during your writing process, before spending money to
record your professional demo (look for professional,
unbiased, informative feedback -- not just opinions of
friends and family).
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Try co-writing.
It's a great way to add variety to your lyric and melody
writing. If you mainly write rock and roll, try
co-writing with a rhythm and blues person, or a country
writer. You can end up with a great blues or country
song that you'd never have written by yourself.
The old saying,
"Two
heads are better than one,"
easily applies to songwriting. And co-writing offers the opportunity for immediate
feedback about what works or doesn't
work in a song.
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"Writing
up"
-- getting a chance to
co-write with a songwriter who has a better "track record"
than yourself. This is a great way to learn.
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Write and rewrite.
Work on your song until you feel confident that every "piece
of the puzzle" fits perfectly. Remember,
"Good songs are written, GREAT songs are rewritten."
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Song length
- country songs normally range from 2-1/2 to 3 minutes in
length. Know your genre and go with what you
hear on the radio. If you want to pitch your song to
an artist who generally performs songs about 3 minutes in
length, don't present them with a 5 minute version of your
song.
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Syllable count
is important. Each line in verse 1 should match
the corresponding line in verse 2 when it comes to syllable
count. (For example, If the first line of verse 1
has 10 syllables total, then it's
good for the first line of verse 2 to also
have 10 syllables.) Of course,
words can be sang as "pick-up" words and not interfere with
your syllable count or your melody. Singing a word in
a "pick-up" style helps
when you absolutely have to have the word in your line for
the sake of the line's clarity.
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Listen to and study
the hit songs on the radio today.
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Learn to accept
constructive criticism.
Don't
get discouraged.
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Write, write,
write -- it's
the only way to get better.
DEMO
RECORDING & SUBMISSION Tips
Record
Professionally
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You have a much better chance of getting your song heard
past the first few notes if it's
obviously a professionally recorded production. We
suggest recording your demos in Nashville when possible.
There are excellent
"mail-in" studios available, and
the quality here is unsurpassed when you want a great demo.
Your
Singer
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Get the best singer
you can find
(and afford) to sing your song. It's
nice and fun to sing your own songs, but unless you're
an excellent singer looking for an artist/songwriter deal,
hire professional singers
to record your song.
CD
and Lyric Sheet
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Your CD
and lyric sheet must have a
professional
appearance. Never submit handwritten labels or lyric
sheets to music industry professionals. Also, lyric sheets
should be typed out so that the rhyming scheme you've used is
quite apparent. And be sure the words on your lyric sheet
match the words actually sang on your demo.
First
Impressions
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First
impressions are important!
Spend the extra time and money to be sure
that your demo submission not only sounds good, but looks
good, too.
Instrumental Leads
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Limit instrumental leads
in your demos. Industry professionals are
more likely to listen to
lyrics than to a lead or riff. Leave it to the professionals when your song gets cut to
add a lead here or there if they want.
"The
Law"
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"The
Law" in many Nashville recording studios is that
the piano player takes the instrumental fills in verse
2. Most often, this arrangement makes a
nice production. And
it's a good rule to follow if
you are recording your demo outside of
Music City, U.S.A.
Get
Permission
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Before
submitting material to a publisher, record company,
or A&R rep,
first get permission to
submit -- this way your song(s) won't be returned as
"unsolicited
material."
How to Get a Woofer 'n Tweeter Song
Critique
Find Out What We
Learned About Songwriting in Nashville
Songwriter's
Songwriting
Checklist
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