how to write a speech about a song

• Skip to main content
• Skip to secondary menu
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

A Plus Topper

Improve your Grades

Speech On Music | Music Speech for Students and Children in English

September 8, 2020 by Prasanna

Speech On Music:  For a human, music is vital in different moments of life. Music helps in spreading happiness and joy in the life of a person. Music gives us the soul of our life and gives us immense peace of mind.

As Beethoven once said, music has the ability to change the world. It is quite right, as music helps us soothing physically and mentally. Music is the best ailment, according to physicians. Thus, we can connect souls and find our real self with the help of music.

Students can also find more  English Speech Writing  about Welcome Speeches, Farewell Speeches, etc.

Long And Short Speeches On Music for Kids And Students in English

We are providing a long Speech on Music of 500 words and a short speech on Music of 150 words with ten lines about the topic to help readers.

These speeches will help the students of schools and colleges to deliver a speech on Music in speech competitions or general occasions in their educational institutes for the students, teachers, and other guests.

A Long Speech on Music is helpful to students of classes 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. A Short Speech on Music is helpful to students of classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Long Speech On Music 500 Words In English

Good Morning to all present here.

Today, I want to talk about music. Everybody knows music. Music is a pleasant flow of sounds in the air, which changes with rhythm and systematic method. It is the skill or art that a musician possesses and gives a musical performance for the audience.

One of the greatest boons of God for all living beings is music. Music helps in classifying all the sounds in rhythm into a system, and then anybody can learn and practice it. Everybody enjoys the harmony and the pleasant rhythm made by the musical sounds.

The styles of music have changed drastically over the years. Mainly there are six eras of musical history. Those are the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Classical, Baroque, Romantic music, and the twentieth century. Music is a common form of entertainment for everybody.

According to the dictionary, music is an art of sound, which explains the ideas and emotions through the elements of rhythm, harmony, and melody.

Music helps us to feel relaxed and refreshed, which soothes our bodies. It removes our anxiety and stress from everyday life. For healing your pain, music is excellent medicine. Music helps in taking us in the world of melody and helps us in forgetting disturbing memories.

Music helps us bring back the old memories. Music therapy is a great way to solve several problems and several emotions in our daily life. Music helps our brains function quicker and helps us maintain our calm in the daily life schedule.

Music helps doctors and psychologists a lot to treat their patients. It helps to calm the patient’s state of brain and behaviors. Music therapy is an excellent tool according to researchers and practitioners.

Music can help our brain to recover from brain injuries. It is a great way to activate brain cells in alternative ways. It helps in healing the damaged areas and allowing people to regain their speech and their movement. Indeed, music can heal people in stressful situations.

Music helps in changing the structure of the brain. It gives people new chances to speak and move. Various studies show that music therapy helps in regularizing the breathing rates of the heart. It helps in treating cancer patients. Music is an excellent way of treating different psychological issues like depression and anxiety. Children with developmental disabilities can get their help from music therapy.

Lastly, I want to say that music is a gift of God, and if you are skilled with music, you have a gift to cherish forever. I thank those musicians, who with their beautiful melodies, support my low times and helps me to celebrate in my good times.

If you want to heal stress irrespective of whatever age you are, music is the key. Music is highly effective as well as supportive to relive the pains of a person. The pain can be mental or physical, but music heals all. So, we will be alive if music remains alive.

Short Speech On Music 150 Words In English

Good Morning Everyone.

Today on the World Music Day occasion, I want to talk about the importance of music. Music is a pleasurable sound that is combined with melodies, and it helps to soothe you. We call a person musician who knows music.

Music is of different styles. Every sound has music. The sound of the waterfall, the sound of the flowing ocean waves, or the river have harmony.

Music can heal a person emotionally and mentally. It is a form of meditation for a peaceful mind. Music cures anxiety, depression, and also insomnia.

The essence of life is music. Everything with a rhythm is music. Music conveys emotions to people. If you want to connect to God, music is a great way. So, the power of music is inevitable. Without music, life would be very dull, but with music, you can enjoy your good times and deal with your bad times.

10 Lines On Speech On Music In English

• For any culture, music is an essential part. The type of music defines the beauty of that culture.
• India is known for its rich musical culture. From classical to Indie pop, to jazz, and folk, India is full of musical surprises.
• India has different types of music, which generally includes the folk, modern, and classical type of music.
• The northern part of India is famous for Hindustani music, and the southern part of India is famous for Carnatic music.
• Music can be of 2 types- Vocal music, which includes a musical performance by one or more singers and instrumental music performed by instruments by a single person or group.
• Music helps us in our peace of mind. It helps in curing our mental disturbances.
• There is music for every occasion. Whether you are sad or happy, music is the key to everything.
• Music helps in the treatment of patients for physical and also mental conditions. For psychologists or any doctor in general, music has been said proved to be an effective medicine.
• If you want to connect with God, the best way is through music.
• So, without music, life is very dull, but with the help of music, we enjoy a happy life.

FAQ’s On Speech On Music

Question 1. When do we celebrate World Music Day?

Answer: On 21st June, every year, we celebrate the music day globally.

Question 2. Why do we call music as a universal language?

Answer: Music is known for being a universal language because it has no limits and boundaries. It connects to people irrespective of any barriers of language, religion, or country.

Question 3. What are the different forms of music in India?

Answer: India is known for having a diverse cultural background. It has a variety of styles of music. There are classical forms of music, Pop, Ghazals, Bhajans, Carnatic, Folk, Bhangra, Sufi, Indo jazz, and many more.

Question 4. Who started the world music day?

Answer: The France Minister of culture, Jack Lang, found World Music Day. Along with him, the French composer, Maurice Fleuret, who was also a music journalist, helped in the foundation of this day.

• Picture Dictionary
• English Speech
• English Slogans
• English Letter Writing
• English Essay Writing
• English Textbook Answers
• Types of Certificates
• ICSE Solutions
• Selina ICSE Solutions
• ML Aggarwal Solutions
• HSSLive Plus One
• HSSLive Plus Two
• Kerala SSLC
• Distance Education

Demonstration Speech: How To Write A Song

silverystars 14 / 105   Sep 8, 2008   #1 How To Write A Song Specific Purpose: To demonstrate how to write a song. Central Idea: I. How many of you listen to music? How many of you have thought about what goes into writing a song? The lyrics and music could have been written by one person, or as a collaboration, with two, three, four, or five or more songwriters; it could have been inspired by a true story, or completely made up by the writer; the music could even be sampled from another song with new lyrics on top; it could be about the singer, about someone else, or the world as a whole. There are many ways in which a song can be written, but I am going to try to demystify the process of songwriting by showing you what I do. All it takes to write a song is to have a bit of musical knowledge, do some creative writing and recording, and refine it until you have a song. And I guess that means it does involve some actual work. Hey, I am trying to demystify it. If a song ever does come to you in a vision, then be sure to write it down and let me know how you did it! Until then, this will have to do. This is how I write a song, and I hope it works for you. Transition: Let's begin with some preparation. II. Listen and pay attention to songs that you like and music that you don't like; it will build your understanding of what a song is and improve your ability to write a song. A. Listen to the lyrics: the themes, metaphors, and ideas communicated by a song. 1. If you like the song, ask yourself, "What makes these lyrics so good?" 2. If you don't like the song, ask yourself, "How would I change these lyrics to make it better?" 3. Write down your thoughts and ideas. B. Listen to the music: the rhythm, the chords, and especially the melody. 1. If you like the song, ask yourself, "What makes the music so good?" 2. If you don't like the song, ask yourself, "How would I change the music to make it better?" 3. Write down your thoughts and ideas. Transition: Now, let's learn how write a song. III. There are a few steps involved in the process of writing a song. A. First, find a place to write in solitude, a pencil and paper, and a tape recorder. 1. I like to use my office, but a good place could be in a bedroom, by a rock formation in the forest, or even in the bathroom - or maybe not in the bathroom, if you live with other people. 2. A number-two pencil and lined notebook paper are recommended. 3. Any means of recording and saving your voice is fine, whether it's a tape recorder, your computer, or your answering machine - or maybe not. B. Assuming that you have derived sufficient inspiration from listening to lyrics and have an idea for a song, write a word that embodies that idea at the top of a page. 1. For example, I wanted to write a song based on Kelsey Smith, a girl from Kansas who in June 2007 was abducted outside of a Target store, so at the top of a page, I wrote, "Missing Girl." C. Give yourself ninety seconds to write as fast as you can as many words that you associate with that keyword. 1. In my example, I wrote whatever came to mind, such as "frightening," "spotlights," "all alone," "somebody shivers," beg and pray," "hands and knees," "please," and ""come back home." D. Circle the list of words that you have written, as they will be a toolkit for constructing the lyrics of your song. 1. In my example, using these words helped me to write lyrical lines that related to what I originally wanted to write about: the missing girl, Kelsey Smith. E. Assuming that you have derived sufficient inspiration from listening to music and have an idea for a style of music, begin writing lines based on your musical ideas. 1. In my example, because I had been listening to a song by Wilco, "Spiders," and was inspired by the rhythm, chords, and melody, I started stringing words together that fit both the lyrics and the music "in my head," such as, "spotlights sigh when something is shown/somebody shivers when you're not at home." F. As you keep writing, more ideas will come to mind and, before you know it, you will have a song. 1. In my example, I initially wrote the song in about 30 minutes. G. Record your lyric and music ideas by singing them into your recording device. 1. In my example, I recorded my ideas by both reciting a lyric with no melody and humming melodies with no lyrics. H. You may come back to the song and decide to rewrite and re-record in order to improve on it, and that's not only okay, that's recommended! 1. In my example, I came back to the song after a day or two and revised a few lines, such as changing "spotlight" to "searchlight," and changed the melody around, as well. Transition: That's how I recommend to write a song. IV. Today, I tried to demystify the songwriting process by showing you what I have learned. All it took was taking time to listen to music, getting an idea for a song, finding a discreet place to write it, writing a word that represents your song idea at the top of a page, writing some other words really fast below it, and using those words to write and record a song. After I wrote the song, I found out that the girl, Kelsey Smith, had been found murdered. I thought that maybe I should change the song, but changed my mind. It works almost like a time-capsule of that time. I hope that you now understand that the ability to write a song can be something great to have as part of your life. It just takes knowing how to do it, but the most important part is doing it. Thank you for your time.

EF_Team5 - / 1585   Sep 9, 2008   #2 Nice work! You are very organized, you give good examples, and enough detail to walk someone through the process step by step. I wouldn't change anything! Regards, Gloria Moderator, EssayForum.com

OP silverystars 14 / 105   Jan 26, 2009   #3 I shortened the speech somewhat, added some slideshow visuals of how to write down your song on paper, and then performed a song I wrote using the method. It was my first speech, so it was quite nerve-wracking for me. However, I did get an A. All in all, I say thanks for your help, Gloria!

15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own)

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing

Powerful speech opening lines set the tone and mood of your speech. It’s what grips the audience to want to know more about the rest of your talk.

The first few seconds are critical. It’s when you have maximum attention of the audience. And you must capitalize on that!

Instead of starting off with something plain and obvious such as a ‘Thank you’ or ‘Good Morning’, there’s so much more you can do for a powerful speech opening (here’s a great article we wrote a while ago on how you should NOT start your speech ).

To help you with this, I’ve compiled some of my favourite openings from various speakers. These speakers have gone on to deliver TED talks , win international Toastmaster competitions or are just noteworthy people who have mastered the art of communication.

After each speaker’s opening line, I have added how you can include their style of opening into your own speech. Understanding how these great speakers do it will certainly give you an idea to create your own speech opening line which will grip the audience from the outset!

Alright! Let’s dive into the 15 powerful speech openings…

Note: Want to take your communications skills to the next level? Book a complimentary consultation with one of our expert communication coaches. We’ll look under the hood of your hurdles and pick two to three growth opportunities so you can speak with impact!

1. Ric Elias

Opening: “Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.”

How to use the power of imagination to open your speech?

Putting your audience in a state of imagination can work extremely well to captivate them for the remainder of your talk.

It really helps to bring your audience in a certain mood that preps them for what’s about to come next. Speakers have used this with high effectiveness by transporting their audience into an imaginary land to help prove their point.

When Ric Elias opened his speech, the detail he used (3000 ft, sound of the engine going clack-clack-clack) made me feel that I too was in the plane. He was trying to make the audience experience what he was feeling – and, at least in my opinion, he did.

When using the imagination opening for speeches, the key is – detail. While we want the audience to wander into imagination, we want them to wander off to the image that we want to create for them. So, detail out your scenario if you’re going to use this technique.

Make your audience feel like they too are in the same circumstance as you were when you were in that particular situation.

2. Barack Obama

Opening: “You can’t say it, but you know it’s true.”

3. Seth MacFarlane

Opening: “There’s nowhere I would rather be on a day like this than around all this electoral equipment.” (It was raining)

How to use humour to open your speech?

When you use humour in a manner that suits your personality, it can set you up for a great speech. Why? Because getting a laugh in the first 30 seconds or so is a great way to quickly get the audience to like you.

And when they like you, they are much more likely to listen to and believe in your ideas.

Obama effortlessly uses his opening line to entice laughter among the audience. He brilliantly used the setting (the context of Trump becoming President) and said a line that completely matched his style of speaking.

Saying a joke without really saying a joke and getting people to laugh requires you to be completely comfortable in your own skin. And that’s not easy for many people (me being one of them).

If the joke doesn’t land as expected, it could lead to a rocky start.

Keep in mind the following when attempting to deliver a funny introduction:

• Know your audience: Make sure your audience gets the context of the joke (if it’s an inside joke among the members you’re speaking to, that’s even better!). You can read this article we wrote where we give you tips on how you can actually get to know your audience better to ensure maximum impact with your speech openings
• The joke should suit your natural personality. Don’t make it look forced or it won’t elicit the desired response
• Test the opening out on a few people who match your real audience. Analyze their response and tweak the joke accordingly if necessary
• Starting your speech with humour means your setting the tone of your speech. It would make sense to have a few more jokes sprinkled around the rest of the speech as well as the audience might be expecting the same from you

4. Mohammed Qahtani

Opening: Puts a cigarette on his lips, lights a lighter, stops just before lighting the cigarette. Looks at audience, “What?”

5. Darren Tay

Opening: Puts a white pair of briefs over his pants.

How to use props to begin your speech?

The reason props work so well in a talk is because in most cases the audience is not expecting anything more than just talking. So when a speaker pulls out an object that is unusual, everyone’s attention goes right to it.

It makes you wonder why that prop is being used in this particular speech.

The key word here is unusual . To grip the audience’s attention at the beginning of the speech, the prop being used should be something that the audience would never expect. Otherwise, it just becomes something that is common. And common = boring!

What Mohammed Qahtani and Darren Tay did superbly well in their talks was that they used props that nobody expected them to.

By pulling out a cigarette and lighter or a white pair of underwear, the audience can’t help but be gripped by what the speaker is about to do next. And that makes for a powerful speech opening.

6. Simon Sinek

Opening: “How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions?”

7. Julian Treasure

Opening: “The human voice. It’s the instrument we all play. It’s the most powerful sound in the world. Probably the only one that can start a war or say “I love you.” And yet many people have the experience that when they speak people don’t listen to them. Why is that? How can we speak powerfully to make change in the world?”

How to use questions to open a speech?

I use this method often. Starting off with a question is the simplest way to start your speech in a manner that immediately engages the audience.

But we should keep our questions compelling as opposed to something that is fairly obvious.

I’ve heard many speakers start their speeches with questions like “How many of us want to be successful?”

No one is going to say ‘no’ to that and frankly, I just feel silly raising my hand at such questions.

Simon Sinek and Jullian Treasure used questions in a manner that really made the audience think and make them curious to find out what the answer to that question is.

What Jullian Treasure did even better was the use of a few statements which built up to his question. This made the question even more compelling and set the theme for what the rest of his talk would be about.

So think of what question you can ask in your speech that will:

• Set the theme for the remainder of your speech
• Not be something that is fairly obvious
• Be compelling enough so that the audience will actually want to know what the answer to that question will be

8. Aaron Beverley

Opening: Long pause (after an absurdly long introduction of a 57-word speech title). “Be honest. You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

How to use silence for speech openings?

The reason this speech opening stands out is because of the fact that the title itself is 57 words long. The audience was already hilariously intrigued by what was going to come next.

But what’s so gripping here is the way Aaron holds the crowd’s suspense by…doing nothing. For about 10 to 12 seconds he did nothing but stand and look at the audience. Everyone quietened down. He then broke this silence by a humorous remark that brought the audience laughing down again.

When going on to open your speech, besides focusing on building a killer opening sentence, how about just being silent?

It’s important to keep in mind that the point of having a strong opening is so that the audience’s attention is all on you and are intrigued enough to want to listen to the rest of your speech.

Silence is a great way to do that. When you get on the stage, just pause for a few seconds (about 3 to 5 seconds) and just look at the crowd. Let the audience and yourself settle in to the fact that the spotlight is now on you.

I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something about starting the speech off with a pure pause that just makes the beginning so much more powerful. It adds credibility to you as a speaker as well, making you look more comfortable and confident on stage. 

If you want to know more about the power of pausing in public speaking , check out this post we wrote. It will give you a deeper insight into the importance of pausing and how you can harness it for your own speeches. You can also check out this video to know more about Pausing for Public Speaking:

9. Dan Pink

Opening: “I need to make a confession at the outset here. Little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret. Something that I’m not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wish no one would ever know but that here I feel kind of obliged to reveal.”

10. Kelly McGonigal

Opening: “I have a confession to make. But first I want you to make a little confession to me.”

How to use a build-up to open your speech?

When there are so many amazing ways to start a speech and grip an audience from the outset, why would you ever choose to begin your speech with a ‘Good morning?’.

That’s what I love about build-ups. They set the mood for something awesome that’s about to come in that the audience will feel like they just have to know about.

Instead of starting a speech as it is, see if you can add some build-up to your beginning itself. For instance, in Kelly McGonigal’s speech, she could have started off with the question of stress itself (which she eventually moves on to in her speech). It’s not a bad way to start the speech.

But by adding the statement of “I have a confession to make” and then not revealing the confession for a little bit, the audience is gripped to know what she’s about to do next and find out what indeed is her confession.

11. Tim Urban

Opening: “So in college, I was a government major. Which means that I had to write a lot of papers. Now when a normal student writes a paper, they might spread the work out a little like this.”

12. Scott Dinsmore

Opening: “8 years ago, I got the worst career advice of my life.”

How to use storytelling as a speech opening?

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” Steve Jobs

Storytelling is the foundation of good speeches. Starting your speech with a story is a great way to grip the audience’s attention. It makes them yearn to want to know how the rest of the story is going to pan out.

Tim Urban starts off his speech with a story dating back to his college days. His use of slides is masterful and something we all can learn from. But while his story sounds simple, it does the job of intriguing the audience to want to know more.

As soon as I heard the opening lines, I thought to myself “If normal students write their paper in a certain manner, how does Tim write his papers?”

Combine such a simple yet intriguing opening with comedic slides, and you’ve got yourself a pretty gripping speech.

Scott Dismore’s statement has a similar impact. However, just a side note, Scott Dismore actually started his speech with “Wow, what an honour.”

I would advise to not start your talk with something such as that. It’s way too common and does not do the job an opening must, which is to grip your audience and set the tone for what’s coming.

13. Larry Smith

Opening: “I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you’re going to fail to have a great career.”

14. Jane McGonigal

Opening: “You will live 7.5 minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.”

How to use provocative statements to start your speech?

Making a provocative statement creates a keen desire among the audience to want to know more about what you have to say. It immediately brings everyone into attention.

Larry Smith did just that by making his opening statement surprising, lightly humorous, and above all – fearful. These elements lead to an opening statement which creates so much curiosity among the audience that they need to know how your speech pans out.

This one time, I remember seeing a speaker start a speech with, “Last week, my best friend committed suicide.” The entire crowd was gripped. Everyone could feel the tension in the room.

They were just waiting for the speaker to continue to know where this speech will go.

That’s what a hard-hitting statement does, it intrigues your audience so much that they can’t wait to hear more! Just a tip, if you do start off with a provocative, hard-hitting statement, make sure you pause for a moment after saying it.

Silence after an impactful statement will allow your message to really sink in with the audience.

Related article: 5 Ways to Grab Your Audience’s Attention When You’re Losing it!

15. Ramona J Smith

Opening: In a boxing stance, “Life would sometimes feel like a fight. The punches, jabs and hooks will come in the form of challenges, obstacles and failures. Yet if you stay in the ring and learn from those past fights, at the end of each round, you’ll be still standing.”

How to use your full body to grip the audience at the beginning of your speech?

In a talk, the audience is expecting you to do just that – talk. But when you enter the stage and start putting your full body into use in a way that the audience does not expect, it grabs their attention.

Body language is critical when it comes to public speaking. Hand gestures, stage movement, facial expressions are all things that need to be paid attention to while you’re speaking on stage. But that’s not I’m talking about here.

Here, I’m referring to a unique use of the body that grips the audience, like how Ramona did. By using her body to get into a boxing stance, imitating punches, jabs and hooks with her arms while talking – that’s what got the audience’s attention.

The reason I say this is so powerful is because if you take Ramona’s speech and remove the body usage from her opening, the entire magic of the opening falls flat.

While the content is definitely strong, without those movements, she would not have captured the audience’s attention as beautifully as she did with the use of her body.

So if you have a speech opening that seems slightly dull, see if you can add some body movement to it.

If your speech starts with a story of someone running, actually act out the running. If your speech starts with a story of someone reading, actually act out the reading.

It will make your speech opening that much more impactful.

Related article: 5 Body Language Tips to Command the Stage

Level up your public speaking in 15 minutes!

Get the exclusive Masterclass video delivered to your inbox to see immediate speaking results.

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Final Words

So there it is! 15 speech openings from some of my favourite speeches. Hopefully, these will act as a guide for you to create your own opening which is super impactful and sets you off on the path to becoming a powerful public speaker!

But remember, while a speech opening is super important, it’s just part of an overall structure.

If you’re serious about not just creating a great speech opening but to improve your public speaking at an overall level, I would highly recommend you to check out this course: Acumen Presents: Chris Anderson on Public Speaking on Udemy. Not only does it have specific lectures on starting and ending a speech, but it also offers an in-depth guide into all the nuances of public speaking. 

Being the founder of TED Talks, Chris Anderson provides numerous examples of the best TED speakers to give us a very practical way of overcoming stage fear and delivering a speech that people will remember. His course has helped me personally and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to learn public speaking. 

No one is ever “done” learning public speaking. It’s a continuous process and you can always get better. Keep learning, keep conquering and keep being awesome!

Lastly, if you want to know how you should NOT open your speech, we’ve got a video for you:

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

Schedule a call with our expert communication coach to know if this program would be the right fit for you

High-Stakes Presentations: Strategies for Engaging and Influencing Senior Leaders

Crisis Leadership 101: Cultivating Empathy While Exercising Authority 

Lost Voice? Here’s How to Recover Sore Throat and Speak Again

• [email protected]
• +91 98203 57888

Get our latest tips and tricks in your inbox always

Copyright © 2023 Frantically Speaking All rights reserved

Songwriting Craft & Inspiration

ROBIN FREDERICK TAKES YOU INSIDE TODAY'S HIT SONGS.

LEARN HOW TO WRITE A SONG: a step-by-step guide

This easy-to-use guide will show you how to write a song, from finding a great title to writing your melody. Hands-on songwriting exercises will jump start your creativity, while  ‘how-to’ video tutorials are a fun way to find out more.

by Robin Frederick. Request permission to reprint

What comes first, melody or lyrics? How does an idea become a whole song? How do you know if your song is any good? Well, I’ll answer the first two questions in this article. The third question – How do you know if your song is good? – is answered like this:

If a song genuinely expresses your feelings, then it’s a good song. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.

If a song expresses your feelings AND touches other people, moves them emotionally, or gets them on the dance floor – that’s a  good song with the potential to become a HIT.

So, how do you write a song that moves other people and makes them want to listen? Well, that’s where song craft comes in.

‣ What is song craft and why do I need it?

Good songwriters use song craft to give their songs emotional impact and create a memorable experience for listeners. The tools and techniques of our craft are not arbitrary; they weren’t invented just to drive us crazy or make us write copy-cat songs without depth or originality. They exist because, over hundreds of years, songwriters have found that they help listeners to understand, experience, and remember the  message at the heart of a song.

The simple, time-tested ideas on this page will help you write a song that expresses your feelings and moves listeners, keeping them involved and interested in what you have to say. Like any skill, though, song craft takes a little practice, so be sure to try the “Go Ahead and Do It” exercises that follow each step.

CONTENTS… 1. | GET STARTED 2. | BUILD YOUR SONG ON A TITLE 3. | TRY A HIT SONG STRUCTURE 4. | ADD IMAGES & RELATED WORDS 5. | CREATE A MELODY 6. | FIND THE CHORDS 7. | FIND A CO-WRITER 8. | DEMO YOUR SONG

‣ How does a song get started? (Good question!)

WATCH THIS ON VIDEO.  

Getting started can be one of the hardest tasks in songwriting. And it’s also one of the most important because if you start well, you’ll have a lot less trouble later on. You’ll know where you’re going and you’ll have plenty of things to say.

There’s always the temptation to jump right in and begin with the first thing that occurs to you. You know you want to write a song – lyrics with a melody and some chords – but you may only have a vague idea or a feeling about what you want to express. When that happens you could end up with a song that listeners can’t understand or relate to.

So which  comes first – lyrics, melody, or chords? My answer is: None of the above. There are a lot of ways to start a song and you could start with one of those, but I’m going to suggest that you start with THE TITLE .

The title is going to be the line that everyone remembers. More important, it’s going to define the message of the song. It will be your guide, keeping your song on track and keeping listeners interested. Think of your title as the peak of a pyramid. The rest of the song is made up of the building blocks that support it.

Start your song with a title that appeals to you. Make sure it’s a phrase that rings true in your ears. Something that makes you say, “I’ve got to know more about that!” Because if YOU want to know, others will want to know.

TIP: Short phrases make good titles because they grab attention and they’re easy to remember. The ideal length for a title is one to five words.

Where to find good titles Keep your eyes and ears open for good titles that have energy for you. Action words, images, or short phrases make good titles. Attention-grabbing newspaper headlines are full of good titles. Here are a few examples of titles I picked up by reading through a popular magazine: “A Dream On The Edge,” “Hiding in the Shadows,” “What You Can’t Change,” “Slipping Away.”

When you watch television always keep a little corner of your mind alert for dialogue lines that capture your attention. Listen to your friends and family to see if you can pick out interesting phrases. Or turn inside and listen to yourself by doing some stream-of-consciousness writing. Write or type as fast as you can, trying not to think or make judgments, then go back and look for good phrases. Start keeping a list of these potential titles. You can use them whenever you’re ready to write a song.

GO AHEAD AND WRITE A SONG – Start your title list right now. Pick up a book or magazine, or scan for interesting short phrases. Write down at least three phrases. Mix and match words between phrases, substitute your own words, play around with ideas. Try to come up with at least one phrase that makes you want to write a song. Keep looking for more phrases until you have something you like. Draw a big circle around that phrase. Then keep reading.

Use my book “Song Starters” to find dozens of great titles, phrases, themes, and more! Available at Amazon.com.

Back to Contents list.

‣ Turn a title into a lyric. Here’s how.

WATCH THIS ON VIDEO.

Now, let’s begin to turn your title into a great lyric by simply asking a few questions – the questions suggested by your title. If you use these questions as a guide when writing your lyric, you’ll be able to…

• Finish every song you start
• Keep listeners with you
• Make your song say what you want.

Ask the questions hidden in your title Every title suggests questions that need to be answered. Some of the questions will be ones that you want to explore, others will be questions that listeners have. You’ll need to answer both. Let me give you a few examples…

Take a classic song title like “Heartbreak Hotel.” Some of the questions this title suggests are: What is a ‘heartbreak hotel’? What happens there? Where is it?

Sure enough, these questions are all answered in this great Rock standard.

• What is a ‘heartbreak hotel’? A place to go when your baby leaves you.
• What happens there? Brokenhearted lovers cry.
• Where is it? Down at the end of Lonely Street.

A title like Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” suggests questions like “Who was trouble?” “What kind of trouble?” and ‘How did things turn out?” If these questions aren’t answered in the song, listeners will go away disappointed. Here’s the lyric. Take a look to see how these questions were answered.

In a big Country hit like “You’re Gonna Miss This” recorded by Trace Adkins, listeners will be asking “What will this person miss?” and “Why will he miss it?” Check out the lyric. You might be surprised by the answer! That’s the sign of a great song. It draws the listener in with questions, then answers them in a fresh way.

Of course, you’ll also have questions you want to write about. Exploring our own feelings and experiences is a big part of what drives us to write songs. So, here are a few questions you might want to answer.

• What does your title mean?
• How do you feel about that?
• Why do you think that happened?
• What do you hope or fear will happen next?

If you’d like to hear a lyric example, listen to “Be With You,” a song I wrote with singer-songwriter Ed Patrick for our duo Neverway. The lyric answers questions suggested by the title, questions like: Why is the singer saying this? What’s happening? Who is involved? What is the singer feeling? Why is it important to him?

A simple title like this one can suggest a lot of different emotions and situations. Ed and I wrote about the feelings we wanted to express, but another songwriter could go in an entirely different direction with the same title. You can choose the questions you want to answer and the way you want to answer them.

GO AHEAD AND WRITE A SONG – Go back and look at the title you circled in the previous exercise. What questions does it suggest to you? What would you like to say about it? Write down the questions you’d like to answer. Then add any questions you think listeners might have.

Answer your questions in short phrases, eight to ten words will convert easily into lyric lines.  Write more than you think you’ll need; you won’t use all of it. Remember, it’s just raw material. Explore the possibilities. Don’t worry about rhyming, just say what you want to say. That’s the best place to start.

‣ Why is song structure such a big deal?

Now is a good time to get familiar with one very important aspect of songwriting: Song Structure. An easy-to-follow structure acts like a pathway, leading your listener through your song from beginning to end. This is a key point to keep in mind when you write a song.

The most common contemporary hit song structure looks like this: VERSE / CHORUS / VERSE / CHORUS / BRIDGE / CHORUS .

Listeners like this song form because it provides enough repetition to feel familiar and enough variety to keep them interested. It also gives you, the songwriter, the chance to add emotional dynamics to your song. Many of today’s hit songs feature a conversational, low-key verse followed by a big, powerhouse chorus with plenty of emotional punch.

Once you get familiar with this basic song structure, there are plenty of add-ons and variations to play with. Some songs have a pre-chorus or a post-chorus section with catchy hooks to make sure the listener will remember the song. But try using this structure to get started. It’s been the basis of many huge hits and many more to come.

Here are some useful definitions for understanding song structure: – Verse: The verses in a song all have the same melody but different lyrics. The verse lyrics give us information about the situation, emotions, or people in the song.

– Chorus: We may hear the chorus of a song three, four or more times. The lyric and melody remain the same each time it recurs.The chorus lyric sums up the heart of the song. The title of the song almost always appears in the chorus section and may be repeated two or more times.

– Bridge: The bridge has a different melody, lyrics, and chord progression from the verse or chorus. It provides a break from the repetition of verse and chorus. The lyric often provides an insight or revealing moment.

GO AHEAD AND WRITE A SONG: 1. Use the song form VERSE / CHORUS / VERSE / CHORUS / BRIDGE / CHORUS .

2. Look at the questions you wrote down in the previous section and choose a question to answer in each section of your song. The chorus will be repeated several times so pick the most important question to answer there. Often, that question is “How does that make me feel?”

3. Be sure to use your title in your chorus! Fill in a few lines around your title answering some of the questions you think listeners might have. Make sure your listeners understand your song by having the singer come right out and say what he or she really feels at least once in the chorus.

4. When you have a rough idea of your chorus lyric, move on to a verse. Verse lyrics tend to be more conversational, so keep it simple and just answer the question you picked for each verse  in an open, honest way.

Back to Contents list

‣ Add images & related words to bring your song to life

Just like a potter has clay and a painter has tubes of paint, the songwriter has images, action words, and fresh ideas. When you write a song, these are your raw materials. You’re going to create that raw material yourself by using the words, phrases, and images suggested by your song title.

Make a list of words and images the title suggests Let’s say your song title is “You Make Me Smile.” To create raw material based on this title, think of words and images associated with smiling. We can start with obvious ones like “happy,” “sunny,” “bright,” and “fun.” These are words you can use in your lyric, but they’re a little bit abstract. Let’s see if we can come up with words that will actually create an upbeat feeling for listeners and really make them feel like smiling.

Take the words “happy” and “fun,” for instance. What are a few things that are fun, things that make people smile? Parties, dancing, weekends, and vacations. The sound of laughter and music. Favorite foods and a day at the park with friends. A trip to the beach, a night on the town. Bright lights and crowds and carnival rides.

These are just rough ideas. Try not to judge whether they’re good or not at this stage. Just write down everything that comes to you. You won’t use all of it, but you never know what might end up in your song.

Now, let’s try the word “sunny.” Obviously that word makes me think of sunshine, which makes me think of summer and being outdoors, which makes me think of grass, trees, and flowers. Flowers make me think of colors – gold, red, purple – and bees buzzing around.

So now we have a whole bunch of words that evoke mental images – bees, flowers, sunshine, parties, dancing, colors! They all have to do with smiling and feeling good. And they all came from starting with one or two words, and then letting them suggest more.

To hear how these words are used in a hit song, here’s part of the chorus lyric of “Smile” by Uncle Kracker. Notice how many words are similar to the ones we came up with.

You make me dance like a fool Forget how to breathe Shine like gold Buzz like a bee Just the thought of you can drive me wild Oh, you make me smile

Now the listener is able to picture how the singer is feeling instead of just having to take her word for it. This is one of the most important tools a songwriter has. Check out “Smile” by Uncle Kracker on Spotify, read the lyrics online, or watch the video to hear even more fun images and ideas based on smiling.

BONUS TIP: After you have a list of related words, make a list of contrasting words and images, ones that suggest the opposite. For example, I wrote a song called “California Girl.” Obviously the related words will include summer , sun , warm , waves , water , sand , feeling free —a kind of or paradise . Contrasting words might be winter , moon , cold , fire (contrasting with water), and feeling caught or trapped (the opposite of feeling free).

If you’d like to hear how I turned these lists of related and contrasting words into a lyric, watch the video of my song “California Girl.”

GO AHEAD AND WRITE A SONG – Make a list of words, images, and phrases related to your title. Write down single words or short phrases. Don’t think about rhyming or making sense of things at this point. And try not to be critical of your ideas – just write down what comes to you. Then, make a list of contrasting words, images, and phrases. Write as many words as you can think of in each column. Let one idea suggest another and follow the trail wherever it takes you. This is a great exercise for stretching your creativity.

When you have a good list of words, try plugging some of them into your verse and chorus lyrics. Replace a statement with an image or action that helps to express the emotion in your song and makes the listener feel what you feel or see what you see.

‣ Look for the melody that lives in your lyrics

Every time you open your mouth to speak, you start singing! Don’t believe me? Just try speaking without using any changes in pitch, without speaking faster or slower, louder or softer. You can’t do it! You end up sounding like a robot. Although we usually think of singing as something quite different from talking, we actually use a lot of melody when we talk.

When we talk we use pitch, volume, phrasing, and rhythm – all the elements of a song melody. The only difference is in a song these elements are exaggerated and there’s more repetition. So if you have a few lyric lines, all you need to do is speak them to get a raw melody started.

Melody, speech, and emotion It’s the melody part of speech that communicates emotion. In fact, just by changing the melody you can give the same words an entirely different emotional meaning. Try this: say the phrase “Oh, no?” as if you are asking a simple question. Now, say the same phrase — “Oh no!” — as if you are anxious and frightened. Notice the difference in the melody? In the question, the melody goes up at the end. In the frightened version, the pitch starts higher and then the melody moves downward. Exaggerate the emotion in the second phrase and you’ll really hear it. Now try saying “Oh no” with a sarcastic, disbelieving, ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ tone. It’s an entirely different melody from the other two.

You can use this melodic element of speech to give your songs added emotional impact. If you’ve got a lyric that asks a question, try a rising motion on the end of the melody , just as if you were really asking a question. Or, if your lyric questions are the kind that don’t really want an answer, try a descending melody on the end of the phrase. You’ll make the meaning clear and sound natural and believable to your listeners.

Try these tips to make your song melodies more memorable.

A good song is one that evokes emotion—both in the lyrics and in the melody. Movies and television shows use songs to add emotion and memorability to a scene. Commercials look for songs that make viewers feel happy or confident when they think of their product. You can use the melody and lyric tools I’ve included in this article and elsewhere on the site to create songs that make people feel the emotions you want to express.

GO AHEAD AND WRITE A SONG – To achieve the conversational tone of many of today’s verses, try speaking your verse lyric in a casual, conversational style, then exaggerate it a little to begin creating your verse melody. Keep the pauses that occur naturally and exaggerate the little ups and downs in your speaking voice. You’ll want to make changes later but, for now, this will give you a good place to start. Remember, this is your raw material, not the finished melody.

Choruses often have more energy and urgency, conveying more of the song’s emotional heart. As we saw with the “Oh, no!” phrase, the more emotion there is, the higher the voice tends to be. That’s why very emotional Pop and Rock choruses work well in a higher note range. Speak the chorus lyric with as much emotion as you can put into it. Now, exaggerate the pitches, keeping the rhythm of the words and any pauses that occur naturally. This will get you started on your chorus.

Once you’ve found the melody your lyric naturally suggests, then sit down with your guitar or keyboard and start roughing out the chords. I like to record my vocal ideas before I even start to add chords, that way I can recall the original “spoken word” melody in case I want to go back to it. Of course, there are other ways to write a song melody but this one will give you a great place to start.

Make your melody one that listeners can’t forget: Read this tip!

‣ What happens next?

Writing both lyrics and melody If you play guitar or keyboard and you’re going to be writing your own melody and chords, check out this post— Finding the Chords for Your Song — for some ideas on how to find chord progressions that work well in contemporary songs.

Work on the melody and chords using the verse and chorus lyric you wrote, gradually smoothing and changing until you have something you like. Then write the rest of the lyric to the melody you just created.

Writing lyrics only If you’re going to be looking for a collaborator to put music to your lyrics, then you should go ahead and finish the lyric now. Filling in the rest while sustaining the emotional tone of what you’ve done is a tough job but if you’ve gotten this far, you can do the rest.

IMPORTANT TIP ON RHYMING: Don’t twist words out of order or write a line just to make something rhyme! A vowel rhyme —rhymes like love/enough or mine/time/sigh with the same vowel sound but different final consonants—will work just fine for popular songs. (Songs for musical theater are different – they often do require perfect rhymes.) Check out a web site like Rhymedesk.com or B-rhymes.com to find lists of interesting, closely rhyming words to use.

Read my post To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme on my blog site.

Know when to take a break Work on your lyric for short periods of time. If you’re not getting anything usable, walk away… literally. Take a walk and let things settle for awhile. Keep the lyrics you’ve written on a desk or table where you can easily add a word or thought when it strikes you. Keep the hit song melody in your head.

The most important thing is to keep the emotional honesty of your song intact. Don’t settle for anything less. There are times when you’ll lose your way. When that happens…stop working! Go away and come back when you’re fresh. You’ll be able to see what needs to be fixed. Keep working on the lyric until you are genuinely moved and excited by it.

‣ One last thought…

What I’ve laid out for you here is a doorway into songwriting. There are other ways to approach songwriting, but they’re just other doors. Once you go through a door, that’s when you really begin to learn. Everything you need to know is right there on the radio, in your CD collection or on your iPod.

The best way to keep learning and keep growing as a songwriter is to study songs by your favorite artists. You can pick up new techniques and skills, find solutions to problems, and break out of old habits.   Here’s a list of today’s biggest hit songs  I’ve written a Song Guide that will walk you through each one, showing you the lyric, melody, and chord tools that makes them tick. And you’ll find tips on how to use these ideas in songs of your own.

Here are just three of more than 40 Song Guides covering all mainstream genres and Film & TV. Check out the complete list here .

• Believer by Imagine Dragons
• Hello by Adele
• Play It Again by Luke Bryan

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time you write a song. Go ahead…stand on the shoulders of giants; use what others have discovered and build on it. Make it your own! Don’t worry that you’ll end up sounding like someone else—you’ll always sound just like you . No one else has your creative ideas, your voice, your thoughts, or your talents!

May your songs flow. ~ Robin Frederick

To top of page

Robin’s online songwriting courses .

Write songs that listeners will love and the music industry needs ! Click to find out more .

How to Write an Effective Speech Outline: A Step-by-Step Guide

• The Speaker Lab
• March 8, 2024

Table of Contents

Mastering the art of speaking starts with crafting a stellar speech outline. A well-structured outline not only clarifies your message but also keeps your audience locked in.

In this article, you’ll learn how to mold outlines for various speech types, weaving in research that resonates and transitions that keep listeners on track. We’ll also show you ways to spotlight crucial points and manage the clock so every second counts. When it’s time for final prep, we’ve got smart tips for fine-tuning your work before stepping into the spotlight.

Understanding the Structure of a Speech Outline

An effective speech outline is like a map for your journey as a speaker, guiding you from start to finish. Think of it as the blueprint that gives shape to your message and ensures you hit all the right notes along the way.

Tailoring Your Outline for Different Speech Types

Different speeches have different goals: some aim to persuade, others inform or celebrate. Each type demands its own structure in an outline. For instance, a persuasive speech might highlight compelling evidence while an informative one focuses on clear explanations. Crafting your outline with precision means adapting it to fit these distinct objectives.

Incorporating Research and Supporting Data

Your credibility hinges on solid research and data that back up your claims. When writing your outline, mark the places where you’ll incorporate certain pieces of research or data. Every stat you choose should serve a purpose in supporting your narrative arc. And remember to balance others’ research with your own unique insights. After all, you want your work to stand out, not sound like someone else’s.

The Role of Transitions in Speech Flow

Slick transitions are what turn choppy ideas into smooth storytelling—think about how bridges connect disparate land masses seamlessly. They’re not just filler; they carry listeners from one thought to another while maintaining momentum.

Incorporate transitions that feel natural yet keep people hooked. To keep things smooth, outline these transitions ahead of time so nothing feels left up to chance during delivery.

Techniques for Emphasizing Key Points in Your Outline

To make certain points pop off the page—and stage—you’ll need strategies beyond bolding text or speaking louder. Use repetition wisely or pause strategically after delivering something significant. Rather than go impromptu, plan out what points you want to emphasize before you hit the stage.

Timing Your Speech Through Your Outline

A watchful eye on timing ensures you don’t overstay—or undercut—your moment under the spotlight. The rhythm set by pacing can be pre-determined through practice runs timed against sections marked clearly in outlines. Practice will help ensure that your grand finale isn’t cut short by surprise.

Free Download: 6 Proven Steps to Book More Paid Speaking Gigs in 2024​

Download our 18-page guide and start booking more paid speaking gigs today!

Depending on the type of speech you’re giving, your speech outline will vary. The key ingredients—introduction, body, and conclusion—are always there, but nuances like tone or message will change with each speaking occasion.

Persuasive Speeches: Convincing With Clarity

When outlining a persuasive speech, arrange your arguments from strong to strongest. The primacy effect works wonders here, so make sure to start off with a strong point. And just when they think they’ve heard it all, hit them with an emotional story that clinches the deal.

You might start by sharing startling statistics about plastic pollution before pivoting to how individuals can make a difference. Back this up with data on successful recycling programs which demonstrate tangible impact, a technique that turns facts into fuel for action.

Informative Speeches: Educating Without Overwhelming

An informative speech shouldn’t feel like drinking from a fire hose of facts and figures. Instead, lay out clear subtopics in your outline and tie them together with succinct explanations—not unlike stepping stones across a stream of knowledge.

If you’re talking about breakthroughs in renewable energy technology, use bullet points to highlight different innovations then expand upon their potential implications one at a time so the audience can follow along without getting lost in technical jargon or complexity.

Ceremonial Speeches: Creating Moments That Matter

In a ceremonial speech you want to capture emotion. Accordingly, your outline should feature personal anecdotes and quotes that resonate on an emotional level. However, make sure to maintain brevity because sometimes less really is more when celebrating milestones or honoring achievements.

Instead of just going through a hero’s whole life story, share the powerful tales of how they stepped up in tough times. This approach hits home for listeners, letting them feel the impact these heroes have had on their communities and sparking an emotional bond.

Incorporating Research in Your Speech Outline

When you’re crafting a speech, the backbone of your credibility lies in solid research and data. But remember, it’s not just about piling on the facts. It’s how you weave them into your narrative that makes listeners sit up and take notice.

Selecting Credible Sources

Finding trustworthy sources is like going on a treasure hunt where not all that glitters is gold. To strike real gold, aim for academic journals or publications known for their rigorous standards. Google Scholar or industry-specific databases are great places to start your search. Be picky. Your audience can tell when you’ve done your homework versus when you’ve settled for less-than-stellar intel.

You want to arm yourself with evidence so compelling that even skeptics start nodding along. A well-chosen statistic from a reputable study does more than decorate your point—it gives it an ironclad suit of armor.

Organizing Information Effectively

Your outline isn’t just a roadmap; think of it as scaffolding that holds up your argument piece by piece. Start strong with an eye-opening factoid to hook your audience right off the bat because first impressions matter—even in speeches.

To keep things digestible, group related ideas together under clear subheadings within your outline. Stick to presenting data that backs up each key idea without wandering down tangential paths. That way, everyone stays on track.

Making Data Relatable

Sure, numbers don’t lie but they can be hard to connect to. If you plan on using stats in your speech, make them meaningful by connecting them to relatable scenarios or outcomes people care about deeply. For instance, if you’re talking health statistics, relate them back to someone’s loved ones or local hospitals. By making the personal connection for your audience, you’ll get their attention.

The trick is using these nuggets strategically throughout your talk, not dumping them all at once but rather placing each one carefully where its impact will be greatest.

Imagine your speech as a road trip. Without smooth roads and clear signs, the journey gets bumpy, and passengers might miss the scenery along the way. That’s where transitions come in. They’re like your speech’s traffic signals guiding listeners from one point to another.

Crafting Seamless Bridges Between Ideas

Transitions are more than just linguistic filler. They’re strategic connectors that carry an audience smoothly through your narrative. Start by using phrases like “on top of this” or “let’s consider,” which help you pivot naturally between points without losing momentum.

To weave these seamlessly into your outline, map out each major turn beforehand to ensure no idea is left stranded on a tangent.

Making Use of Transitional Phrases Wisely

Be cautious: overusing transitional phrases can clutter up your speech faster than rush hour traffic. Striking a balance is key—think about how often you’d want to see signposts on a highway. Enough to keep you confident but not so many that it feels overwhelming.

Pick pivotal moments for transitions when shifting gears from one major topic to another or introducing contrasting information. A little direction at critical junctures keeps everyone onboard and attentive.

Leveraging Pauses as Transition Tools

Sometimes silence speaks louder than words, and pauses are powerful tools for transitioning thoughts. A well-timed pause lets ideas resonate and gives audiences time to digest complex information before moving forward again.

This approach also allows speakers some breathing room themselves—the chance to regroup mentally before diving into their next point with renewed vigor.

Connecting Emotional Threads Throughout Your Speech

Last but not least, don’t forget emotional continuity, that intangible thread pulling heartstrings from start-to-finish. Even if topics shift drastically, maintaining an underlying emotional connection ensures everything flows together cohesively within the larger tapestry of your message.

Techniques for Emphasizing Key Points in Your Speech Outline

When you’re crafting your speech outline, shine a spotlight on what matters most so that your audience doesn’t miss your key points.

Bold and Italicize for Impact

You wouldn’t whisper your punchline in a crowded room. Similarly, why let your main ideas get lost in a sea of text? Use bold or italics to give those lines extra weight. This visual cue signals importance, so when you glance at your notes during delivery, you’ll know to emphasize those main ideas.

Analogies That Stick

A good analogy is like super glue—it makes anything stick. Weave them into your outline and watch as complex concepts become crystal clear. But remember: choose analogies that resonate with your target audience’s experiences or interests. The closer home it hits, the longer it lingers.

The Power of Repetition

If something’s important say it again. And maybe even once more after that—with flair. Repetition can feel redundant on paper, but audiences often need to hear critical messages several times before they take root.

Keep these strategies in mind when you’re ready to dive into your outline. You’ll transform those core ideas into memorable insights before you know it.

Picture this: you’re delivering a speech, and just as you’re about to reach the end, your time’s up. Ouch! Let’s make sure that never happens. Crafting an outline is not only about what to say but also how long to say it.

Finding Balance in Section Lengths

An outline isn’t just bullet points; it’s a roadmap for pacing. When outlining your speech, make sure to decide how much time you’d like to give each of your main points. You might even consider setting specific timers during rehearsals to get a real feel for each part’s duration. Generally speaking, you should allot a fairly equal amount of time for each to keep things balanced.

The Magic of Mini Milestones

To stay on track, a savvy speaker will mark time stamps or “mini milestones” on their outline. These time stamps give the speaker an idea of where should be in their speech by the time, say, 15 minutes has passed. If by checkpoint three you should be 15 minutes deep and instead you’re hitting 20 minutes, it’s time to pick up the pace or trim some fat from earlier sections. This approach helps you stay on track without having to glance at the clock after every sentence.

Utilizing Visual Aids and Multimedia in Your Outline

Pictures speak louder than words, especially when you’re on stage. Think about it: How many times have you sat through a presentation that felt like an eternity of endless bullet points? Now imagine if instead, there was a vibrant image or a short video clip to break up the monotony—it’s game-changing. That’s why integrating visual aids and multimedia into your speech outline isn’t just smart. It’s crucial for keeping your audience locked in.

Choosing Effective Visuals

Selecting the right visuals is not about flooding your slides with random images but finding those that truly amplify your message. Say you’re talking about climate change. In this case, a graph showing rising global temperatures can hit hard and illustrate your chosen statistic clearly. Remember, simplicity reigns supreme; one powerful image will always trump a cluttered collage.

Multimedia Magic

Videos are another ace up your sleeve. They can deliver testimonials more powerfully than quotes or transport viewers to places mere descriptions cannot reach. But be warned—timing is everything. Keep clips short and sweet because no one came to watch a movie—they came to hear you . You might highlight innovations using short video snippets, ensuring these moments serve as compelling punctuations rather than pauses in your narrative.

The Power of Sound

We often forget audio when we think multimedia, yet sound can evoke emotions and set tones subtly yet effectively. Think striking chords for dramatic effect or nature sounds for storytelling depth during environmental talks.

Audiences crave experiences they’ll remember long after they leave their seats. With well-chosen visuals and gripping multimedia elements woven thoughtfully into every section of your speech outline, you’ll give them exactly that.

Rehearsing with Your Speech Outline

When you’re gearing up to take the stage, your speech outline is a great tool to practice with. With a little preparation, you’ll give a performance that feels both natural and engaging.

Familiarizing Yourself with Content

To start off strong, get cozy with your outline’s content. Read through your outline aloud multiple times until the flow of words feels smooth. This will help make sure that when showtime comes around, you can deliver those lines without tripping over tough transitions or complex concepts.

Beyond mere memorization, understanding the heart behind each point allows you to speak from a place of confidence. You know this stuff—you wrote it. Now let’s bring that knowledge front and center in an authentic way.

Mimicking Presentation Conditions

Rehearsing under conditions similar to those expected during the actual presentation pays off big time. Are you going to stand or roam about? Will there be a podium? Think about these details and simulate them during rehearsal because comfort breeds confidence—and we’re all about boosting confidence.

If technology plays its part in your talk, don’t leave them out of rehearsals either. The last thing anyone needs is tech trouble during their talk.

Perfecting Pace Through Practice

Pacing matters big time when speaking. Use timed rehearsals to nail down timing. Adjust speed as needed but remember: clarity trumps velocity every single time.

You want people hanging onto every word, which is hard to do if you’re talking so fast they can barely make out what you’re saying. During rehearsals, find balance between pacing and comprehension; they should go hand-in-hand.

Finalizing Your Speech Outline for Presentation

You’ve poured hours into crafting your speech, shaping each word and idea with precision. Now, it’s time to tighten the nuts and bolts. Finalizing your outline isn’t just about dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. It’s about making sure your message sticks like a perfectly thrown dart.

Reviewing Your Content for Clarity

Your first task is to strip away any fluff that might cloud your core message. Read through every point in your outline with a critical eye. Think of yourself as an editor on a mission to cut out anything that doesn’t serve a purpose. Ask yourself if you can explain each concept clearly without needing extra words or complex jargon. If not, simplify.

Strengthening Your Argument

The meat of any good presentation lies in its argument, the why behind what you’re saying. Strengthen yours by ensuring every claim has iron-clad backing—a stat here, an expert quote there. Let this be more than just facts tossed at an audience; weave them into stories they’ll remember long after they leave their seats.

Crafting Memorable Takeaways

Audiences may forget details but never how you made them feel—or think. Embed memorable takeaways throughout your outline so when folks step out into fresh air post-talk, they carry bits of wisdom with them.

This could mean distilling complex ideas down to pithy phrases or ending sections with punchy lines that resonate. It’s these golden nuggets people will mine for later reflection.

FAQs on Speech Outlines

How do you write a speech outline.

To craft an outline, jot down your main ideas, arrange them logically, and add supporting points beneath each.

What are the 3 main parts of a speech outline?

An effective speech has three core parts: an engaging introduction, a content-rich body, and a memorable conclusion.

What are the three features of a good speech outline?

A strong outline is clear, concise, and structured in logical sequence to maximize impact on listeners.

What is a working outline for a speech?

A working outline serves as your blueprint while preparing. It’s detailed but flexible enough to adjust as needed.

Crafting a speech outline is like drawing your map before the journey. It starts with structure and flows into customization for different types of talks. Remember, research and evidence are your compass—they guide you to credibility. Transitions act as bridges, connecting one idea to another smoothly. Key points? They’re landmarks so make them shine.

When delivering your speech, keep an eye on the clock and pace yourself so that every word counts.

Multimedia turns a good talk into a great show. Rehearsing polishes that gem of a presentation until it sparkles.

Last up: fine-tuning your speech outline means you step out confident, ready to deliver something memorable because this isn’t just any roadmap—it’s yours.

• Last Updated: March 5, 2024

Explore Related Resources

Learn How You Could Get Your First (Or Next) Paid Speaking Gig In 90 Days or Less

We receive thousands of applications every day, but we only work with the top 5% of speakers .

Book a call with our team to get started — you’ll learn why the vast majority of our students get a paid speaking gig within 90 days of finishing our program .

If you’re ready to control your schedule, grow your income, and make an impact in the world – it’s time to take the first step. Book a FREE consulting call and let’s get you Booked and Paid to Speak ® .

About The Speaker Lab

We teach speakers how to consistently get booked and paid to speak.  Since 2015, we’ve helped thousands of speakers find clarity, confidence, and a clear path to make an impact.

Get Started

Let's connect.

[email protected]

Copyright ©2023 The Speaker Lab. All rights reserved.

• Games, topic printables & more
• The 4 main speech types
• Example speeches
• Commemorative
• Declamation
• Demonstration
• Informative
• Introduction
• Student Council
• Speech topics
• Poems to read aloud
• How to write a speech
• Using props/visual aids
• Acute anxiety help
• Breathing exercises
• Letting go - free e-course
• Using self-hypnosis
• Delivery overview
• 4 modes of delivery
• How to make cue cards
• How to read a speech
• 9 vocal aspects
• Vocal variety
• Diction/articulation
• Pronunciation
• Speaking rate
• How to use pauses
• Eye contact
• Body language
• Voice image
• Voice health
• Public speaking activities and games
• About me/contact

How to write a good speech in 7 steps

By:  Susan Dugdale  

- an easily followed format for writing a great speech

Did you know writing a speech doesn't have be an anxious, nail biting experience?

Unsure? Don't be.

You may have lived with the idea you were never good with words for a long time. Or perhaps giving speeches at school brought you out in cold sweats.

However learning how to write a speech is relatively straight forward when you learn to write out loud.

And that's the journey I am offering to take you on: step by step.

To learn quickly, go slow

Take all the time you need. This speech format has 7 steps, each building on the next.

Walk, rather than run, your way through all of them. Don't be tempted to rush. Familiarize yourself with the ideas. Try them out.

I know there are well-advertised short cuts and promises of 'write a speech in 5 minutes'. However in reality they only truly work for somebody who already has the basic foundations of speech writing in place.

The foundation of good speech writing 

These steps are the backbone of sound speech preparation. Learn and follow them well at the outset and yes, given more experience and practice you could probably flick something together quickly. Like any skill, the more it's used, the easier it gets.

In the meantime...

Step 1: Begin with a speech overview or outline

Are you in a hurry? Without time to read a whole page? Grab ... The Quick How to Write a Speech Checklist And come back to get the details later.

• WHO you are writing your speech for (your target audience)
• WHY you are preparing this speech. What's the main purpose of your speech? Is it to inform or tell your audience about something? To teach them a new skill or demonstrate something? To persuade or to entertain? (See 4 types of speeches: informative, demonstrative, persuasive and special occasion or entertaining for more.) What do you want them to think, feel or do as a result of listening the speech?
• WHAT your speech is going to be about (its topic) - You'll want to have thought through your main points and have ranked them in order of importance. And have sorted the supporting research you need to make those points effectively.
• HOW much time you have for your speech eg. 3 minutes, 5 minutes... The amount of time you've been allocated dictates how much content you need. If you're unsure check this page: how many words per minute in a speech: a quick reference guide . You'll find estimates of the number of words required for 1 - 10 minute speeches by slow, medium and fast talkers.

Use an outline

The best way to make sure you deliver a perfect speech is to start by carefully completing a speech outline covering the essentials: WHO, WHY, WHAT and HOW.

Beginning to write without thinking your speech through is a bit like heading off on a journey not knowing why you're traveling or where you're going to end up. You can find yourself lost in a deep, dark, murky muddle of ideas very quickly!

Pulling together a speech overview or outline is a much safer option. It's the map you'll follow to get where you want to go.

Get a blank speech outline template to complete

Click the link to find out a whole lot more about preparing a speech outline . ☺ You'll also find a free printable blank speech outline template.  I recommend using it!

Understanding speech construction

Before you begin to write, using your completed outline as a guide, let's briefly look at what you're aiming to prepare.

• an opening or introduction
• the body where the bulk of the information is given
• and an ending (or summary).

Imagine your speech as a sandwich

If you think of a speech as a sandwich you'll get the idea.

The opening and ending are the slices of bread holding the filling (the major points or the body of your speech) together.

You can build yourself a simple sandwich with one filling (one big idea) or you could go gourmet and add up to three or, even five. The choice is yours.

But whatever you choose to serve, as a good cook, you need to consider who is going to eat it! And that's your audience.

So let's find out who they are before we do anything else. 

Step 2: Know who you are talking to

Understanding your audience.

Did you know a  good speech is never written from the speaker's point of view?  ( If you need to know more about why check out this page on  building rapport .)

Begin with the most important idea/point on your outline.

Consider HOW you can explain (show, tell) that to your audience in the most effective way for them to easily understand it.   

Writing from the audience's point of view

To help you write from an audience point of view, it's a good idea to identify either a real person or the type of person who is most likely to be listening to you.

Make sure you select someone who represents the "majority" of the people who will be in your audience. That is they are neither struggling to comprehend you at the bottom of your scale or light-years ahead at the top.

Now imagine they are sitting next to you eagerly waiting to hear what you're going to say. Give them a name, for example, Joe, to help make them real.

Ask yourself

• How do I need to tailor my information to meet Joe's needs? For example, do you tell personal stories to illustrate your main points? Absolutely! Yes. This is a very powerful technique. (Click storytelling in speeches to find out more.)
• What type or level of language is right for Joe as well as my topic? For example if I use jargon (activity, industry or profession specific vocabulary) will it be understood?

Step 3: Writing as you speak

Writing oral language.

Write down what you want to say about your first main point as if you were talking directly to Joe.

If it helps, say it all out loud before you write it down and/or record it.

Use the information below as a guide

(Click to download The Characteristics of Spoken Language  as a pdf.) 

You do not have to write absolutely everything you're going to say down * but you do need to write down, or outline, the sequence of ideas to ensure they are logical and easily followed.

Remember too, to explain or illustrate your point with examples from your research. 

( * Tip: If this is your first speech the safety net of having everything written down could be just what you need. It's easier to recover from a patch of jitters when you have a word by word manuscript than if you have either none, or a bare outline. Your call!)

Step 4: Checking tone and language

The focus of this step is re-working what you've done in Step 2 and 3.

You identified who you were talking to (Step 2) and in Step 3, wrote up your first main point.  Is it right? Have you made yourself clear?  Check it.

How well you complete this step depends on how well you understand the needs of the people who are going to listen to your speech.

Please do not assume because you know what you're talking about the person (Joe) you've chosen to represent your audience will too. Joe is not a mind-reader!

How to check what you've prepared

• Check the "tone" of your language . Is it right for the occasion, subject matter and your audience?
• Check the length of your sentences. You need short sentences. If they're too long or complicated you risk losing your listeners.

Check for jargon too. These are industry, activity or group exclusive words.

For instance take the phrase: authentic learning . This comes from teaching and refers to connecting lessons to the daily life of students. Authentic learning is learning that is relevant and meaningful for students. If you're not a teacher you may not understand the phrase.

The use of any vocabulary requiring insider knowledge needs to be thought through from the audience perspective. Jargon can close people out.

• Read what you've written out loud. If it flows naturally, in a logical manner, continue the process with your next main idea. If it doesn't, rework.

We use whole sentences and part ones, and we mix them up with asides or appeals e.g. "Did you get that? Of course you did. Right...Let's move it along. I was saying ..."

Click for more about the differences between spoken and written language .

And now repeat the process

Repeat this process for the remainder of your main ideas.

Because you've done the first one carefully, the rest should follow fairly easily.

Step 5: Use transitions

Providing links or transitions between main ideas.

Between each of your main ideas you need to provide a bridge or pathway for your audience. The clearer the pathway or bridge, the easier it is for them to make the transition from one idea to the next.

If your speech contains more than three main ideas and each is building on the last, then consider using a "catch-up" or summary as part of your transitions.

Is your speech being evaluated? Find out exactly what aspects you're being assessed on using this standard speech evaluation form

Link/transition examples

A link can be as simple as:

"We've explored one scenario for the ending of Block Buster 111, but let's consider another. This time..."

What follows this transition is the introduction of Main Idea Two.

Here's a summarizing link/transition example:

"We've ended Blockbuster 111 four ways so far. In the first, everybody died. In the second, everybody died BUT their ghosts remained to haunt the area. In the third, one villain died. His partner reformed and after a fight-out with the hero, they both strode off into the sunset, friends forever. In the fourth, the hero dies in a major battle but is reborn sometime in the future.

And now what about one more? What if nobody died? The fifth possibility..."

Go back through your main ideas checking the links. Remember Joe as you go. Try each transition or link out loud and really listen to yourself. Is it obvious? Easily followed?

Keep them if they are clear and concise.

For more about transitions (with examples) see Andrew Dlugan's excellent article, Speech Transitions: Magical words and Phrases .

Step 6: The end of your speech

The ideal ending is highly memorable . You want it to live on in the minds of your listeners long after your speech is finished. Often it combines a call to action with a summary of major points.

Example speech endings

Example 1: The desired outcome of a speech persuading people to vote for you in an upcoming election is that they get out there on voting day and do so. You can help that outcome along by calling them to register their support by signing a prepared pledge statement as they leave.

"We're agreed we want change. You can help us give it to you by signing this pledge statement as you leave. Be part of the change you want to see!

Example 2: The desired outcome is increased sales figures. The call to action is made urgent with the introduction of time specific incentives.

"You have three weeks from the time you leave this hall to make that dream family holiday in New Zealand yours. Can you do it? Will you do it? The kids will love it. Your wife will love it. Do it now!"

How to figure out the right call to action

A clue for working out what the most appropriate call to action might be, is to go back to your original purpose for giving the speech.

• Was it to motivate or inspire?
• Was it to persuade to a particular point of view?
• Was it to share specialist information?
• Was it to celebrate a person, a place, time or event?

Ask yourself what you want people to do as a result of having listened to your speech.

For more about ending speeches

Visit this page for more about how to end a speech effectively . You'll find two additional types of speech endings with examples.

Write and test

Write your ending and test it out loud. Try it out on a friend, or two. Is it good? Does it work?

Step 7: The introduction

Once you've got the filling (main ideas) the linking and the ending in place, it's time to focus on the introduction.

The introduction comes last as it's the most important part of your speech. This is the bit that either has people sitting up alert or slumped and waiting for you to end. It's the tone setter!

What makes a great speech opening?

Ideally you want an opening that makes listening to you the only thing the 'Joes' in the audience want to do.

You want them to forget they're hungry or that their chair is hard or that their bills need paying.

The way to do that is to capture their interest straight away. You do this with a "hook".

Hooks to catch your audience's attention

Hooks come in as many forms as there are speeches and audiences. Your task is work out what specific hook is needed to catch your audience.

Go back to the purpose. Why are you giving this speech?

Once you have your answer, consider your call to action. What do you want the audience to do, and, or take away, as a result of listening to you?

Next think about the imaginary or real person you wrote for when you were focusing on your main ideas.

Choosing the best hook

• Is it humor?
• Would shock tactics work?
• Is it a rhetorical question?
• Is it formality or informality?
• Is it an outline or overview of what you're going to cover, including the call to action?
• Or is it a mix of all these elements?

A hook example

Here's an example from a fictional political speech. The speaker is lobbying for votes. His audience are predominately workers whose future's are not secure.

"How's your imagination this morning? Good? (Pause for response from audience) Great, I'm glad. Because we're going to put it to work starting right now.

I want you to see your future. What does it look like? Are you happy? Is everything as you want it to be? No? Let's change that. We could do it. And we could do it today.

At the end of this speech you're going to be given the opportunity to change your world, for a better one ...

No, I'm not a magician. Or a simpleton with big ideas and precious little commonsense. I'm an ordinary man, just like you. And I have a plan to share!"

And then our speaker is off into his main points supported by examples. The end, which he has already foreshadowed in his opening, is the call to vote for him.

Prepare several hooks

Experiment with several openings until you've found the one that serves your audience, your subject matter and your purpose best.

For many more examples of speech openings go to: how to write a speech introduction . You'll find 12 of the very best ways to start a speech.

That completes the initial seven steps towards writing your speech. If you've followed them all the way through, congratulations, you now have the text of your speech!

Although you might have the words, you're still a couple of steps away from being ready to deliver them. Both of them are essential if you want the very best outcome possible. They are below. Please take them.

Step 8: Checking content and timing

This step pulls everything together.

Check once, check twice, check three times & then once more!

Go through your speech really carefully.

On the first read through check you've got your main points in their correct order with supporting material, plus an effective introduction and ending.

On the second read through check the linking passages or transitions making sure they are clear and easily followed.

On the third reading check your sentence structure, language use and tone.

Double, triple check the timing

Now go though once more.

This time read it aloud slowly and time yourself.

If it's too long for the time allowance you've been given make the necessary cuts.

Start by looking at your examples rather than the main ideas themselves. If you've used several examples to illustrate one principal idea, cut the least important out.

Also look to see if you've repeated yourself unnecessarily or, gone off track. If it's not relevant, cut it.

Repeat the process, condensing until your speech fits the required length, preferably coming in just under your time limit.

You can also find out how approximately long it will take you to say the words you have by using this very handy words to minutes converter . It's an excellent tool, one I frequently use. While it can't give you a precise time, it does provide a reasonable estimate.

Step 9: Rehearsing your speech

And NOW you are finished with writing the speech, and are ready for REHEARSAL .

Please don't be tempted to skip this step. It is not an extra thrown in for good measure. It's essential.

The "not-so-secret" secret of successful speeches combines good writing with practice, practice and then, practicing some more.

Go to how to practice public speaking and you'll find rehearsal techniques and suggestions to boost your speech delivery from ordinary to extraordinary.

The Quick How to Write a Speech Checklist

Before you begin writing you need:.

• Your speech OUTLINE with your main ideas ranked in the order you're going to present them. (If you haven't done one complete this 4 step sample speech outline . It will make the writing process much easier.)
• Your RESEARCH
• You also need to know WHO you're speaking to, the PURPOSE of the speech and HOW long you're speaking for

The basic format

• the body where you present your main ideas

Split your time allowance so that you spend approximately 70% on the body and 15% each on the introduction and ending.

How to write the speech

• Write your main ideas out incorporating your examples and research
• Link them together making sure each flows in a smooth, logical progression
• Write your ending, summarizing your main ideas briefly and end with a call for action
• Write your introduction considering the 'hook' you're going to use to get your audience listening
• An often quoted saying to explain the process is: Tell them what you're going to tell them (Introduction) Tell them (Body of your speech - the main ideas plus examples) Tell them what you told them (The ending)

TEST before presenting. Read aloud several times to check the flow of material, the suitability of language and the timing.

• Return to top

speaking out loud 

Subscribe for  FREE weekly alerts about what's new For more see  speaking out loud  

Top 10 popular pages

• Welcome speech
• Demonstration speech topics
• Impromptu speech topic cards
• Thank you quotes
• Impromptu public speaking topics
• Farewell speeches
• Phrases for welcome speeches
• Student council speeches
• Free sample eulogies

From fear to fun in 28 ways

A complete one stop resource to scuttle fear in the best of all possible ways - with laughter.

Useful pages

• Search this site
• About me & Contact
• Blogging Aloud
• Free e-course
• Privacy policy

©Copyright 2006-24 www.write-out-loud.com

Designed and built by Clickstream Designs

Start with sound.

• Music Theory
• Routines & Process

How to write a song: Make a song in 7 steps

Illustration: Nhung Lê

Have you ever wanted to learn how to write a song?

Ask any number of accomplished songwriters how they do it, and they’ll likely all tell you something completely different. This is because there’s no single correct way when it comes to how to write a song; like any creative process, it varies greatly from one artist to another.

If you’re just getting started with songwriting, the best thing you can do is simply write as many songs as you can. Somewhere along the way, you’ll figure out what works for you, what steps you like to take, and what gets your creative juices flowing.

That being said, if you’re completely lost and aren’t even sure where to start, we’ve put together seven simple steps for making a song that you can follow. Use them as a starting point—try writing a few songs using this process and you’ll quickly be able to tell whether it’s working for you or if you need to adapt it to fit your own unique style.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at how to write a song with these seven steps:

• Gather ideas for your song
• Play around with the building blocks
• Finalize a theme and structure
• Fill in the blanks in your songwriting
• Note down any musical ideas
• Edit your song
• Finish the song

1. Gather ideas for your song

Every great song starts with an idea. This may be a title, a concept, a lyric, or a melodic phrase.

Though you’ll sometimes want to sit down and intentionally brainstorm ideas, many songwriters share that their best ideas seem to emerge when they least expect them —in the middle of a conversation, while doing the dishes, or in the shower, for example.

Ideas can come from anywhere—something you hear, read, see, remember, or experience. They can come from other songs, movies, books, works of art, or conversations.

The key is to always be ready to record the idea when it strikes you. Keep a notebook with you at all times or use a notes app on your phone for song titles or lyrics. If you have a melody in mind, use your phone’s voice memo app.

When you finally sit down to make a song, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be inspired to write. But the good news is, you’ll always have a bank of ideas to flip through. And while they may not all be song-worthy, there’s bound to be a gem in there somewhere.

If you haven’t had a chance to gather any ideas naturally, or nothing has come to mind, try a songwriting challenge or use a prompt. These will provide specific parameters for you to work within; without them, the infinite number of directions your song can take might simply overwhelm you.

Here are a few songwriting prompts you can try:

• Write a song about your childhood
• Write about your favorite TV, movie, or book character
• Write about your best friend
• Write about a past relationship
• Write about a relationship you wish you had
• Write a letter to your younger self
• Write a letter to your older self
• Write a response to your favorite song
• Write about a social issue you care about
• Write about a dream you had

2. Play around with the building blocks

Now it’s time to start shaping your ideas into an actual song. For this step, it can be helpful to work with an instrument like a piano or guitar, so you can come up with chords alongside the lyrics and melody. If you have access to a DAW (digital audio workstation), you can record your ideas right away and maybe even play around with some basic instrumental parts. You can also use tools like Create to come up with unique Stacks of loops and samples, even if you don’t have immediate access to a DAW.

Look at your notes and recordings, and see what stands out to you, what you can use as-is, and what you’d like to expand on. There are really no rules here—as your bank of ideas grows, you may even find that something you jotted down yesterday fits perfectly with something you wrote six months ago.

Keep playing around with lyrics, melodies, and chords. Some people hear a melody and lyrics at the same time. Some write lyrics like a poem and add a melody later. Others hum a melody first and then think of the words.

Whatever you do, don’t pressure yourself to come up with something great and commit to it. The beauty of this stage is that you can be free to try anything that comes to mind—you can always scrap it or edit it later. And don’t feel like you need to write the song in chronological order, either—feel free to jump around, move lines from one section to another, or use placeholder lyrics for now.

3. Finalize a theme and structure

If you started with a title or a specific concept, you likely already know what your song will be about. However, that’s not always the case; sometimes you’re not sure where the song will go until the building blocks from the previous step help reveal the theme. If you haven’t already, make a decision on what your song will be about, what kind of energy it will have, and what kinds of feelings you want it to evoke.

Once you have your theme, jot down anything else you want to say in your song that you haven’t already. These notes don’t have to look like lyrics right now, but they’ll act as reminders of any important messages you want to include. You’ll turn them into actual lyrics in the next step.

At this point, you should also start to think about your song’s structure. Most songs follow some version of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus, but there are really no rules here. Let your message lead the way—if you have more things to say, don’t be afraid to add an extra verse or change up one of the choruses.

Now is also a good time to think about rhyme schemes. Your song doesn’t have to rhyme. But, if some of your building blocks have a rhyme scheme, it’s a good idea to keep that going. That’s not to say that your rhyme scheme needs to stay the same throughout the entire song—this can be incredibly restricting and lead you to sacrifice meaningful lyrics in favor of forced rhymes. As you write your song, prioritize your message and feel free to change up the rhyme scheme if it feels right.

4. Fill in the blanks in your songwriting

You know what you need to say and where in the song you want to say it—now it’s time to fill those gaps and finish the first draft.

In the previous steps, you’ve set up very specific boundaries for yourself, which can be both a blessing and a challenge. Maybe you need a certain number of lines, your line needs to end on a certain word in order to rhyme, or you jotted down a particular message you want the line to convey.

If these limitations help you be more creative, that’s great! Keep using them to finish your first draft. However, if they’re causing you to get stuck, don’t be afraid to throw them out the window and try something completely different.

5. Note down any musical ideas

While writing the lyrics, chords, and melodies, you may find that you get other ideas about how the song should sound when it’s fully produced. Feel free to pause the songwriting in order to get these ideas down.

If you’re playing an instrument while writing, you’re probably doing a little bit of arranging at the same time. If you’re using a DAW to make music, maybe you start including basslines and creating your own beats, or even record a few ideas for background vocals. All of these elements will help you get a clear idea of how you want the finished song to feel.

Again, there’s no one correct order when it comes to writing songs. Some songwriters who know their way around a DAW can produce an entire demo instrumental while writing the lyrics and melody. Others don’t even pick up an instrument until all of the lyrics have been written.

6. Edit your song

If you’re going to remember just one piece of advice, let it be this— do not skip the editing stage . Your initial ideas may be great, but they can almost always be better.

If you can, spend a few days away from the song to give yourself a break. Then, come back with a fresh perspective.

Look for any lyrics that are cliché, cheesy, or hard to understand. Can you say them in a different way? Also ask yourself, “Am I telling the listener how I feel, or am I showing it?” How can you re-write the line so that the main message stays the same but is conveyed in a unique way?

If you’re not sure which lyrics need editing, play the song all the way through and see if anything bothers you, even just a little. Alternatively, you can play the song for someone else and notice if at any point you get the urge to say “I’ll probably change that” or “I’m still working on that part.”

Feel free to also play around with the melodies and chords. Again, take a break from the song and see if any parts of it get stuck in your head. Do you find yourself humming the chorus or any particular lines? If that doesn’t happen, you could probably make the melody a bit more catchy and memorable.

7. Finish the song

At this point, your song should be finished. If you still haven’t gotten it there or you’re not quite happy with it, you may feel the urge to abandon the project and start writing something new. This is the easy route, but it won’t make you a better songwriter. Instead, you need to actively practice finishing songs.

Finishing songs can be hard —sometimes you don’t know if it’s good enough or when to stop editing. But, it’s an essential skill that every songwriter needs to learn. If you never get comfortable finishing your less-than-great songs, how will you ever know how to finish the ones worth producing and recording?

The truth is, not every song you write will be a hit. In fact, most won’t. But what matters is that you keep writing songs, even if they’ll never see the light of day. Finish every song, even just to get it off your mind and make room for something even better.

How to write a song: Conclusion

You’ve written and finished an entire song—congratulations! What’s next? Get ready to write another one. And then many, many more.

If you’re serious about learning how to write a song, you’ll need to make it a habit. Each time you sit down to make a song, your goal shouldn’t be to write a hit. Rather, your goal should simply be to practice songwriting. The hit song will be a nice byproduct—something you’ll accidentally find under a pile of mediocre ones.

As you practice songwriting, pay attention to your workflow. You may find that the seven-step process we’ve gone over works fine for one song, but you need to completely flip it on its head for the next one. This is perfectly fine and is simply part of the creative process—we make rules and guidelines so that we know how to break them.

Above all, keep writing and keep pushing your own limits. We hope you found these tips on how to write a song helpful, and can’t wait to hear what you’ll create!

Explore royalty-free sounds from leading artists, producers, and sound designers:

April 18, 2022

SAYANA is a contemporary R&B singer-songwriter based in Toronto, Canada. She’s currently releasing a new song every month for a year. Check out her latest release, “Favourite Day” anywhere where you listen to music.

From experimenting with new rhyming schemes to being more intentional about your message, we explore eight tips and techniques that can help you improve your lyrics.

Let’s discuss the concept of song structure and explore the individual song sections that help us turn our ideas into full pieces of music.

Learn how to make beats for a song with this in-depth guide, where we cover everything from the tools you’ll need to how to sequence your own rhythms.

• Browse the Catalog
• Trending Sample Packs
• What’s New
• Browse the Store
• Rent-to-Own
• Free Plugins
• Beatmaker VST
• Desktop App
• Latest posts
• How to Make Music
• The 3 Levels of Sampling
• The Best Free Plugins (2023)
• Belonging @ Splice

© 2024 Splice.com All Rights Reserved

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy

7 Parts of a Song: The Ultimate Song Structure Guide for Songwriters

When it comes to writing a new song, you obviously need to know about musical elements like chord progressions, rhythm, tempo, and so on. But at a deeper level, your first task is to understand the 7 different  parts of a song that can make up its structure.

Well, just like you (hopefully!) wouldn’t try to assemble that new IKEA end table without understanding the pieces you’re working with, you wouldn’t attempt to write an entire song without knowing all the different parts at your disposal. Right?

So, in this epic guide, we’ll talk about  each  of these 7 different parts – plus the 4 common song structures that use them – so you have everything you need to write better songs! 

The 7 Parts of a Song

While people may categorize or define them in slightly differently ways, here’s my list of the 7 essential building blocks of modern popular songs:

With that said, here’s a look at each one and how they function as part of the greater whole!

Songs have to start  somewhere , don’t they?

In reality, the intro might be a few bars of the main instrumental hook, a few strummed chords, or even a spoken intro (like in T.I.’s  Whatever You Like ). Another common intro trope is the main riff or chorus backing track, but with the drums removed. This allows for a buildup, a big drum fill, and then an exciting resolution when the full drum part kicks in!

Many songs don’t have a dedicated, unique intro, especially today. In decades past, your song would have a musical intro to give the radio DJ a chance to finish reading off his script while the song fades in. Intros also help transition between two songs on an album where one plays before the other!

Ah, the verse. Please allow me to wax poetic about the single most creative part of the song. Yes, it’s the verse – not the chorus – where most of the creativity lies.

Verses are like fries and ketchup together : enough that’s the same to be comfortable, but enough that’s different to add some nice flavor.

There is no universally accepted rule for what a verse is. But here are some rules of thumb for distinguishing verses from other parts of a song:

Finally, the easiest way to tell the difference between a verse and a chorus is that the chorus tends to repeat with the same music and lyrics, while the verse changes its lyrics.

For example, the hook in a song tends to be in the chorus , which means the surrounding sections are probably a song’s verses. Another clue: verses tend to move stories along, while choruses tend to reflect on a moment or concept!

3) Pre-Chorus

Most songs follow a basic structure that involves alternating verses and choruses. But sometimes, you need another song element to split the two up.

But what’s for certain is that if you have a few bars after the verse and before the chorus that feel like a transition, that’s a pre-chorus.

Not every song needs a pre-chorus. That said, they’re a wonderful tool for building interest as you move from your verse to your chorus.

The verse is fast-paced, but slows down during the pre-chorus. Simultaneously, the wall of sound behind the vocals start to build. It accumulates, then drops out for the last lines of the pre-chorus, only to return dramatically for the chorus.

More often than not, this is the part of a song that will stick with your listener forevermore. The chorus is the most likely place for your song’s hook – and the title of the song – to appear. 

Choruses usually convey the main message or theme of the song.

Because it’s the central idea of the song, choruses tend to repeat as well.

Sometimes, the verse or bridge in between can help paint the chorus in a new light each time it comes up.

Before we move on from the chorus, we ought to talk about the difference between a chorus and a  refrain.  The distinction is subtle, but it essentially comes down to how attached the chorus is to the verse.

Musically, most choruses are distinct from the sections around them. They might feature a key change, new instrumentation, or even a dramatic pause during transitions – but a refrain is simply appended to the end of a verse.

Every verse ends with the same two lines:

“The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind”

If you can’t, try literally any song ever.

5) Post-Chorus

Sometimes a chorus is so good, you don’t want it to end!

A great example of a post-chorus is Rihanna and Jay-Z’s “Umbrella.” After singing a fairly long chorus and saying the title, Rihanna doesn’t stop: she repeats “Umbrella (ella, ella, eh, eh, eh)” a few times.

A lot of songs also have purely musical post-choruses after their chorus before they get into the next verse. Think of the cool riff that plays after each chorus in “The Boys Are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy.

Bridges are easy to identify. Here’s one right now:

Think of Outkast’s “Hey Ya!”. While the hook might get stuck in your head, it’s hardly had the cultural influence that “Shake it like a Polaroid Picture” has.

Bridges are so diverse that we have to break them down into a few different sub-categories!

When your band wants to show off someone’s awesome musicianship, the solo is where that can happen. Take a listen to this solo in Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”:

Middle 8s are a specific type of bridge that usually serves as a turning point in the story. You’ll usually find a key change during or after a Middle 8 because it represents the change happening in the song’s narrative.

Quick note for the sticklers out there: A Middle 8 does NOT have to be in the center of a song, nor does it have to be exactly 8 bars long!

And now for a brief  interlude …

Interludes are like very small solos that transition between sections of songs. They’re like extremely short bridges, though they might repeat. A great example is Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality.”

The outro is the ending of the song. It  can  be its own new musical idea, but it’s most often just a bombastic version of the chorus. It usually brings back other tags or hooks from earlier in the song, while also including elements not heard before to bring everything home. 

In the old days, songs often faded out while the band played on. That sort of outro is  less popular these days , but that doesn’t mean outros themselves are less popular.

Some songs have purely musical outros (the Red Hot Chili Peppers song “Slow Cheetah” has nearly a minute of music after the last lyrics is sung).

Other songs reuse their own lyrics – take Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”

But you played it – You played it –  You played it –  You played it to the beat.

By repeating the last line of her chorus, she creates an outro that sticks with the listener as the song comes to a close on the last beat. 

Basic Song Structure for Pop Songs

There are all kinds of songs out there that sound totally different from each other, but if you pay attention, you’ll realize that 99% of them are using some combination of the 7 parts of a song I discussed earlier.

The “default” song structure for any pop song is as follows:

Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus – Chorus/Outro

If all you did was just write songs using this format, you’d be fine at least 90% of the time.

Employing Theme and Variation

The “theme” is your default musical idea, while the “variations” are what keep things interesting throughout the duration of a song.

For example, a typical song structure will establish the theme with a simple intro, verse, and chorus, and then vary things up with a bridge, subsequent choruses, and an outro.

The point is, your choice of song structure plays a key role in how these themes and variations occur in your song. Use the 7 parts of a song carefully to heighten the message you want to convey!

4 Common Song Structures with Examples

Now, you can find countless examples of successful songs that follow the “default” structure I just mentioned. And if you’re looking for a place to start, it’s hard to go wrong with that one!

To illustrate a wider range of song structures, I’ve chosen a quick selection of pop songs. Each song uses a unique combination of the songs parts above.

But even though none of them use the EXACT same structure, the cool thing is, ALL of them are well-loved songs in their own right! Check it out.

“Brave” by Sara Bareilles

Verse – Chorus – Post-chorus – Verse – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus – Outro

Like many pop songs, the chorus after the bridge is a quieter, stripped-down arrangement that bursts into a full triumphant outro.

Also of note: the outro is essentially the post-chorus hook on repeat, but it also pulls in the main chorus hook, plus some other varied elements that end the song on a powerful note.

“Cake by the Ocean” by DNCE

Verse – Pre-chorus – Chorus – Verse – Pre-chorus – Chorus – Post-chorus – Interlude – Chorus – Outro

The song also features a one-time post-chorus that transitions into a brief interlude (it’s not really a full bridge), before jumping back into the chorus. By the time we hit the outro, DNCE has a totally new hook there to bring us home, but still drops in the primary chorus hook as well.

“Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran

The song “Shape of You” by Sheeran is one of the most popular songs ever made, at least if you go by number of streams on Spotify and YouTube (or by its endless airplay on terrestrial radio in 2017).

Intro – Verse – Pre-chorus – Chorus – Post-chorus – Verse – Pre-chorus – Chorus – Post-chorus – Bridge – Chorus – Outro

It starts with an instrumental intro of its main riff, which plays under most of the song and adds stability between sections. But because of that consistency in the accompaniment, Sheeran can switch up the melody every few bars to keep the listener’s attention.

The song ends by pulling in the hook from the bridge for its outro.

“People Are Strange” by The Doors

Verse – Chorus – Interlude – Verse – Chorus – Solo – Outro

Does this mean simplicity is bad? Not at all!

EDM Song Structure

I also wanted to point out the structure for an electronic (EDM) song. 

This one is treated a little differently than the standard pop song, because it’s all centered around the idea of a bass drop. 

Intro – Riff/Hook – Crescendo/Drop – Riff/Hook – Outro

Songs Without a Common Structure

Did you know that it’s possible to have a successful song that doesn’t follow the typical pop song structure? (Including some that lack any repeating elements at ALL?)

And songs that are “through-composed” might return to a familiar idea as well. Take Billy Joel’s “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” It returns to the “a bottle of…” section a few times.

But in the end, your goal should be to make these parts of a song work together to support your vision for the song.

If you want to get better at writing memorable music that resonates, I recommend that you get familiar with an instrument like piano . The more you know about how great songs are constructed sonically, the easier it will be for you to create a masterpiece yourself. Check out Piano for All below to get started!

Related Posts

How to start off a song: 11 song intro ideas to hook your listeners, 101 songwriting prompts: quick ideas for writing hit songs, can two different songs have the same name, how many chords do you need to know to write a song, i'm daniel and i love songwriting, learn piano, special offer.

How do I Write a Song Analysis Essay?

How to Analyze a Poem in Middle School

A good song is like poetry put to music, making it more difficult to analyze than some people might think. A song is full of literary devices and figurative language, and the music develops tone and mood. When writing an essay about a song, you can't pay attention to the lyrics alone. The way the melody accompanies the lyrics can intensify or even change their emotional meaning, because music is a language on its own.

Listen and Brainstorm

Listen to the song a few times. Without thinking too much about stylistic specifics yet, write down how the song affects you. Decide how it makes you feel, and try to discern a central theme or message.

Read Closely and Analyze

Get a printout of the song lyrics so you can scrutinize them more closely. Scour the words for literary devices and consider how their use affects the meaning and feel of the song. For example, consonance, the repetition of consonant sounds, especially after a stressed vowel, can make a line of poetry sound harsher to the ear. A songwriter might use it in a song lyric to communicate frustration over a recent breakup or to create emphasis by making the sounds stand out more.

Consider the Music

Listen to the song again with your notes in front of you. Consider how the music aligns with the words. Cock your ears for crescendos, pauses, instruments fading in or out of the arrangement and tempo changes. Ask yourself how these details enrich the meaning of the lyrics and contribute to the effects of poetic devices. Music with a fast tempo might make listeners more aware of sound devices like consonance, whereas music with a slow tempo can give listeners more time to think about imagery and symbolism in the lyrics. Record your ideas.

Research the Historical Context

Research the historical, social and political context of the song. Music is often reflective of life experience, so knowledge of world events and prevailing attitudes might affect your interpretation. For example, some people think that Don McLean's "American Pie" is a commentary on changes to American culture at the time, and Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" touches on environmental concerns at the beginning of the modern American environmental movement.

Examine the Album

Study the song within the context of the entire album. Ask yourself whether the album has a theme and how the song you've chosen to analyze contributes to its overall feel. Look at the order of the tunes, and decide if the artist chose a deliberate progression of songs to convey a message. Incorporate your ideas into your analysis, using specific evidence to support your assertions.

Organize Your Notes

Examine the observations you've gathered, and look for a common thread that ties them together. Link your detailed observations to your general impression of the song. Your conclusion about the song will be the thesis for your essay. Choose which specific examples you'll use to support your argument. Be mindful of how long your analysis is expected to be, and choose the number of specific examples you can thoroughly discuss within those parameters.

Write Your First Draft

Draft your paper, and don't forget to use regular conventions of essay writing such as punctuation, spelling and grammar. Also remember to consider any special instructions from your teacher. State your thesis and briefly outline your main arguments in the introduction. Devote the body of your essay to expanding your supporting points. Restate your argument and summarize what your paper discussed in the conclusion. Edit your paper for spelling, grammar and clarity. Have someone else read your essay and provide constructive criticism before writing a final draft.

Related Articles

How to Write a Review of a Poetry Book

Dramatic Reading Speech Ideas

List of Poetic Devices for Seventh Grade English

Oral Interpretation Speech Topics

Spanish Oral Presentation Topics

How to Write an Autobiography for a College Assignment

What Is the Theme for a Ballad?

High School Spanish Projects

• Purdue Online Writing Lab: Writing About Poetry

A professional writer since 2006, Colleen Reinhart has held positions in technical writing and marketing. She also writes lifestyle, health and business articles. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Business degree from the University of Waterloo, and a Master's degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Toronto.

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

How should we write a passage where a character sings?

I am wondering how to do this in a novel. Do you write the song (lyrics) in its entirety in one single spurt, or do you spurt a verse at a time interspersed with descriptions of the surroundings/actions/emotions? I really want to write a scene in my novel where the female character sings, but I have no idea how to do this properly. By the way, I am not asking how to format the lyrics.

• creative-writing

• I'm not sure if you are aware of the contest that's going on, but you have several qualifying questions, make sure you update the meta post to get your entries in! –  linksassin ♦ Commented Mar 5, 2019 at 2:50
• 2 Possible duplicate of Is there a standard for dealing with lyrics in dialogue and narration in creative writing? –  Cyn Commented Mar 5, 2019 at 5:14
• 1 I don't think it's quite a duplicate. The linked question focuses more on formatting included lyrics, and this one on how and whether to include them. –  prosepraise Commented Mar 6, 2019 at 2:26

2 Answers 2

It depends on the purpose of the song.

Songs in fiction can serve multiple purposes. They can provide lore and background details, they can be used as a metaphor, they can portray emotion or conflict, they can foreshadow, reflect or mirror events of the story, they can be used for character development and a whole host of other things. How you need to write them will depend on the message you are trying to convey.

The question you need to ask yourself: Is the message in the content of the song or the characters reaction to them?

The answer to this question should tell your whether you need to include the entire transcript of the song or merely describe its effects on the characters.

Methods I have seen

Include the entire transcript followed by an explanation..

This is the method that takes up the most space in your writing. It should establish the song as an important message or turning point of the story. If you are familiar with Tolkien's work then you will be familiar with this style. Though I would suggest not copying his example of including entire transcript of songs in fictional languages.

Only include a description of the song

This method is good for when the content of the song is unimportant or secondary to the characters reaction. Describe in broad terms the topic and style of the song but keep the narrative focus on how it effects the characters.

You can also use this method if you are struggling to write a song with the desired effect. It is a lot harder to write a good sad song then to say the song was good and made the character feel sad.

Include snippets of the song

This is my personal favourite approach and is a combination of the previous two. Include short snippets of the song, usually the first and last verse and any relevant ones in between. Break up the snippets with exposition on the characters reaction, descriptions of the song and details of its performance.

Using this method is the most flexible and lets you only focus on the part of the song that matter. Additionally it prevents the reader from getting bored skipping the song as I have been known to do upon occasion.

Include the full text in the appendix

This is an option if you are particularly keen on writing the song itself and want to share it, but don't like the way it fits in the main body of the text. There are no drawbacks to this approach but I question how much value it adds since few readers will bother with it.

Examples in fiction

I have already mentioned Tolkien. He used songs and poetry extensively through the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. As I mentioned he favoured including entire transcripts of the songs, even the ones in elvish. I wouldn't suggest it but being familiar with the style is a good idea.

The Kingkiller Chronicles (The Name of the Wind) by Patrick Rothfuss heavily focus on songs and their meaning as a central motivation for the main character. He favours the third approach and does it brilliantly. I cannot suggest these books highly enough in general but particularly if you are looking for good examples of songs in fiction.

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini is another example. Though guilty of poor, lazy or immature writing (depending on opinion) in a lot of ways, these books do include songs in a good way. He varies his approach for different songs and scenes throughout the series.

I love well used songs in fiction, particularly when used to combine lore with an allegory for character development. I encourage you to write the song and experiment with how to include it. Write the scene multiple times and see which works best. Don't be afraid to modify the song to fit better with the prose around it.

• 1 It's also worth noting that Tolkien uses all the methods you describe quite liberally in his works. We just remember the longer transcripts most clearly because they tend to break the flow. –  Deolater Commented Mar 5, 2019 at 15:21
• I was going to answer this question, but yours is close enough to what I was going to say plus more details, so +1 here instead! Which method to be used is really very dependent on context, what is the situation where the character is singing, how serious is the song, is the song directly plot relevant, etc. Context, context, context! –  MarielS Commented Nov 6, 2020 at 1:53

I would say that quite a few different methods are possible. I have read books where a few lines are given, followed by paragraphs or even pages of description of how the characters react, followed by a few more lines, and so on. I have read examples where the entire lyric is given in one place. And ones in which a character describes how he or she reacted to the song, without ever quoting one word. All of these worked, for me. It depends on the effect desired. It also depends on whether you are going to have the character sing an existing song that can be simply referred to by name, or one that you write yourself.

You might look at the various scenes where music is played (not sung) in the Aubry / Maturin books by Patrick O'Brian. There the music, and the shared creation of it, is a significant bond between the characters. It is also used as a way of showing the changing moods of the participating characters. And that is just one example that comes to mind.

Your Answer

Reminder: Answers generated by artificial intelligence tools are not allowed on Writing Stack Exchange. Learn more

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest.

Required, but never shown

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy .

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged creative-writing lyrics or ask your own question .

• Featured on Meta
• Upcoming initiatives on Stack Overflow and across the Stack Exchange network...
• We spent a sprint addressing your requests — here’s how it went

Hot Network Questions

• Position where last x halfmoves are determined
• Are there conditions for an elliptic Fq-curve to have a quadratic Fq-cover of the line without ramification Fq-points?
• Is there an economic incentive to use p2wsh over p2tr?
• Why should I meet my advisor even if I have nothing to report?
• Evil God Challenge: What if an evil god is just trolling humanity and that explains why there's good in the world?
• What is the value of air anisotropy?
• How to clean up interrupted edge loops using geometry nodes and fill holes with quad faces?
• Why is pressure in the outermost layer of a star lower than at its center?
• Book in 90's (?) about rewriting your own genetic code
• I want to leave my current job during probation but I don't want to tell the next interviewer I am currently working
• Correlation for Small Dataset?
• Blender UV map is very small resolution using TexTool addon
• Could someone translate & explain the Mesorah?
• PWM Dimming of a Low-Voltage DC Incandescent Filament (Thermal Shock?)
• Identify rear derailleur (Shimano 105 - medium or short)
• Examples of distribution for which first-order condition is not enough for MLE
• Con permiso to enter your own house?
• Can a criminal litigator introduce new evidence if it is pursuant to the veracity of a winess?
• What does '\($*\)' mean in sed regular expression in a makefile?
• Why would a plane be allowed to fly to LAX but not Maui?
• Do we know a lower bound or the exact number of 3-way races in France's 2nd round of elections in 2024?
• If a lambda is declared as a default argument, is it different for each call site?
• Imagining Graham's number in your head collapses your head to a Black hole
• Did the BBC censor a non-binary character in Transformers: EarthSpark?

Back to Blog

Music Theory

How To Write a Song Like a Pro: The Ultimate 7-Step Guide To Songwriting

by Dusti Miraglia

Songwriting can be an overwhelming process…

But it doesn’t have to be.

Today, we’ll be unleashing the ultimate secrets to writing songs that resonate with listeners and top the charts.

Whether you’re a seasoned songwriter or just starting your journey, this guide is your go-to resource for crafting unforgettable tunes, writing melodies , creating lyrics, and everything in between.

It’ll have your listeners begging for more.

We’ll dive into a comprehensive 7-step process, breaking down the songwriting process from start to finish 一 from finding inspiration to mastering your final track.

By the time you’re done with this step-by-step guide, you’ll never have to question how to write a song again.

Let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

Step 1: Finding Inspiration

Song structure: examples & methods, customize your structure, lyric lines: unleash your raw material, craft verse lyrics that tell a story, design a powerful chorus lyric, experiment with rhyme schemes and structure, polish & revise your lyrics, melodic contour, creating contrast with your chorus, balance simplicity and complexity, rhythm & phrasing, emphasize the hook, build on the verse melody, use a higher pitch range, simplify the rhythm, experiment with chord substitutions, play with harmonic rhythm, modulate to a new key, revise your lyrics, refine your melody and chords, build dynamics, mixing & mastering, get feedback from others, fine-tune your arrangement & production, how to write a song: bonus tips.

Inspiration is the fuel behind writing your own songs, especially when you’re first starting out.

Without it, the process can be tedious and uninspiring.

You might even want to give up before you even start.

So, how do you find that spark to ignite your creativity?…

1. Draw From Personal Experience

When learning how to write a song, one of the most authentic sources of inspiration can come from your own life.

Think about the most intense experiences you’ve had, the emotions you’ve felt, and the stories you can tell.

Reflect on your relationships, past and present, your struggles and triumphs, and even your dreams and aspirations.

This is also a great way to come up with your song title.

Personal experiences give your songwriting depth and authenticity, and your listeners will certainly be able to tell.

It will resonate with your audience on a much deeper level.

Think about your favorite song… can’t you feel the singer feeling the emotions they’re singing about?

2. Explore Different Genres

Another way to find inspiration is by listening to different genres of music.

Broadening your musical palette can introduce you to new sounds, melodies, chord progressions , and song structures that you might not have encountered before.

Don’t be afraid to venture outside your comfort zone and explore various musical styles.

You never know where you’ll find that unique element to spice up your songwriting.

Hybrid genres are especially popular right now, you never know, you could create the first of its kind.

3. Use Prompts & Challenges

Sometimes, when you write songs, all you need to kickstart your creative process is a little push.

Songwriting prompts and challenges can provide you with a starting point to build upon.

Look for video tutorials and prompts online.

Join songwriting groups or forums, or even participate in songwriting challenges to enhance your songwriting skills.

These activities can help you break free from writer’s block and encourage you to write without overthinking.

You can even collaborate with accomplished songwriters and ask questions about song ideas, practical tips, and music in general.

Step 2: Developing a Song Structure 

When writing songs, a well-crafted song structure provides a framework for your lyrics, melody, and advanced chord progressions .

They carefully guide your listeners through a satisfying musical journey.

The key is to strike a balance between repetition and variety, creating a sense of familiarity while still keeping things fresh and engaging.

There are several tried-and-true song structures that many successful songs use, including:

• Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus (ABABCB) 一 This is one of the most popular structures in contemporary music.

For example, think of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” or Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.”

• Verse-Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus (AABAB) 一 This song structure, often used in folk and storytelling songs, delays the introduction of the chorus.

Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” and The Beatles’ “Yesterday” are great examples.

• Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus (ABAB) 一 In this simplified song structure, the bridge is omitted, focusing on the interplay between verses and choruses.

Radiohead’s song “Creep” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” both use this song structure.

While it’s helpful to start with a common structure as a foundation, don’t be afraid to customize it to suit your unique vision.

You might choose to include something unconventional when you write a song, such as:

• A pre-chorus to build anticipation
• An instrumental break to showcase your musical prowess
• A surprise key change to keep your listeners on their toes

Ultimately, the structure, including the pre-chorus, should serve your song’s mood, overall narrative, and emotional tone.

You’ll find your unique style along the way, just don’t forget to experiment and play around with different elements.

Step 3: Writing Lyrics

Writing captivating lyrics is an essential skill for any aspiring songwriter.

To write lyrics that will resonate with your audience, you need to:

• Delve into the heart of your emotions
• Craft compelling narratives
• Find the perfect balance of poetic beauty and raw honesty

Let’s dive into some key tips to help you write song lyrics that will captivate your listeners:

Start by jotting down your thoughts, feelings, and ideas—your raw material—as they come to you.

Don’t worry about structure or rhythm just yet.

This process allows you to access your innermost thoughts and emotions, providing a rich foundation for your lyric lines.

When writing your verse lyrics, focus on storytelling and creating vivid imagery.

Each verse lyric line should build upon the previous one in a very fluid, natural way.

It should weave a tapestry of emotions, memories, and experiences that your audience can relate to.

Remember, the verse is your opportunity to set the stage, introduce characters, and draw your listeners into your world.

The chorus lyric is the emotional core of your song.

It provides the central message or theme that your audience will remember.

To write an unforgettable chorus:

• Aim for simplicity and repetition
• Make sure it’s insanely catchy
• Use strong, evocative language that encapsulates the essence of your song

You may even consider slightly tweaking the lyrics between the first chorus and the second chorus.

This can help you write music that maintains intrigue and keeps your listeners engaged.

As you refine your lyrics, play around with different rhyme schemes and structures to find the perfect fit for your song.

Whether it’s a traditional AABB, ABAB, or a more unconventional pattern, the right rhyme scheme can enhance the flow and impact of your lyrics.

Keep in mind that breaking the rules can sometimes lead to the most memorable and distinctive songs.

Don’t be afraid to take risks and push boundaries.

Once you’ve crafted your verse and chorus, take a step back and assess your lyric writing.

You’ll want to ask yourself:

• Are my words and phrases effectively conveying my emotions? 
• Are my rhymes engaging?
• Are my lyrics thought-provoking? 

Be prepared to revise and rework your lyrics until it truly sounds good.

By following these songwriting tips and embracing your creativity, you’ll be well on your way to writing lyrics that will captivate and inspire.

Remember, the key to crafting unforgettable lyrics is to stay true to your emotions, dig deep, and never be afraid to take risks.

Step 4: Creating a Verse Melody

The verse melody sets the tone for your song and supports your vocal melodies by conveying emotion and creating a sense of dynamics.

Creating a captivating melody for your verses is certainly vital if you’re going to write a song like a pro.

You don’t want the same melody or common song structure as everyone else, so it’s time to get creative.

The contour of your own melody refers to the shape created by the pitches shifting as they rise and fall.

To create an engaging melodic verse, experiment with various contours, combining ascending and descending phrases , leaps, and steps.

This will help your melody stand out from many songs and capture your listeners’ attention.

One of the keys to a memorable melody is the effective use of repetition and variation.

Repeating certain melodic phrases can help create a sense of familiarity.

Plus, it introduces subtle variations to keep your melody fresh and engaging.

For example, in Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” the melody (verse) repeats a simple rhythmic pattern with slight variations in pitch.

This creates a catchy, memorable tune that you’ll surely remember.

When crafting your verse’s melody, consider how it will interact with your chorus melody.

Aim for a contrast between the two sections to make your song more unique and dynamic.

This could involve:

• Using a different rhythmic pattern
• Incorporating a change in pitch
• Exploring a different tonality altogether

In Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” the verse melody features a subdued, staccato rhythm, while the chorus explodes with a soaring, anthemic quality.

Striking the right balance between simplicity and complexity is essential for a successful verse melody.

While you want your melody to be catchy and easy to remember, you also want to avoid being overly predictable or monotonous.

When you write a song, always experiment with different melodic ideas, and don’t be afraid to take risks and shock people.

Sometimes, a surprising melodic twist or unexpected note can be the perfect touch to make your verse stand out.

Step 5: Crafting a Chorus Melody

Chorus melodies are often the emotional climax of your favorite songs the song.

It provides a memorable and powerful hook that leaves a lasting impression on your listeners.

You want them to have the chorus lyric of your song stuck in their heads for days.

Here are some tips for creating an unforgettable chorus melody for your own songs:

In addition to pitch, the rhythm and phrasing of your melody play a crucial role in defining its character.

Pay attention to the natural rhythm of your lyrics.

You don’t want them to seem lackluster or crowded.

To add extra interest and momentum:

• Add syncopation

• Use repetition

• Incorporate varying phrase lengths

Be sure to leave room for breaths and pauses.

They can enhance the emotional impact of your melody.

A strong hook is a key component of a successful chorus.

The hook is a catchy, memorable phrase or melody that grabs your listeners’ attention and sticks in their minds long after the song has ended.

When writing your chorus melody, focus on creating a distinct and memorable hook that stands out from the rest of your song.

Think of the line from Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” where the iconic “Mama mia, let me go” serves as a powerful and unforgettable hook.

While your chorus melody should contrast with your verses’ melody, it should also build upon and complement it.

This can be achieved by using similar melodic motifs or rhythmic patterns while introducing new elements that add excitement and energy.

For example, in Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” the chorus melody compliments the verse’s rhythmic pattern and melodic phrases.

While simultaneously elevating the energy and emotion of the entire song.

One common technique for creating an impactful chorus melody is to use a higher pitch range than the melody of your verse.

This can help emphasize the emotional intensity of the chorus and make it stand out from the rest of the song.

In Beyoncé’s “Halo,” the chorus soars to a higher pitch range.

It creates a sense of emotional release for this great song and provides a dramatic contrast to the more subdued melody.

While the melody of your verse may have a more intricate rhythmic pattern, simplifying the rhythm in your chorus can help make it more accessible and memorable for your listeners.

It allows the chorus to act as a musical anchor and provides a moment of clarity and focus amidst the more complex verse sections.

In Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,” the chorus features a simple, repetitive rhythm that contrasts with the more syncopated verse.

This is why it’s instantly recognizable and easy to sing along to.

Step 6: Building Chord Progressions

Chord progressions form the harmonic foundation of your song.

They support your melody and lyrics by creating a sense of:

Familiar progressions provide a strong foundation for most songs.

So, starting with a common chord progression can really resonate with your audience.

They can help create a sense of cohesion and familiarity that your listeners will appreciate.

Some popular progressions include:

• I-IV-V (e.g., C-G-F) 一 Creates a sense of familiarity and stability, evoking feelings of comfort and warmth.

• I-V-vi-IV (e.g., C-G-Am-F) 一 Offers a mix of uplifting and emotional resonance, capturing a blend of nostalgia and hopefulness.

• ii-V-I (e.g., Dm-G-C) 一 Elicits a sophisticated, jazzy vibe, providing a sense of satisfaction as it resolves to the tonic chord.

This chord structure can be found in countless popular songs, from The Beatles’ “Let It Be” (I-IV-V) to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” (I-V-vi-IV).

Chord substitutions can add a sense of surprise and sophistication to your progressions.

For example, you might replace a IV chord with a ii chord, or a V chord with a vii° chord.

You should try this method out for a number of reasons, such as:

• Chord substitutions can add harmonic interest and unpredictability.

Generally speaking, they keep the listener engaged by challenging their expectations and preventing the song from sounding too repetitive.

• Using chord substitutions can create smoother voice leading.

This can make the transitions between chords feel more seamless and natural, ultimately enhancing the overall musical flow and cohesion.

• Chord substitutions allow for greater emotional expression.

Replacing a chord with an alternative can subtly change the mood or atmosphere of a passage.

It can provide you with more creative possibilities to evoke specific feelings or emotions.

• Chord substitutions can be used to build tension and anticipation.

This, in turn, makes the resolution to the original chord even more satisfying and impactful for the listener.

• Chord substitutions can showcase your knowledge of music theory.

When you add chords that replace existing chords, it emphasizes your ability to craft unique and sophisticated music.

The harmonic rhythm refers to the rate at which your chords change in your progression.

By varying the harmonic rhythm, you can create a sense of tension that keeps your listeners engaged.

For instance, you might change chords every two beats during the verse, and then slow down the changes to every four beats during the chorus.

This can create a sense of contrast and help build anticipation for the chorus.

In Coldplay’s great song “Viva La Vida,” the chords change rapidly during the verses, while the harmonic rhythm slows down in the chorus.

This adds a sense of grandeur and impact.

Modulating to a new key can provide an exciting twist to your song and add a sense of emotional depth.

This can be particularly effective during the bridge section, or as a climactic moment in your chorus.

For example, in Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” the final chorus modulates up to a higher note range.

This created a sense of emotional release and provided a powerful climax to the song.

Remember, you’ll want to incorporate something that emotionally sticks with your audience when you’re learning how to write a song.

Step 7: Polishing and Fine-Tuning Your Song

After you’ve completed the writing process, it’s time to polish and fine-tune your song to make it the best it can be.

Your masterpiece isn’t quite done yet though, as you’ll need to ensure it’s radio ready.

Give your lyrics a thorough review.

Look for any areas that could be improved, clarified, or tweaked a tad.

Consider your:

• Overall Flow
• Choice of words
• Vocal Effects

Plus, make sure they effectively convey your intended message and emotions.

Don’t be afraid to rewrite or rework sections until they feel just right.

Take a critical listen to your melody and chord progressions.

Be sure to locate any areas that could be more engaging, captivating, or harmonically interesting.

Try to envision how you would feel from a listener’s perspective… would you be intrigued? Bored? Engaged?

Experiment with different melodic phrases or chord substitutions.

Your verse and chorus lyrics and melodies should complement each other and create a sense of beautiful contrast.

Dynamics play a crucial role in maintaining interest and evoking connection.

Use different levels of intensity, and texture throughout your arrangement to create a sense of contrast and movement.

For example, you might start with a sparse, intimate verse before building up to a full, powerful chorus.

When you write a song, be mindful of how each section flows into the next; ensuring a smooth and engaging experience.

The final stage of the songwriting process is refining your whole song through mixing and mastering .

Mixing 一 Involves balancing the levels of each instrument, applying effects such as reverb or compression , and creating a polished sound.

Mastering 一 Is the process of optimizing your track for playback on various devices and platforms.

While you can certainly learn to mix and master your own music, it’s often helpful to work with a professional audio engineer.

At least until you’re confident enough to do it yourself.

One of the best ways to improve your song is to get feedback from others.

Share your work with fellow musicians, friends, or family members.

Don’t be afraid to ask for their honest opinions about your song’s flow, different melodies, and overall music choices.

Be open to constructive criticism, and use it to refine and strengthen your song.

Remember, needing improvement is not a sign of weakness.

Take the time to perfect your arrangement and production.

This might involve reworking your instrumentations, refining your mix , or even collaborating with other musicians or producers to bring your vision to life.

The goal is to create a polished, professional-sounding final product that does justice to your creative vision.

The more you write, the better you’ll become.

So, keep honing your craft, and don’t be afraid to take risks and push your creative boundaries.

Now that we’ve covered all the basics, let’s explore some additional tips and insights to help you on your songwriting journey, starting with collaborations.

Collaborating with other musicians and songwriters can be an excellent way to:

• Expand your skills
• Learn new techniques
• Gain fresh perspectives

Don’t be afraid to reach out to fellow musicians, join songwriting groups, or participate in collaborative projects.

Developing strong relationships within the music industry can help you protect and promote your great songs.

Network with other songwriters, musicians, producers, and industry professionals to gain support, knowledge, and opportunities for collaboration.

Attend music conferences, workshops, and industry events to expand your network and stay informed about the latest trends and developments in the business.

• 1. Learn From The Pros Themselves

One of the best ways to improve your songwriting is to study the work of successful DJs , artists, and songwriters.

Analyze their songs, paying close attention to their lyrics, melodies, chord progressions, and structures.

Ask yourself:

• What makes their music stand out? 
• What techniques do they use? 
• How do they engage and captivate their audience? 

By learning from the pros, you can gain valuable insights and inspiration to apply to your own work.

• 2. Refine Your Skills

Like any art form, songwriting requires practice, patience, and perseverance.

Set aside regular time to write a few songs, work on your progressions, or even learn how to mix vocals .

The most beneficial things you can do is experiment, make mistakes, and learn from your experiences.

Remember, the journey to writing a good song is just as important as the destination.

• 3. Set Goals

Instead of aiming for perfection, set achievable goals for your songwriting sessions.

This might include writing a single verse, coming up with a melody, or developing a chord progression .

When writing songs, breaking the process down into smaller tasks can make it feel more manageable and less daunting.

Accept that not every song will be a good song, and that’s okay.

Learning how to write a song is a process, after all.

Sometimes, the process of writing a less-than-perfect song can lead to valuable insights and growth.

Give yourself permission to write “bad” songs, knowing that you can always revise and improve upon them later.

• 4. Copyright Your Music

Educate yourself about music publishing and royalties to ensure you receive proper compensation for your work.

Register your songs with a performing rights organization (PRO) like ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC to collect royalties for the public performance of your music.

You should also familiarize yourself with mechanical royalties, sync licensing , and other revenue streams available to songwriters.

This will provide you with the necessary protection in case someone attempts to submit your music without your permission or claim your hit song as their own.

Learning how to write a song like a pro is a journey of self-discovery, experimentation, and growth.

By following this 7-step guide and embracing the songwriting tools provided, you’ll be well on your way to crafting compelling, memorable songs that showcase your unique talents.

Remember, writing a good song is an ever-evolving process, and there’s always more to learn and explore.

In order to experiment with different melodic techniques, like ascension, descension, etc. (as described above), it helps to start with the most professional melodies around…

Luckily for you, the Unison Essential MIDI Melodies pack is absolutely free and contains some of the most unique melodies available today.

You’ll have access to 12 insanely catchy, pristine melodies that you can use to practice your new songwriting skills.

Keep honing your skills, stay open to new ideas, and most importantly, have fun.

Until next time…

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

July 1, 2024

Ionian Mode 101: Ultimate Producer’s Guide Uplifting Tracks

The Ionian mode is a fundamental building block of music, known for its bright and uplifting sound.    It is the first of the seven musical modes and identical to the major scale.    Mastering the Ionian mode can help you create epic melodies, harmonies, and chord progressions that really draw people in.   So, […]

June 30, 2024

How to Add Plugins to FL Studio in 7 Super Simple Steps

Plugins are undoubtedly one of the best tools you have as a producer.    And, if you’re wondering how to add plugins to FL Studio, you came to the right place, because in today’s article, we’re breaking down the process step by step.    This way, you can easily expand your sound library and get […]

75+ Ableton Shortcuts That Will Save You SERIOUS Time

Ableton Live shortcuts are essential tools for any producer 一 saving you significant time and helping to keep that creative momentum going.   Plus, being able to navigate quickly and efficiently will seriously enhance your overall production experience.    That’s why we’re breaking down the most beneficial Ableton shortcuts, including:   General commands ✓ Navigation […]

Forgot your password?

I would like to sign up to the Unison Newsletter & receive exclusive content, tutorials, special offers & more.

By creating an account, I agree to Unison’s Terms of Use .

Sound Doctor Mainstage Expansion Pack

$ 127 $ 67

You have no items in your cart.

You have added

To your shopping cart., has been alreay added., has already been purchased, you can access this purchase via the ‘downloads’ button below., before you go, want to downgrade instead.

Here's What You'll Get:

Only $7/month

TODAYS TOTAL: $0

No, I want to deactivate my subcription.

Are You Sure You Want to Deactivate Your Subscription?

Get The February, 2021 MIDI Box - Pro Tier Now

One-Time Payment

How to Write a Song (Even If You’ve Never Written One Before and You Think You Suck)

by Ed Bell | Nov 16, 2020

This is article is based on my book How to Write a Song (Even If You’ve Never Written One Before and You Think You Suck) . You can also explore this process in even more detail in my new How to Write a Song Video Course .

How do you write a song? It’s a good question.

And like a lot of good questions, there isn’t a single, simple answer. In fact there’s a pretty much infinite number of great ways to write a song.

Still, in this article I’m going to focus on one powerful and reliable way to write a song – and one that you can use even if you’re completely new to songwriting.

In fact, the ten-step process in this article is based on the process in my book How to Write a Song (Even If You’ve Never Written One Before and You Think You Suck) . It’s a simple and reliable process that will help you write a song in virtually any genre time after time, whatever level of experience you’re at.

And best of all, all you need to continue is some basic experience on an instrument like piano or guitar, or with a Digital Audio Workstation  (DAW) like GarageBand, Ableton or Logic.

Oh, and if the title got you wondering – no, you don’t suck. Even if this is your first song. See, songwriting is hard . It takes time to get good . But the only way to get better is to write – to get plenty of practice.

So if in doubt, just remember that in songwriting – or any kind of writing – to suck less, write more. That’s the only way to improve.

That said, let’s dive in. Here’s How to Write a Song (Even If You’ve Never Written One Before and You Think You Suck) .

Outro: Congrats and What’s Next

When it comes to figuring out how to write a song, there’s one question that comes up over and over again – should you write the music or the lyrics first?  And the answer is that nine times out of ten, the best place to start is with an idea. That way, whether you start working on the music or the lyrics first, you help make sure that every part of your song fits together as one piece.

So how do you do that? What makes a song idea great?

The first thing to remember is that songs tell stories . The best songs are about people, they’re about situations, and they’re about what people say to other people because of the situation they’re in.

In a song, those stories are usually ultra-simple – two people in love, two people breaking up, somebody warning someone about someone else. But the power of thinking about songs this way is that it gives you a concrete concept to build the rest of your song around.

To come up with a solid song idea, you’re going to want to answer these three fundamental questions:

• Who is singing the song?
• Who are they singing to?
• What are they trying to say?

So to find a good song idea, all you have to do is come up with a situation or story and use it to answer these three questions. That’s not as complicated as it sounds – your song might be a love song, sung from a guy to his girlfriend, and he’s trying to say ‘I’ve never met anyone as special as you’. Or your song might be sung by you to the world saying ‘war is bad, you guys’.

In fact, these are the two common song formats I recommend you stick with if you’re new to songwriting:

• A song sung from one person to another (a ‘direct address’ song), and
• A song sung from one person to anyone who’ll listen (a ‘to the world’ song).

These aren’t the only song formats, but they’re common, effective and beginner-friendly ones. So if in doubt, they’re always good to rely on.

So take some time to come up with a few different ideas you like – I recommend brainstorming at least five or six then picking out your favorite. You don’t want to rush this stage, because everything else you do in this process will come from your song’s big idea. You can write about anything you like, but if you’re totally stuck for good song ideas I have a handy list of 107 song ideas on the site you can use for inspiration.

Once you’ve settled on your song idea, make sure you write it down somewhere. On a notepad is good. In a note in your phone is also good. On a big piece of paper to put in front of you for the other nine steps is  great .

Back to Contents

Next in your journey through time, space and how to write a song, you’re going to decide on your song’s lyrical hook .

In songwriting, the word ‘hook’ can describe pretty much any catchy or memorable part of a song. But a lyrical hook is something specific – a word or phrase that neatly captures what your song is about, and a word or phrase you’re going to use really prominent in your song’s chorus.

Your song’s lyrical hook is usually also its title – you’ve probably noticed how most songs repeat their title in their lyric a lot – but sometimes a song has a title that’s different from its lyrical hook, so we’ll use the phrase ‘lyrical hook’ here to be clear.

To come up with a good lyrical hook, you basically want to brainstorm a few words and/or phrases that encapsulates what your song says, from the perspective of the person singing it.

That last part is really important. There aren’t many love songs that say ‘Imagine being overwhelmed with amorous desire’, because nobody speaks like that. Instead, a good lyrical hook for a love song might be ‘I like the way you dance’ or ‘Your pretty eyes’ or ‘Damn, girl’ – because they’re all natural, human ways you might express or circle round the idea ‘I love you’.

As a general rule, a lyrical hook can be anything from a single word to a full sentence of maybe seven or eight words. And like with your song idea, it’s worth brainstorming a few different lyrical hook ideas because sometimes it takes four or five tries before you start coming up with your best ones.

So go ahead. Get thinking. Trying and get yourself inside the mind of the person singing your song, and figure out how they might express what your song is about.

Now that you’ve got a song idea and a lyrical hook, you can start work on your song’s lyric.

Again, there’s no law that says that when you try to write a song you have to start with your lyric , but that’s where we’re going to start in this process. (And if you were wondering, this how to write a song process is based around writing a verse-chorus structure – because that’s the most common and versatile song structure.)

Chorus lyrics come in different sizes, but for simplicity’s sake, I recommend you stick with the most common length – eight lines.

Next, your job is to write a chorus that does at least these three things:

• States the central idea of your song really directly
• Includes the lyrical hook in a prominent way
• Incorporates your lyrical hook in a way that feels natural, not forced

In other words, in your chorus lyric you want to try to state your song’s main idea as directly as you can, while you make sure you repeat your lyrical hook a handful of times. (A lot of chorus lyrics basically just repeat the song’s main message over and over, only in different ways, using the lyrical hook somehow.)

To start, I recommend you try placing your lyrical hook – pencilling it in – in at least two spots in your chorus lyric. There are lots of ways to do this, but here are three of the best spots for planting your lyrical hook:

• Lines 1 and 5
• Lines 4 and 8
• Lines 1, 3 and 7 (1, 3 and 8 can work well also)

If your lyrical hook is a complete sentence or phrase – like ‘I like the way you dance’ – then that’ll fill the whole line. And if your hook is something shorter – like ‘Damn, girl’ – then you’ll probably need to fit it into a longer line that makes that word or short phrase make sense. So you might write a line like ‘You got me saying “Damn, girl”’ or ‘Damn, girl, you really stole my heart’.

Then, from there you’re going to want to build a complete lyric around those lyrical hook repetitions you pencilled in. This, honestly, is a trial-and-error process. There’s no quick fix for it – only trying out a ton of different things that either extend the hook word or phrase or lead into it in a natural way.

At the same time, if you want to include some rhymes in your chorus – and it’s usually a good idea to do that – I recommend you stick to a really simple rhyme scheme . One of the simplest and best is a rhyme scheme notated as XAXAXBXB – where the ‘X’ lines don’t rhyme with anything and the ‘A’ and ‘B’ lines rhyme with each other. So the final words of lines 2 and 4 will rhyme, and the final words of lines 6 and 8 will rhyme, but with a different rhyme sound to the one you used in lines 2 and 4.

And when you’re done, you should end up with something like this Whitney Houston knockoff lyric from the book version of How to Write a Song (Even If You’ve Never Written One Before and You Think You Suck) :

I wanna dance with somebody ’Cos dancing’s what I love to do. I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna dance the whole night through. This week had me feeling down But now I’m feeling fine. Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody ’Cos it’s my time to shine.

As you’ll see, this version uses an XAXAXBXB rhyme scheme and places the lyrical hook – ‘I wanna dance with somebody’ – in lines 1, 3 and 7. (I also added a sneaky ‘Yeah’ in line 7 to keep things fresh.)

Don’t spend forever agonizing over the perfect chorus lyric – simple words and phrases work great. And if this is your first time trying to write a song, don’t worry if your first draft or two sounds awkward or weird, that’s normal. (There’s a reason this article is called How to Write a Song (Even If You’ve Never Written One Before and You Think You Suck) and not How to Write a Grammy Award-Winning Song on Your First Attempt (Because That Definitely Sounds Like a Thing That’s a Realistic and Achievable Goal ).

So try and come up with a lyric that works – that’s all it need to do for now. Then, when you’re ready to move on to the next part of how to write a song, let’s keep moving.

Now you’ve got your chorus’s lyric, it’s time to give it some music. There are three main parts to this step, and we’re going to tackle them in this order: writing your chorus chord progression, writing your chorus melody (or topline), and writing your chorus groove or accompaniment.

So let’s dive in.

Write Your Chorus Chord Progression

Your chorus’s chord progression – or harmonies – are the foundation of its music. So if in doubt, that’s often a good place to start writing.

Harmony in songwriting is a whole subject in itself , but truth be told, simple chord progressions are really common in songwriting and usually work great. So you don’t need to be a music theory expert to choose a good progression.

In fact, one of the best ways to come up with some chords for your song is to write a four-chord progression . These do pretty much what they say on the tin: they’re chord progressions that are four chords long, one chord per measure, that you can then repeat and repeat. And while all that repetition might sound boring or over-repetitive, in practice four-chord progressions are a really effective songwriting tool.

If you have a strong understanding of music theory, you can use whatever you know to choose a key and write your chorus chord progression. But otherwise, here’s the combination of chords – or chord palette – I recommend you stick with:

If you’re writing for a keyboard instrument or with a DAW: Write in C major. Focus on the chords C, G, F, Am and/or Dm.

If you’re writing for guitar: Write in G major. Focus on the chords G, D, C, Em and/or Am.

Download a printable chord palette summary here .

For starters, you’ll notice I’ve given you five chords when you only need four for your progression – so obviously you’re not going to use every chord. (You might even use the same chord twice in a progression.) I’ve also listed the chords in their rough order of importance in each key – most important to least important, left to right. So if you want to keep things easy on yourself, you’re welcome to stick with using just the first three chords in each key.

But whatever chord palette you choose, all you have to do is try out some four-chord combinations – try playing them – until you find one that sounds good to you, and voilà, that’s your chord progression.

Like with lyric lines, there are lots of different lengths a chorus’s music can be. But I recommend you stick with the most common length – at least for now – of 16 measures. (Especially if you wrote an 8-line chorus lyric – two measures of music for each lyric line is a good rule of thumb in songwriting.)

So, if you’ve got a four-chord progression, one chord per measure, and you want to repeat that so it fills 16 measures, you guessed it – you’re going to have to repeat your chord progression four times to fill your chorus, like this:

| C       | F       | Am     | G       |

Then just like that, that’s your chorus chord progression sorted.

Write the Chorus Melody

Now you’ve got the foundation of a chord progression, it’s a good time to add a vocal melody, or topline, over the top. And while I wish I could tell you there was some secret trick to writing an instantly good melody with basically no effort, there isn’t. Instead, the only way to write a song’s melodies is to get your hands dirty and try a bunch of stuff until you have something you like.

So that’s where you should start.

If it helps, try to figure out your chorus melody’s rhythm only first – create a rhythmic spoken version, without any pitches. This can really help you ‘map’ your chorus lyric onto the chord progression you just wrote. If you stuck to the 16-measure length I suggested, remember you’re aiming to fit each line of your chorus lyric to two measures of music.

Other than that, try and give your melody plenty of repetition – that’s what makes a melody catchy and memorable. So for starters, every time your lyrical hook comes up, you probably want to give it the same or a similar melody.

And finally, the way you fit a melody to a chord progression is that your melody is going to focus on one or more of the notes in the chord that’s currently active – so if your chorus’s first measure is a C chord, that means you’re probably going to want to focus your melody on either a C, E or G for that measure.

This is something you can do intellectually if you have the musical expertise, but it’s also something you can do instinctively, by ear, if you don’t – your ear will automatically gravitate to one of the notes in each chord if you let it.

And that, in a nutshell, is about it. So dive in and start playing around. The best way to write melodies is to play your chord progression and improvise a sung melody on top – even if you’re not really a singer. Melody writing can be hard, but it’s important to trust your instincts – they’re probably better than you think – and keep trying different ideas until you have something that works.

Write the Chorus Groove

Finally, you’re going to want to create the instrumental parts to your chorus. In songwriting, that really comes down to writing grooves – short accompaniment ideas that you can repeat and repeat over a changing chord sequence.

Most grooves are based on simple chord repetitions or figuration – sometimes called arpeggios or broken chords .

So one simple groove could be this:

And another could be this:

Of course, if you have the experience, you can create something more intricate and ambitious. But with grooves, more complicated isn’t always better.

In fact, the most important thing with grooves is always that you come up with a groove that fits the vibe or mood of your song . If you’re writing a gentle love song, you’re going to want a soft, gentle groove. If you’re writing an angry breakup song, you’re going to want an angrier, more dramatic groove. I call this songwriting’s Holy Trinity – the idea that you want the main three parts of your song (its idea, lyrical hook/title and main grooves) to work together towards the same overall effect.

So again, it’s time to get your hands dirty. Try brainstorming a few different groove styles that could work for this song. You can use whatever instruments or kit you have available – my examples were on piano, but you could easily create the same effect on a guitar, in a DAW or with any other instrument. Then, from the handful of ideas you came up with, try to pick the one you think suits your song’s mood or vibe best.

And again, simple is good. Most grooves are only one or two measures long – so focus on coming up with short ideas that capture the mood of the song you’re trying to create.

Then, once you’ve got a groove idea you’re happy with, all that’s left to do is to repeat it – or at least the feel of it – over your chord progression to create a complete chorus accompaniment:

You’ll notice in this example I didn’t repeat the idea exactly each time – I use a slightly different chord inversion , or spacing – on each chord, and that’s fine. As long as you keep the feel or vibe of your groove constant, you’ll create the uniform sound you’re looking for.

And that’s it. That’s the three elements of your chorus written. If you need to, take a moment to put them all together into a single project file, score or a rough recording. And then let’s keep going.

Nice work. Now you’ve cracked the chorus, that’s actually a decent chunk of your song written – since you’re going to be repeating it a lot throughout your song.

In fact, just to clarify, in this verse-chorus song , the six main song sections you’re going to write look like this:

Verse 1 – Chorus 1 – Verse 2 – Chorus 2 – Bridge – Chorus 3

So now let’s turn to the verses. Like with your choruses, I recommend you aim to write 8 lyric lines and 16 measures of music.

As you probably know, in a verse-chorus song, the verses usually have the same music but a fresh lyric each time. We’ll think about writing your verse lyrics next, but for now let’s start with the part of your verses that stays the same – it’s music.

Write the Verse Chord Progression

Writing a verse chord progression works in pretty much the same way as writing a chorus chord progression. While it’s true there are plenty of songs that use the same four-chord progression all the way through, my personal recommendation is to write fresh chords for the verses.

To do that, you’ll want to take up the same chord palette you used earlier, and use those chords to find a new four-chord progression you like the sound of.

If you’re writing for a keyboard instrument or with a DAW:  Write in C major. Focus on the chords C, G, F, Am and/or Dm.

If you’re writing for guitar:  Write in G major. Focus on the chords G, D, C, Em and/or Am.

And once you’ve done that, like before you’re going to repeat that chord progression four times to fill 16 measures. And that’s your verse chord progression done.

Write the Verse Groove

We’ll think about writing your verse melody in a later on once you’ve settled on a first verse lyric, but now is a great time to come up with a verse groove.

Again, this process is essentially the same as creating a chorus groove, only with a few extra subtleties.

First, it’s a good idea to keep your verse groove really simple and low key. As we’ll talk about later, one of the jobs of a verse is to grow in intensity and energy into your chorus – that’s one way you make sure your chorus really hits. And that means if you start your verse with too much energy, you’re going to have a hard time taking it anywhere.

So if you’re writing on piano or guitar, think about writing some kind of low-key chordal grooves – nothing too loud or busy rhythmically. In a DAW, it’s really common for verse grooves to be maybe just some held chords and a really simple drum track – maybe just some hi-hat and off-beat clicks .

Second, while it’s a good idea to make sure your verse groove is different from your chorus groove, you don’t want to make it too different – you want both of your grooves to feel like they belong to the same song.

One really neat way to do that is to take some element of your chorus groove and transform it into something else in your verse – so if your chorus groove has a really distinctive rhythm or a specific chord shape, you could use one or both of them in your verse groove.

That might sound like cheating, but it’s a really great way of making sure your song’s grooves feel like they belong together. (And it can often make the writing process much easier because it gives you a specific idea to start writing with.)

Then, once you’ve settled on a verse groove idea, you’ll want to expand it out to fill your entire verse section. This process works exactly the same as before – you want to take the essence of your groove idea and repeat it as your chords change. And like before, you don’t have to repeat it exactly every single measure – it’s enough just to keep the same vibe or feeling.

Next you’re going to go back to your song’s lyric and start tacking its first verse.

If your chorus lyric’s job is to state the big idea of your song in the clearest and most direct way, the job of the verse lyrics is to set the scene of your song, and give us plenty of details about who and what the song is about.

But before you start writing even a single word of your first verse lyric, there’s some important preparation to get out of the way first.

Create a Verse Masterplan

In songwriting there’s something known as ‘second verse curse’ – the situation where your first verse lyric comes out pretty easily, but you have no idea how to follow it up in your second. And if you’ve written more than, say, three songs, you’ll probably have experienced this first-hand.

But there’s good news – there’s a really simple solution. It’s something called a verse masterplan – a grand plan or outline for what you’re going to talk about in each of your two verses. It’s a way of giving yourself a specific starting point to begin each verse lyric from, as well as helping you make sure your verses stay on topic and help expand your song’s main idea.

To create your own verse masterplan, you just want to think of two related but different subtopics or focal points for each of your verses.

For example, in a love song, you could focus the first verse around a first date and the second verse around a second date. Or you could have the first verse focus on an ‘I’ perspective and the second verse on a ‘you’ perspective. Or you spend the first verse talking about the more superficial things you like about someone and the second verse talking about some deeper, more substantial things.

The possibilities are literally endless – but what matters is that you have a firm game plan for your verses before you start writing them. So spend some time now brainstorming a few different options. You’re looking for topics or subjects that are related to your song’s main idea somehow, but feel different enough that you can give each verse lyric its own character and content.

Write Your First Verse Lyric

If there’s one thing to know about lyric writing – it can be tough. Sure, writing any part of a song can be tough. But while writing music mostly feels like a fun exploration of what sounds, melodies and chords you can put together, writing lyrics can often feel like you’re just staring at a blank page or screen trying to get the English language – or any other language – to say exactly what you want, while rhyming, making sure it scans and fits the right number of syllables.

So to make things easier, as well as the verse masterplan you just came up with, I recommend you create a lyric idea brainstorm for each of your verses. This won’t write the lyrics for you, but it will help you dig up the raw material you can craft into a final, polished lyric later.

And luckily, doing that is really simple: all you have to do is to think up a ton of individual words and phrases that are related to the theme of your song’s first verse.

So if your song is sung by a woman and the theme is ‘first date’, you might brainstorm words like ‘nervous’, ‘long dress’, ‘lipstick’, ‘restaurant’, ‘high heels’. You could then take some of those words you brainstormed and find words that rhyme and are somehow related to the song situation too: like ‘dress’, ‘mess’, ‘confess’ and ‘stress’ – which you could use to set the scene of what’s going on in your song.

These specifics are really important, because they’re a big part of what makes a lyric clear and captivating . Your goal is to come up with more words and phrases than you can possibly ever use – maybe fifty to a hundred words – because the more words you come up with in the brainstorming stage, the easier the actual writing is going to be.

Then, when it comes to crafting those words and phrases into a complete lyric, it’s another trial-and-error process.

Like before, I recommend you use an XAXAXBXB rhyme scheme – so you’re looking for another pair of rhymes to end lines 2 and 4, then 6 and 8.

It can also help to start writing with a strong opening and/or final line. You generally want the first verse of each lyric to sound dramatic or attention-grabbing somehow, while it’s a good idea to finish each verse lyric with a ‘pivot’ line that feels like it sets up or points to the chorus somehow (like ‘I really need you to know…’).

And from there, all you’ve got to do is keep trying, keep writing and keep rewriting if necessary. And sooner or later you’ll have a complete first verse lyric you’re proud of.

I’d be lying if I said I was calm While I sat there waiting for you. ‘Dinner at eight, don’t be late…’ But then I’m waiting on you to come through. When I first heard all about you, I knew I had to know more, Still, I sat there counting the minutes Until you walked in the door…

Great work – you’re racing along.

Write the Verse Melody

Now it’s time to turn to your verse’s melody. Again, the good news is that this process is pretty much identical to the process you used to write your chorus’s melody: you want to improvise some melodic lines over your chord progression until you have something that works.

And again, if it helps, you can sketch out your verse melody rhythmically first – try to figure out how its rhythm fits over your chords – before you try and add any notes.

Other than that, it’s worth bearing in mind that verse melodies tend to be looser and more conversational than chorus melodies. In your chorus, you want to make a bit of a statement – so chorus melodies are often kind of declamatory or showy. But in your humble verses you just want to help us feel at home and get to know your singer and song, so you can try to come up with something that feels more chatty, and more rhythmic than melodic, here.

Create a Verse Build

Then, once you’ve written your first verse lyric, there’s one extra element to think about in your verses’ music, a kind of songwriting secret sauce – creating a verse build.

Like we touched on before, a verse build is an increase in energy and intensity in your verses that helps make your choruses feel extra important. In short, in pretty much every great song ever, each verse and chorus works together as a pair with a mini rise and fall, starting at low intensity at the start of the verse, and feeling like it really lands somewhere in each chorus.

One really simple way to do that is just to add a gradual crescendo – an increase in volume – in the second half of your verses. By increasing the dynamics – or volume – of the groove, that’ll help the end of your verse feel like it’s building into the chorus.

Still, there are a handful of more fun and more advanced ways of creating that kind of build effect in your verses. Here are a few of the best ones:

• Making the grooves slightly busier rhythmically (giving them more rhythmic notes)
• Writing thicker or fuller chords (more harmonic notes)
• Adding extra tracks or layers in a DAW (like a held strings tracks or extra guitar parts)
• Writing a busier and more intense percussion track

To see what I mean – or if you want some more inspiration and ideas – the best thing to do is to go listen to some of your favorite songs to figure out how they manage their own verse builds. If you look around you’ll find plenty of examples of these techniques – as well as others – in action.

But whatever you do, just make sure you’re happy with the way your song’s verse grooves grow – even just a bit – to get your audience excited for your chorus.

Alrighty. Now it’s time to cash in on that verse masterplan you came up with in Part 6 – it’s time to focus on your second verse lyric.

The process is pretty much identical to the process you used in your first verse lyric, only this time you have a slightly different subtopic or theme to start with. So like before, I recommend you take that theme and spend some time brainstorming key words, phrases and rhymes that are related to that idea. Like before, you want to fill at least a full page with words and ideas you could use – with something like fifty to a hundred in total.

Then, like before, you’re going to want to craft those raw ideas into a finished lyric.

Coming up with a verse masterplan should make figuring out what to talk about no harder than it was in your first verse lyric, but with your second verse there two extra things to bear in mind.

The first is that, as a rule, you want your second verse lyric to use exactly the same rhyme scheme and more-or-less exactly the same syllable patterns in each line.

The exact syllable patterns you use is a bit negotiable – you often find songwriters adding or taking away a syllable or two and adjusting their verse melody accordingly. But since you want your first and second verse to match melodically, it’s not ideal if your first and second verse lyrics have completely different syllable patterns.

Watch me as I use this exact process to write an original song in my How to Write a Song video course.

Find out more.

And the second thing to think about is that you can sometimes use this idea – structural repetition or matching between your verses – to your advantage.

So for example, sometimes it makes sense to write ‘parallel’ or related lyric lines in the same spot. So if your first verse’s first line is ‘I couldn’t believe my luck’, you could start your second verse with something parallel like ‘I didn’t believe it was true’ or ‘I wasn’t afraid to know’ – or something else with a similar sentence structure or shape.

Doing that can make the writing process easier, and it can help your audience understand the structure of your song, so those opportunities are worth looking out for.

Other than that, like before lyric writing is a trial and error process. So take some time to try different things out and see what sounds good to you. If you get stuck, you can always take some time away – sometimes coming back to a lyric after a break makes it much easier to finish.

And once you’ve done that, you’re nearly there. There’s only one major section and two smaller sections to think about to complete your verse-chorus structure song.

We’ll take some time at the end of this process to put your entire song together into a single file, score or recording. But if you want to spend a moment now putting everything you’ve written so far together into one place, that’s definitely a good idea.

Next, the only major song section to think about adding is a bridge .

If you include a bridge, you’ll want to put it in the classic spot right after the second chorus:

You can think of that as the moment that alternating between verses and choruses might get boring or predictable – so instead of going to a third verse, the song takes us somewhere unexpected and new.

And that’s the key to writing a good bridge – to give us something new, to go somewhere the song hasn’t gone already.

That means a good bridge lyric gives a new perspective – it could jump forward or back in time, it could talk about your song’s big idea from a new perspective, it could make a more philosophical or general comment on what your song is about.

Another good option is to create a ‘breakdown’ bridge, where the lyric stops giving us much new information and the song just does something fun or interesting. (A good example of that is Shawn Mendes’s ‘Stitches’ , where the bridge just starts repeating phrases like ‘Needle and the thread, gonna get you out of my head’.)

At the same time, you want to the music of your bridge to take us somewhere new also. That usually means a new melody and chord progression, though you could recycle or adapt one of the grooves from some other part of your song. But you’ll have to play around with different options to figure out what sounds best for your song. (And as usual, if you’re looking for ideas, go listen to the bridges of tons of your favorite songs and that’ll help.)

If you wrote 8-line, 16-measure sections for the rest of your song, you can do the same here. Or, if you like, bridges are good places to break that pattern up a bit. Some bridges are shorter – say, 4 lines and 8 measures – but they can also be longer, or even a more irregular number of measures (10, 12 or 18, for example).

But before you dive in, you might want to think about whether your song needs a bridge at all. Lots of songs have them but plenty don’t.

Like I said, a good bridge takes your song – and your audience – somewhere different. And like its name suggests, a good bridge helps us to cross over to somewhere new – it makes us appreciate your final chorus in some new way. So if your song feels like it would benefit from that, then put a bridge in. If it seems OK without out it, then you might be better just repeating your final chorus once or twice and keeping your song’s structure simple.

Finally, all that’s left to do is to figure out how you’re going to start and end your song.

There are tons of different ways of doing this, but if you’re new to songwriting, I’m going to suggest you stick to one of the simplest.

For your song’s intro – a short section that comes before the first verse – I recommend you just repeat the first four measures of your song’s verse groove an extra time before the first verse starts. To hear how this works, you can check out Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’  and Ariana Grande’s ‘thank u, next’ .

This is a really simple technique but it’s a really effective one – and it’s how maybe 80–90% of intros in pop songs are written.

For your song’s outro – or ending – there are two very common techniques.

The most common today is just to round off your song with brief ‘written’ outro. Sometimes that means adding a measure or two. Sometimes it just means adapting the end of your chorus so it finishes on a held note and/or chord – or finishes with a musical gesture that sounds final. You might have to try out a few different versions of this idea to figure out what works best for each particular song, but if you want to see how this works in practice, you can check out Rudimental’s ‘These Days’ or Train’s ‘Hey, Soul Sister’ .

Another way to finish a song – though it’s less common in pop music right now – is to create what’s called a repeat and fade . That’s where you repeat the final chorus an extra time and have it fade out. Obviously, that option works best for recorded or produced music – you can’t really fade to zero live – but it’s one option. (Check out Michael Jackson’s ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’  for a classic example.)

And that’s basically it. That’s the end of this process.

Before you wrap up, it’s worth making sure you have a complete, official version of your song. At the very least, you’ll want a complete lyric sheet – but you could also add chord symbols to your lyric sheet, or even create a lead sheet or score if you know how. (If you want to know more about how to lay out all of these, check out this article .)

If you don’t read music, that’s fine too. Just make sure you have some kind of record or recording of everything you made – whether that’s a live recording, a score or a project file in your DAW. And then, at long last, that’s this process – and your song –done.

And that’s a wrap – congratulations!

Whether it took you a day or a month to complete, a finished song is a big deal. So take a bow. Pat yourself on the back. Treat yourself to a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage.

So what now?

Well, you could just repeat the process again with a different song idea. Or you could work through the process again with someone else to see how that affects your process.

You could also come back to the song you’ve just finished in a few days time to see if there’s any  tweaks or rewrites you want to make.

If you want to know more about songwriting, you could check out one of the other  free articles  and videos on the site. And if you’re interested in working through this process in more depth, you’ll definitely enjoy the full book version of How to Write a Song (Even If You’ve Never Written One Before and You Think You Suck) .

Either way, what’s important is that you keep going . As you know, the way you become a better songwriter is to keep writing . Challenge yourself to something new . Or try mixing up this process by starting a song somewhere new.

But whatever’s next for you, happy writing. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

  Back to Contents

Header imaged adapted from a photo by  Dark Rider on Unsplash .

Popular Today

107 song prompts for when you’re really stuck, verse-chorus structure 101, five (well, eight) ways to write better lyrics, five songwriting podcasts you’ll love, articles by topic.

• Building a Career
• Inspiration
• Lyric Tools
• Music Tools
• The Creative Habit

Privacy Overview

How To Write A Song: A Beginner's Guide

Are you ready to start songwriting, but you’re not sure where to start? Learning how to write songs on your own can be daunting, but it's certainly not impossible. With a little bit of guidance and practice, you’ll be able to turn your sparks of inspiration into fully completed compositions.

Below, we’ll discuss how to write a song in 5 easy steps. This step-by-step songwriting guide will walk you through the process of transforming your ideas into standalone tracks, and ties in nicely with previous posts we’ve made about songwriting .

There are plenty of ways to build a catchy song structure, so we'll share more customizable approach. This songwriting process is fully customizable, and will help you build your own songs from the ground up whether you're starting with a chord progression , chorus lyric, or simply your song's mood.

We'll share some of the building blocks of creating your own music along with some songwriting tips so that you can make music that sounds good and connects with others. Learning how to write a song is only a quick read away - Let's get into it!

1. Understand A Song’s Basic Elements

For starters, it can be helpful to understand a song’s essential elements. Generally speaking, you can break these elements down into two groupings: structural and sonic.

You already understand these different pieces intuitively. You could probably identify them by actively listening to your favorite song. Whenever the mood changes or transitions into another section, you’re listening to a shift in the song’s structure. With that in mind, here is the vocabulary you need to categorize these elements.

Structural Elements

These are sections of a song that come together to create an entire piece. Each of these elements serve as building blocks to your overall song structure.

• Verse: Verses in songs usually take up the most time and are usually where the listener gets the most information about the speaker/singer. In lyric-based songs, this is where the singer is telling a story. A repeated chorus usually surrounds the verse. Verses usually aren’t repeated to a T, but they may reuse the same melody as another verse.
• Chorus: These are the shiny, repeated moments in a song. The chorus is usually the most essential part of the song’s melody, and it often fully repeats with the same cadence and melody. Choruses include a hook, which just refers to a phrase or melody designed to stick in your head. The chorus, supported by the verses, is generally shorter and catchier.
• Pre-chorus: A pre-chorus is an additional repeated melodic section that comes unsurprisingly, directly before the chorus.
• Bridge: A bridge just refers to a section that contrasts with the rest of the piece. This could mean a different melodic structure, varied rhythmic pattern, or both. Bridges stand out and can help build tension to a final chorus or going back into a verse.‍

Some typical song structures include:

• VERSE – CHORUS – VERSE – CHORUS
• INTRO – VERSE – CHORUS – VERSE – BRIDGE – CHORUS
• VERSE – CHORUS – BRIDGE – CHORUS

These are all common patterns, but don't feel like you need to adhere to them in order to be successful. Just remember that every section should add some value for your listener. For example, your second chorus might feel bigger or be longer than your first chorus, even though the sections are more or less copies of one another.

Sonic Elements

These are the main sonic elements you’ll need to consider throughout your writing process.

• Rhythm: The rhythm of your track adds energy and groove to your composition. You’ll want to think about rhythm when determining how each section should flow into the next one. It's key to consider how different melody and verse lyric lines work rhythmically, but you'll also want to consider the rhythm of each sonic element throughout your song.
• Chords and Bass: Chords and basslines serve as a backbone for your melody. These structural elements are usually somewhat repetitive. The repetition allows the melody to stand out against chords or the bass. Chords are created by using notes within the key of your song. If you're not sure how to craft a strong chord progression , you can look up videos or resources online, or simply borrow one from your favorite songs.
• Melody: Melody refers to the string of notes that stands out amongst your other structural elements. Melody can stem through vocals as well as different instruments.

Remember that with any composition, nothing has to be set in stone. Not all songs are structured in the same way or have all of the critical elements represented. That said, these guidelines can be helpful when you’re just starting. They're all helpful songwriting tools and vocabulary you can use to communicate great lyric and melodic ideas with other musicians.

2. Find Something To Start With

Now that you understand the essential elements of a song , it’s time to get started. The best way to get going is to first come up with one of the sonic elements and build from there. Do you have a melody in mind? Record it on voice memos. A sick bassline? Mark it in your DAW . A great beat? Record it and start riffing off of it. Finding inspiration should be a fluid, playful process.

Most of the time, I prefer to start by creating a chord progression. This is often the easiest way for me to get inspired and start building something upon it. Learning basic music theory can be incredibly helpful in your journey as a musician. You can start by looking up common chord progressions online or even using a MIDI chord pack.

From there, improvise with yourself. What can you add to the progression to make it 10% closer to sounding like a full-blown track? During this stage, jot down anything and everything that comes to mind and save it for later.

There’s no one right way to write a song. The key is to create a fundamental element that’s inspiring enough to build off of itself. Here are a couple of examples of how you can build a song from scratch.

Start With The Idea

If you're a natural wordsmith, it may make sense to start with the lyrics . Some songwriters find it helpful to make a brainstorm of their thoughts in order to decide a topic for their song. Once you've selected a topic, you can allow yourself to freely write about the subject at hand.

Some might find it helpful to conceptualize a song by asking a question. For instance, "What makes you feel the most at home?", "How do you feel about X?", "What do you dislike about X?" can all serve as prompts for songs .

You just want to find something that gets your ideas flowing, whether that's a question, brainstorm, or spontaneous start of inspiration. Using your emotional tone while songwriting can naturally help you be more vulnerable towards your audience which is great for bringing in dedicated listeners.

From there, start to formulate your ideas into consistent lines that preferably have some sort of rhyme scheme. Having a full set of lyrics can serve as the pillar for your melody, chords, and the rest of the track. The key concept is to get one portion of the composition concrete so that you're able to have a firm foundation to build off of. Create a lyric sheet for your different ideas.

For songs that are instrumental or without any lyrics, it may be helpful to brainstorm the ideas you're working to convey.

Let's say you're creating a song as part of a score for a movie - It may be helpful to write out different cues, emotions, and points at which you want to shift the track from one sonic idea to the next. Regardless of whether or not your song has lyrics, a little initial planning can go a long way.

Start With An Instrument

While some might only see songwriters as those with guitars or pianos, you can practically build a song off of any sound or instrument. Build a string or notes or a melody and notate it using staff paper.

For a less classical method, you could hum or sing notes into your phone's voice memo app. Experiment with different combinations of notes until a particular string or two seems to stick.

Once you've gained these melodic ideas, you can start to fit rhythm or lyrics to them. In this way, one of the elements of the process should naturally flow into the next.

Start With The Rhythm

If you're more rhythmically inclined, start with building drum or beat ideas. Once you've crafted a couple you're happy with, you can start to improvise on top of them, either with an instrument, sound, or vocal melody. Alternatively, you could piece together a rhythm and figure out the what lyrics make sense within a rhythmic phrase.

As you can see, there are plenty of routes to successful songwriting. All you need to do is to pick which element you'd like to start with, and build from there.

3. Experiment With Melody

Once you’ve created your foundation of the song, it’s time to start adding in melodies . You may find that melodic ideas come to you naturally. Alternatively, you can use a scale to build melodic lines . Create different melodic phrases and capture them in your DAW or voice memos so you can refer back to them later.

Don’t get too hung up on where certain elements will go (i.e., which melody will be for the chorus and the verse). If one seems to fit naturally into one role or the other, that’s great, but remember that you can always refine these ideas later.

One exercise that helps me is playing a chord progression on a loop and improvising melodies using a nonsense word like “da” or “la” on top of it. I’ll record myself singing notes in my voice memos and then add lyrics to these notes later.

If you’re not finding melodies that fit well with your voice or instrument, you can always go a step back and adjust your starting sound.

Refining Your Own Melody

If you already created verse and chorus melodies in the previous step, you can use this section as a time to refine what you've already created. One of the best things about writing songs is that there's no one way to get to your desired destination. Take your loosely formed song ideas and start to edit with a fine ear. Is there a verse melody that shines above the rest? Does your chorus melody run too long or too short? Start to think about these small changes so that you can build a strong song structure through small details.

4. Write Lyrics & Create Structure

Once you have created your melodies, you’re ready to write lyrics . You can use these lyrics to fit within the melodic structure you’ve already created.

Brainstorm different topics you’d like to write about. From there, you can think of words that fit within your melody’s phrasing. It also helps to rhyme lines to give your song some more flow and cohesion.

By this point, you should be able to piece together the whole song. Start laying out where you want your chorus, verse, and bridge sections to be. Feel free to listen to some of your favorite songs and reference their structure. It’s totally fine to listen to a pop song and follow the same format to ensure that yours is organized well.

Once you have structure, lyrics, and melodies that fit solidly together, you can start to rehearse these parts in conjunction with one another.

Building Out Your Song

If you're finding that your song isn't building itself out naturally, you can use a more common song structure, such as an ABAB pattern. These patterns work by having certain sections repeat over the course of a timeline of a song. Each sonic structural element can correspond to a different letter. For example, the verses may be assigned to letter A, the chorus sections to letter B, and the bridge to ABC.

A common pop song structure could be ABABCB. You can look up additional patterns online if you're not sure how to build out your song. If your song doesn't follow a traditional pattern to a T, don't fret! There have been formulaic hit songs but also many of successful songs that don't follow a particular roadmap.

Improving Your Lyrics

For many, it's not difficult learning how to write a song, rather understanding how to write a great song. While creating something that's "good" is somewhat subjective, lyrics play a powerful role in song structure, so you'll want to spend some extra time here while you learn to write songs.

Think about what lyric lines would draw you in as a listener. Does your song title convey something relatable? Is the song title embedded within the chorus lyrics to increase memorability? While this may seem like a small detail, don't forget that a listener's first impression to a track is often the title.

Work on your verse lyric and chorus lyric structure as well. Many hit song writers utilize familiar, relatable concepts in order to connect with their audience. Your entire song should tell a story, or paint a picture for whoever is listening.

You can think of your song structure as having a beginning, middle, and end just like a story. Writing lyrics to the tune of different melodies can be a quick way to see what fits and what doesn't within a common song structure.

While it's important to create a memorable hook , don't use that as an excuse to neglect the song structure of the rest of your track. A compelling first verse can bring a listener in to an otherwise unheard chorus. Writing music is about connecting with others, so make sure your song form supports this and is accessible to a wide variety of people.

Adding Interest

Once you have the basic chord progression, melody, lyrics, and sections ironed out, it's time to add on all of the extra bells and whistles. Fine tune your lyrics to see if there are any general verbs you can replace with more descriptive action words.

This is a great time to add new sounds to your music to keep listeners fully engaged all throughout the track. Your central idea should stay more or less the same at this point, but everything you add on top of the pre-existing music should serve to highlight the best selling points of your track.

Close Out Your Song

First impressions are important, but so is a good ending! Determine how you'd like to end out your track.

For many, this means utilizing one big final chorus that leaves the hook stuck in the listeners head.

For others, this could just be slowly but surely fading out the track.

Think about what makes the most sense for track's emotional and sonic feel. What special lyric can you put in the end of the song that a listener would want to revisit? What makes your track replay-able?

5. Refine Your Track

While you’re practicing your song, you may notice that some lyrics need to be adjusted to flow with the melody or that one section sounds better next to another. Don’t be afraid to edit and refine your track!

It can also help take a step back from your writing session and check back in the next day or week. Sometimes, you need a fresh set of ears to create your best work.

Luckily, with practice, this process should become easier over time. Above all, don’t forget that there isn’t one good way to write a song. Instead, figure out a process that highlights your productivity and creativity.

Don't Be Afraid To Restart

Sometimes, a drafted song can serve as the initial inspiration for your next song. Your first song doesn't have to be perfect. Just remember that if you're having trouble turning a rough idea into a fully formed song, there's nothing wrong with restarting.

You'll want to get into the habit of finishing as many song ideas as you can, but the process of creating a song will inevitably help you hone your skills as a songwriter. Great songs usually come into existence out of plenty of practice, so don't be too hard on yourself if you find that you're stuck on one song.

Get Feedback

One of the best ways to refine your song is to seek out feedback from those you trust. Many times, we become accustomed to the way our songs flow just by nature of working on them for hours on end in a vacuum. Once you feel like you've created a song worth sharing, it's time to see how others feel.

Getting critical feedback can be a sobering process, especially if you're not used to it, but remember that everyone has the end goal in mind of helping you improve your song. Some may find that your song seems to sound good while others may suggest a different chord progression, chorus lyric, etc.

The good news is, you get to decide whether or not you're going to take someone's advice. I recommend seeking out known songwriters and musicians as well as general listeners for feedback. This will give you a more diverse pool of advice, giving you the most potential to improve your song.

If you don't have access to a feedback loop in person, you could ask for it online. Soundcloud, Reddit, etc. all have spaces where you can ask for feedback on a buddy song. Engaging in this practice will help you see the strengths and weaknesses in your own music which will undoubtedly help you grow as an artist and songwriter.

Try, Try Again

Some song writing seems effortless, but a lot of the time there's hours of work and raw material hidden behind that hit song. Your first draft might not always reach it's final song form, and that's okay. Songwriting tips can be helpful , but the best teacher is taking the time to participate in the world of songwriting.

Start writing on a regular basis to really see your songwriting skills come together. Fortunately, your have all of the songwriting tools you need already available - You just have to be brave enough to write many, many songs in order to find that hit.

How To Write A Song FAQs

If you're still unsure of how to write a song, here is a set of commonly asked questions and answers to deepen your understanding about songwriting.

Can Anyone Write A Song?

In short, yes! Anyone can write a song if they are willing to tap into their creativity. Learning to do so isn't always easy, but songwriting is a skill just like anything else, which means that it can be improved over time.

Remember that writing your first set of songs will likely be the most difficult, and become easier over time. With a little practice, writing your own song will seem like second nature.

Is Writing A Song Hard?

The songwriting process can be different every time which means that in some cases, it can be difficult, and in others, it can be effortlessly simple. 

Creating your own songs certainly takes practice, but as you exercise the songwriting process on a more regular basis, you'll find that it becomes progressively easier to stumble across a great song. Learning how to write a song can be difficult, but producing a good song can be easy with enough practice.

What Should I Start A Song With?

You should start a song with whatever feels the most natural to you at the time. One of the best parts about songwriting is that it's a fluid process - meaning you don't have to necessarily adhere to one method over another. You could start your song with lyric writing, or begin your session with some killer chord progressions.

Sometimes, it's easiest to have a specific song structure in mind to get the creative juices flowing. Just know that whatever way you choose to write songs is valid, as long as it gets you to write!

How Long Is A Song On Average?

On average, most songs end up being around 3 minutes long. However, plenty of songs are longer or shorter depending on the message, genre, and overall composition.

Rather than focusing on how long a song is, it might be helpful to focus on keeping the listener engaged throughout the duration of your composition.

Can you be a singer without writing songs?

If songwriting isn't necessarily your forte, don't fret! You don't have to be a songwriter in order to be a singer.

In fact, many famous singers don't fully write their songs. Many times, a song is written by multiple songwriters and simply performed by a single singer.

How do you know if a song you wrote is good?

Music, just like any art form, is subjective, so it's impossible to know whether your song is 100% good.

However, if your song is catchy or memorable in some way, listeners may be more likely to listen to it on a regular basis or create an emotional connection to it. This should inform your songwriting, as you should strive to create memorable melodies and relatable lyrics.

Is songwriting a good career?

Songwriting can be a great career for those willing to put in the work. As with most creative industries, it can be quite competitive to find songwriting positions that consistently provide a thriving salary.

Although, if you're willing to hone your craft, it's possible that you'll land a position as a studio songwriter, assisting a wide array of artists on a regular basis.

How long does it take to write a song?

The time it takes to create a song varies greatly depending on your individual composition. It could be within a number of hours, or it could take a number of months.

The important point isn't how long it takes you. It's more productive to focus on whether or not you finished the song. You might find that you become a more efficient songwriter as you practice writing.

How do I check if my song is original?

It's possible that you unintentionally borrowed ideas from other popular songs, so it's a good idea to run your lyrics through a search engine like Google to check for originality. As long as you're crafting your own melodies and lyrics, your song is likely cleared as original. Don't use samples of other songs in your compositions unless you've cleared it from the original artist.

How Do I Start Writing Music?

Writing music can seem daunting, but you should be able to do so if you give yourself the chance to play with your sonic and creative instincts. You can start writing a song based off of an emotion, thought, or even just an imaginary situation.

Songs are more or less melodic stories, so it may be a good idea to write the lyrics first and then add notes after the fact. Once you get one song cleared, writing your second one will be even easier.

What if my song sounds like another song?

Oftentimes, songs sound like one another. If this happens to you, you can always switch up a couple of notes in the melody, or try performing in a different key to build originality. Also note that chord progressions can't be copyrighted, so you're free to utilize the same progression as one of your favorite tracks.

Hopefully, you've come away from this piece with plenty of great ways to write music. Enjoy the creation process and start writing!

Bring your songs to life with professional quality mastering, in seconds!

Audio production tips and tricks from eMastered’s Grammy winning founders, straight to your inbox every week.

How to Write a Song: A Comprehensive Guide for Aspiring Songwriters

Writing a song is an incredible journey of creativity and self-expression. Whether you’re a budding musician or an experienced artist, knowing how to write a song can open up new avenues for your musical career. This blog will guide you through the process of writing a song, from brainstorming ideas to the final polish, ensuring your creation stands out. We’ll also delve into the next steps after writing a song, FAQs, and a glossary to help you with songwriting terminology.

Table of Contents

Introduction, brainstorming ideas, finding your song’s theme, crafting lyrics, creating melodies, building song structure, refining your song, recording and production, next steps after writing a song.

Music has a unique ability to touch hearts and souls. Writing a song allows you to convey emotions, tell stories, and connect with listeners on a deep level. In this guide, we will explore the essential steps to writing a song, focusing on techniques that will help you craft memorable melodies and compelling lyrics.

The first step in learning how to write a song is brainstorming ideas. This is where your creativity takes flight. Here are some methods to generate song ideas:

1. Journaling

• Write down your thoughts, feelings, and experiences daily.
• Look for recurring themes or emotions.

2. Listening to Music

• Analyze songs you love and note what makes them special.
• Identify elements like lyrics, melodies, and themes that resonate with you.

3. Reading and Observing

• Read books, poems, or articles for inspiration.
• Observe the world around you and take note of interesting situations or conversations.

4. Free Writing

• Spend a few minutes writing without stopping.
• Let your thoughts flow freely and see what ideas emerge.

5. Collaborating with Others

• Discuss ideas with fellow musicians or songwriters.
• Collaboration can spark new and unique ideas.

Once you have a pool of ideas, it’s time to find your song’s theme. The theme is the central message or emotion of your song. Knowing how to write a song involves understanding your theme deeply.

1. Identify the Core Emotion

• What is the primary feeling you want to convey? (e.g., love, sadness, joy)
• Choose an emotion that you feel deeply about.

2. Develop a Storyline

• Think about the story you want to tell.
• Who are the characters? What is the setting? What is the conflict?

3. Focus on a Single Idea

• Narrow down your ideas to a single, clear theme.
• This will help you maintain coherence throughout your song.

4. Title Your Song

• A strong title can encapsulate your theme and attract listeners.
• Make it memorable and relevant to your song’s message.

Lyrics are the heart of your song. They convey your message and connect with listeners on an emotional level. Here’s how to write a song lyrics:

1. Start with a Hook

• The hook is the catchiest part of your song.
• It should be simple, memorable, and reflect your song’s theme.

2. Write the Chorus First

• The chorus is the core of your song, repeating several times.
• Make it catchy and concise, summarizing the main idea.

3. Develop the Verses

• Verses tell the story and add depth to your theme.
• They should build up to the chorus, each verse adding new details.

4. Use Vivid Imagery

• Paint pictures with your words to evoke emotions.
• Use metaphors and similes to create vivid imagery.

5. Maintain a Consistent Rhyme Scheme

• A consistent rhyme scheme makes your song pleasing to the ear.
• Common schemes include AABB, ABAB, and ABCB.

6. Edit and Refine

• Don’t be afraid to revise your lyrics multiple times.
• Cut unnecessary words and ensure each line serves a purpose.

A great melody can make your song unforgettable. Here’s how to craft a compelling melody:

1. Start with Chords

• Choose a chord progression that fits your song’s mood.
• Common progressions include I-IV-V, ii-V-I, and I-vi-IV-V.

2. Hum or Sing Over the Chords

• Experiment with different melodies over your chosen chords.
• Record yourself and listen back to identify the best parts.

3. Focus on the Hook

• Ensure your melody has a strong, catchy hook.
• The hook should be the most memorable part of your melody.

4. Use Repetition

• Repetition helps listeners remember your melody.
• Repeat phrases, but vary them slightly to maintain interest.

5. Play with Rhythm and Dynamics

• Vary the rhythm to add interest to your melody.
• Use dynamics (loudness and softness) to convey emotion.

A well-structured song keeps listeners engaged. Here’s a typical song structure to follow:

1. Introduction

• Sets the tone and grabs attention.
• Keep it short and intriguing.
• Introduces the story or theme.
• Leads into the pre-chorus or chorus.

3. Pre-Chorus (Optional)

• Builds anticipation for the chorus.
• Adds variety to your song’s structure.
• The main message and the catchiest part.
• Repeats several times throughout the song.
• Provides contrast and a break from repetition.
• Often appears once in the song, leading back into the chorus.
• Wraps up the song.
• Can be a repeat of the chorus or a new section.

After writing your song, it’s time to refine and polish it:

1. Review Lyrics and Melody

• Ensure they work well together.
• Make sure the melody complements the lyrics’ mood.

2. Check for Consistency

• Ensure your theme and message are clear throughout the song.
• Make sure there are no conflicting ideas or emotions.

3. Get Feedback

• Share your song with friends, family, or fellow musicians.
• Take constructive criticism to improve your song.

4. Make Necessary Adjustments

• Revise any weak parts.
• Focus on enhancing the strong elements of your song.

Once your song is polished, it’s time to record and produce it. Here’s a basic guide to recording your song:

1. Set Up Your Recording Space

• Choose a quiet, acoustically treated space.
• Ensure your equipment is set up correctly.

2. Record Your Song

• Start with a guide track (e.g., a simple guitar or piano track).
• Record each part separately (vocals, instruments).

3. Edit and Mix

• Edit out mistakes and ensure all parts fit together well.
• Mix your song, balancing levels and adding effects.

4. Master Your Track

• Mastering ensures your song sounds great on all devices.
• Consider using professional mastering services for the best results.

After writing and recording your song, you may wonder what to do next. Here are the steps to take:

1. Copyright Your Song

• Protect your intellectual property by copyrighting your song.
• This ensures you have legal rights to your creation.

2. Distribute Your Music

• Get your song on major streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.).
• Use a music distribution service to reach a global audience.

3. Promote Your Song

• Use social media to promote your song.
• Consider creating a music video or lyric video to engage listeners.

4. Perform Live

• Perform your song at local venues or virtual concerts.
• Live performances can help you connect with your audience.

5. Connect with Industry Professionals

• Network with other musicians, producers, and industry professionals.
• Attend music conferences and workshops to learn and grow.

6. Keep Writing

• Continue writing and improving your songwriting skills.
• Each new song is an opportunity to express yourself and connect with listeners.

1. How long does it take to write a song?

• It varies from person to person. Some songs can be written in a few hours, while others may take days or weeks.

2. Do I need to know music theory to write a song?

• While knowledge of music theory can be helpful, it is not necessary. Many great songs have been written by ear.

3. Can I write a song if I can’t play an instrument?

• Yes, you can. You can collaborate with musicians or use digital tools to create music.

4. What if I get writer’s block?

• Take a break, try free writing, or listen to music for inspiration. Collaborating with others can also help overcome writer’s block.

5. How can I improve my songwriting skills?

• Practice regularly, study songs you love, take songwriting classes, and seek feedback from others.
• The section of a song that tells the story or develops the theme. It often changes each time it appears.
• The repeated section of a song that contains the main message and is usually the catchiest part.
• A section that provides contrast to the rest of the song, often leading into the final chorus.
• A catchy musical phrase or lyric that stands out and is easily remembered.
• A sequence of notes that are musically satisfying and form the main part of a song.

Rhyme Scheme:

• The pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a song or poem.

Chord Progression:

• A series of chords played in a sequence that underlies the melody.

Pre-Chorus:

• An optional section that builds up to the chorus, adding anticipation.
• The concluding section of a song, which can be a repeat of the chorus or a unique ending.
• The final step in music production that ensures the track sounds polished and professional across all playback devices.
• International Standard Recording Code, a unique identifier for each track that helps in tracking sales and streams.

Sync Royalty:

• Payment received when your music is used in synchronization with visual media, like movies or commercials.

Publishing Royalty:

• Earnings from the use of your composition, such as performances, sales, or licensing.

Writing a song is a rewarding and fulfilling process that allows you to share your voice with the world. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can develop your songwriting skills and create music that resonates with listeners. Remember, the journey of songwriting is unique for everyone, so embrace your creativity and enjoy the process.

Related Articles:

For further reading, explore these related articles:

• Deliver My Tune’s Exciting New Services!
• Ways to Beat Writer’s Block
• Know the Ways to Get the Music Sync Licensing

For more tips and guidance on songwriting and music distribution, visit our Artist Guide or explore our Services & Pricing to see how we can help you take your music to the next level.

Happy songwriting!

How to Get a Job in the Music Industry

How to Make an EP: A Comprehensive Guide for Musicians

How to Promote Your Music on Instagram Reels

How to Get Playlisted on Amazon Music

How to Write a Song | 12 Songwriting Tips from the Pros

Here are 10 helpful songwriting tips, each backed up by quotes from some of the world's most successful songwriters.

Find out how to write a song from the best in the biz

1. where to start writing your song.

Getting started is often the hardest part of the songwriting process. Developing your song’s main melody or central chorus is considered by some to be the best place to begin writing your next track. Once you’ve got your hook or key chord progression, you can build the rest of your song around it. But don’t worry if you're struggling to find the perfect melody straight away, this method isn’t for everyone.

Starting with your song’s main riff or hook isn’t ideal for every songwriter. Some songwriters prefer to start at the beginning of their track by writing a killer intro, which will lead them naturally into the rest of the song, while others will get the lyrics down first, and then worry about the tune afterwards. There’s no rule when it comes to writing a new song. It’s down to the songwriter, the song and the original inspiration to determine your starting point.

You'll also want to think about what sort of environment you want fans to listen to your music in. Are you trying to write a catchy nightclub hit, a motivational workout tune for the gym, or something more chilled? Have a think before you put pen to paper.

2. Lyrics matter

Unless you're producing instrumental music, the lyrics are arguably the most important part of your song - even helping you earn music royalties . Writing lyrics can often be the most frustrating and difficult aspect of the songwriting process, especially for amateur songwriter's lacking in experience.

Having a clear idea of what your song will be about is a good start. You could write down exactly what you want to get across in your lyrics, then play about with the rhythm, structure and cadence of your words to fit them around your melody. A solid lyrical hook for your chorus is particularly important, while the verses and bridge can be built around your central theme.

Chord progressions are also particularly important when it comes to writing your lyrics and finding a natural flow. Learn more about how to write a chord progression!

3. Record any spur of the moment inspiration

There’s nothing worse as a songwriter than coming up with an amazing melody or riff, only to completely forget what is was an hour later. Forgetting your ideas can be really frustrating, so it’s important to make a note of your idea while it’s fresh in your mind, even if it’s just recorded quickly on your phone or scribbled on a scrap of paper. You’ll be glad of the reminder later when you return to continue working on the song.

4. Write from experience

As obvious as it may sound, some of history’s greatest songs are about personal experiences, with artists drawing on real-life events and traumas to spark their creativity. Whether you’ve been through hard times or great times, you can use your life experiences to great affect. Put those feelings into a song you can be proud of.

5. Take inspiration from everywhere

Don’t restrict your writing inspiration to one-specific genre or style. Listen to a whole range of music and try to figure out how to use other sources that you might not have first considered to help you come up with new lines. You might hear a particular section sung by a grime artist or folk singer and think that their pronunciation or flow would work well in one of your tracks - even though you’re a metal band. Whatever you like the sound of, give it a go. It might work.

6. H ave fun and challenge yourself

Although sometimes your songwriting might feel very much like work, it’s important to remember that it’s also meant to be fun. Try to keep that enjoyable element in mind and challenge yourself to make catchy and memorable lyrics. Your feelings will definitely come across within your writing so have fun whilst doing it!

Get the latest Unsigned Advice, straight to your inbox.

7. collaborate with other musicians.

If you’re suffering from writer’s block (everyone does at some point!), then collaborating with other musicians can offer a great way to break new ground and get a fresh perspective on your track. Show them what you’ve got so far, discuss any new ideas they might suggest, and see what comes out of it. Getting an outside perspective on your track from a fellow musician can help to bring the best out of your music. Two heads are always usually better than one.

TIP : You'll notice rap artists do this a lot. If you're an aspiring rapper or in the process of becoming a rap artist, make sure you go heavy on the collaboration opps!

8. Keep it simple and build on it

Keeping your track as simple as possible at first is an excellent way to accelerate the 

songwriting process and work out the structure of your song. Many complex songs from 5 or 6-piece bands started life as a few chords strummed on an acoustic guitar. Once you’ve got the basis of the song in its simplest form, you can go about adding drums, strings, brass or any other additional elements afterwards. Don’t make things harder for yourself by overcomplicating your track right from the beginning.

9. Make sure to take breaks

Writing a song from scratch can sometimes be frustrating and mentally tiring work, especially if the ideas aren’t flowing as easily as you’d like. Often a 15-minute break away from your instrument or lyrics pad can help get the creativity flowing and stop your mind from becoming too clouded to see the ideas and inspiration you’re searching for. Whether it's written in two hours or two months, the final product is all that's important, no matter how long it takes.

10. Don't overthink it

Musicians and songwriters are often our own worst critics. If you judge your own songs too harshly you’ll never get anything done, so it’s important to keep an open mind. And while it’s great to take your time and carefully consider each facet of a new song, it’s often easier to get things done when you let the songwriting process flow, stop worrying and just get on with it. Overthinking can be your worst enemy. Get the basis of your song down, and you can always go back and change things afterwards.

11. Ask for feedback

It’s easy to lose sight of how good or bad your song is after you’ve spent hours and hours working, changing and creating it by yourself. So find someone you trust to give honest advice, and who’s opinion you value, and ask them to critique it for you. You might find they have some fantastic insight into how it could be improved. Don’t just play it for someone who might be afraid to hurt your feelings - you want honest opinions, not just yes men.

12. Don't be afraid to fail

Apologies for the cliché, but if you’re failing and struggling to write the song you know is in you – just keep going. There’s no secret formula for successful songwriting, other than the combination of hard work, positivity and talent. This quote from the legendary Johnny Cash sums up the point perfectly.

Subscribe to our mailing list to get tips, tricks and hacks straight to your inbox!

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy

How do you handle the songwriting process? Have any great tips to share on how to write a song? Let us know in the comments, or share this article with your friends if you found any of the advice here helpful.

Related Posts

AI Tools for Songwriting: 11 Generators to Step Up Your Game

How to Arrange a Song in 5 Steps

8 Easiest Instruments to Learn for Musicians on a Budget

Songwriting 101: 5 Tips for Better Lyric Writing

++ Comments

Skip to main content

How to Write Song Lyrics: Pro Guide for Beginners

January 9, 2024 | Tero Potila

Writing song lyrics is a deeply personal and creative process that blends emotion with storytelling. It's about expressing your thoughts, experiences, and emotions in a way that resonates with others.

There are as many ways to approach lyric writing as there are stories to tell. Whether you're an up-and-coming lyricist or a professional songwriter looking to refine your craft, understanding the fundamentals of how to write song lyrics can take your ideas from simple tunes to memorable musical expressions.

The songwriting process often begins with a spark – a line, a theme, or a melody that tugs at your creativity. Transforming this initial inspiration into a full set of lyrics involves molding your ideas into a structure that listeners can follow and connect with. 

When it comes to the song's structure, standards like the ABAB structure (verse, chorus, verse, chorus) are popular today, but there are no strict rules—songwriting is as much an art as it is a science. 

It's important to write in a way that's authentic to you, using language that feels natural and sincere. Keep in mind that the most impactful lyrics are those that are relatable and convey genuine emotion.

Read more: How To Write Rap Lyrics Like The GOATs

How to Write Song Lyrics

Lyric writing is a craft that blends the poetic with the musical, where rhythm and melody meet language and imagery. This is true whether you're writing lyrics for rapping or a melody line. The goal is to create a seamless experience between your words and the music; each enhances the other. 

Rewriting is also a crucial part of the songwriting process. Even the most experienced songwriters revise their lyrics multiple times to achieve the desired impact. 

You can often find ideas for lyrical topics in the most unexpected sources; it could come from your personal experiences or from your circle of friends. Even hearing a conversation between two strangers can spark ideas. TV shows and movies are another great source.

You should keep a diary or notebook for lyrical ideas. Writing down just a couple lines can later spark an idea for a complete song that could become your next big hit. The notes can also help if you're struck with writer's block. Often, all you need is a fresh idea for a good start, and you're on your way again. 

The most important thing is to keep writing. Every great songwriter is always working on their craft.

Read more: Songwriter Tips: Overcome Writer’s Block for Good

Getting Started with Lyric Writing

Understanding song structure.

The starting point for good songs is the common song structure .

Typical Song Structures

Typically, pop songs follow an ABAB or AABAB format where ' A ' represents the verse and ' B ' signifies the chorus. This foundational blueprint allows you to allocate your lyrics effectively and ensures that your song has a fluid progression that listeners are accustomed to.

The chorus should be your song's lyrical and musical high point, like the top of the mountain. Everything else in the song supports the chorus and leads to it.

Songs often also feature a pre-chorus before the chorus. A pre-chorus is an attachment to the chorus that helps reinforce and lift the chorus . It prepares the listener for the chorus.

Modern pop songs sometimes also include a bridge . Its name is very fitting as it connects two sections of the song, usually the last two choruses.

Lyrically, the bridge introduces new information that wasn't yet described in the verses and choruses.

Finding a Good Idea

Your lyrics need a good idea or theme at their core. This is the seed from which your song grows. 

Begin by brainstorming experiences, feelings, or messages you feel passionate about. Your opening line or first line is critical — it's the hook that pulls listeners in and should relate directly to your central theme.

Choosing a Song Title

The song title often sets the tone for the entire piece. It’s the flag you plant that represents the territory of your song. Consider making your title catchy, thought-provoking, and reflective of your lyrics. 

Often, the first thing that catches a listener's attention is the title, so choose one that resonates with them and the message you’re conveying.

Developing Your Lyrics

When you're ready to bring your song to life, focus on creating a strong foundation with the first verse and building momentum through the chorus and second verse before leaving a lasting impression with the final line.

Crafting the First Verse

Your first verse is the opening act of your song's story, setting the scene for your listeners. Here's how to start strong:

Set the Tone : Consider the mood and establish the theme of your song.

Introduce the Narrative : Provide listeners with the context to follow the rest of the song.

Creating Memorable Choruses

The chorus is the heart of your song and often the most memorable part. Aim for these qualities:

Catchiness : Use a simple, repeatable melody that listeners can easily remember.

Emotional Hook : Inject emotion to make the chorus resonate with the audience.

Building the Second Verse

The second verse should deepen the story introduced in the first verse and lead seamlessly back to the second chorus.

Continue the Tale: Reflect on your song's message or storyline progression.

New Information : Give the audience more details or a twist to maintain interest.

Concluding with the Last Line

The last line is your closing statement; it's your chance to leave a powerful impression.

Summarize the Theme : Try to encapsulate the essence of the song in a poignant way.

Echo the Message : Reiterate or complement the song's central message for impact.

Enhancing Your Lyrics

Incorporating rhyme schemes.

To create a sense of cohesiveness in your lyrics, rhyme schemes are essential. Perfect rhymes create a satisfying harmony, while internal rhymes within lines add a layer of sophistication. 

Consider these common schemes:

AA/BB : Consecutive lines rhyme.

ABAB : Alternate lines rhyme, which provides a balanced flow.

XAXA : Every second line rhymes, allowing for creative freedom with unrhymed lines.

Experiment with schemes to find what best complements your song's tone and rhythm.

Using Action Words and Imagery

Energize your lyrics by using action words that propel the narrative forward. Vivid imagery allows listeners to visualize the story, making your words more impactful. For example:

Instead of "I felt sad," try "The tears streamed down, carving rivers in my cheeks."

Use metaphors to strengthen a line: "Your words are a thunderstorm, electrifying the night."

Include sensory details that resonate with your audience, inviting them to experience the song rather than just hear it.

Applying Melody and Chord Progressions

The melody and chord progressions can elevate your lyrics from good to incredible . Start by building a simple progression that complements the emotion behind your lyrics:

Upbeat tempos pair well with uplifting chord progressions.

Minor chords add depth to somber themes.

Meld your lyrics with the ebb and flow of the melody to create a powerful musical narrative that captures your listener's attention.

Polishing and Completing Your Song

Editing for better lyrics.

Your first draft is just the beginning. Now, it's time to take a closer look and edit your work for clarity, emotion, and impact. Go through your lyrics line by line, asking yourself:

Does each line contribute to the overall message?

Can I replace clichés with more original phrases?

Is there a strong mix of showing and telling ?

Make a checklist with these questions to systematically review your lyrics, ensuring they're the best they can be .

Remember that the listener will only know the information you provide in the lyrics. When reviewing your lyrics, make sure you are giving them enough details to understand the whole story.

Feedback and Revisions

Once you've edited your lyrics, seek out feedback from trusted friends, fellow musicians, or mentors. Their fresh ears can catch things you might have missed and offer new perspectives on how to improve.

Keep an open mind to the feedback you receive, and remember:

Not all feedback will be useful—filter through and decide what resonates with your vision.

Use the comments you agree with to guide further revisions of your lyrics.

Prioritize constructive criticism that aligns with your goals for the song to ensure your own lyrics truly resonate as good song lyrics .

We've covered all the basics of how to write song lyrics. 

There are as many different ways of writing powerful lyrics as there are songwriters! Songwriting is a personal art form that weaves emotion and storytelling. 

Mastering the fundamentals of lyric writing can transform compositions into memorable expressions. Great song lyrics often start with a simple idea, and the best songs feature a familiar concept or story told in a unique, different way.

Always keep in mind that authenticity is key when it comes to creating memorable lyrics.

Understanding song structure, central themes, and impactful titles are all important concepts to understand, and rhyme schemes, vivid imagery, and melody all help enhance lyrics and add emotion.

Crafting strong foundations with the first verse, building momentum through choruses and second verses, and concluding with a powerful last line are the building blocks of great lyrics.

It's also important to work on your lyrical ideas on a regular basis. Practice helps strengthen your craft, and it becomes easier and easier to develop great ideas.

About the author

Tero Potila is a professional music composer and producer. His career combining knowledge and experience from music, TV, film, ad, and game industries gives him a unique perspective that he shares through posts on teropotila.com.

Get started with Soundtrap today!

How to Write a Song (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

This is the first installment of a new songwriting series featuring Dennis, a professional songwriter and Hooktheory’s audio engineer. In this series, Dennis showcases his process of writing music from start to finish.

Are you interested in learning how to write a song? You’re in the right place! In this series, we will walk you through the step-by-step process of writing a song and demonstrate every step in Hookpad so you can write your own music, too.

Hookpad is a great tool to help you write a song. Our songwriting sketchpad makes it easy to try new sounds, experiment with chords and melodies, and get help from built-in music theory tools. With Hookpad, you don’t need to play an instrument or have any experience with songwriting to begin. You can start creating great music with just a few clicks!

In Part 1, our focus is on songwriting techniques to lay a solid foundation for your song, including:

• Finding inspiration to write your song
• Crafting unique rhythmic and melodic patterns that capture your song’s mood
• Creating catchy bass lines that form the rhythmic backbone of your track

Let’s explore Hookpad and begin the process of writing a song! We hope you’ll learn some tips on songwriting along the way.

Find Inspiration to Write a Song

How do you start writing a song?

All successful songwriters have their own unique processes, so there is no “one size fits all” approach to getting started. However, for many songwriters and composers, finding musical inspiration is the first step to writing a song. In this case, I’ve chosen a word for inspiration: Cyberpunk.

The picture that comes to mind is a scene from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner or Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash . Think dark concrete megacities at night lit by blue and pink neon light, a world filled with humans connected to digital devices. Separated from this society is a group of lonely hackers fighting against oppression by corrupt governments owned by powerful companies.

My goal is to harness these feelings in my songwriting.

Here is a quick preview of the song we’ll write in Hookpad. Notice how contrasting musical elements will come together when we’re done:

Select the Right Key for Your Song

First, we have to choose the right key for our song. In this case, a minor key is a good choice to harness some of the mysterious darkness that “Cyberpunk” evokes. Now, which minor key should we choose?

The specific key — like C Minor and D Minor — is often chosen to accommodate a singer’s vocal range. Because our composition will be instrumental, we have to look elsewhere.

Metal guitarists often play in E (which corresponds to the lowest string on the guitar), but for a darker and heavier sound, they sometimes tune their guitars down to C. For that reason, let’s go with C Minor.

In Hookpad, changing the key is simple. By default, all projects are in the Key of C Major . To change the key, click on the key menu and choose your preferred tonic or scale.

Build a Track’s Foundation With Melodic Patterns

It’s time to move on to one of the integral parts of making a track: writing melodies.

In our case, we’ll create two patterns:

• A recurring melodic pattern to provide rhythm and repetition
• A bass pattern (a series of low-pitched notes) to add depth and complement the main melody

These patterns will form the foundation of our song and help us make decisions about melodies and chord progressions for the rest of the song.

Tip: For additional songwriting help, check out the Hooktheory forum . Here, you can get feedback on your song ideas and receive valuable advice from other songwriters in our community.

Establish a Recurring Melodic Pattern in Hookpad

We’ll start by adding 16th notes in Hookpad. This may seem a little boring at first, but it is often a good place to start.

Next, we’ll use a cool trick inspired by Classical Indian music that will help us create simple but effective melodic patterns.

In this method, we divide the 16th notes in each measure into groups and accent the first note of each group. There is no limit to the number of groups you can use as long as the math adds up to 16.

We’ll mark the start of each of these groups in the examples below by transposing the first note up an octave, so you can clearly see and hear the groups. Using only groups of even numbers (2, 4, 6) will put all accents onto positions of eighth notes.

The result is the following pattern:

Create Lively Rhythms With Syncopation in Songwriting

We can also try out syncopated rhythms.

Here, we add some groups of odd numbers (1, 3, 5, etc.) so that some of the accents lie on the offbeats. This creates a lively feel.

2+3+2+3+2+4=16

Not bad! This simple technique is a great way for you to develop interesting rhythmic ideas in your own songwriting.

Each of these patterns seems to fit well into this “digital” feel that we’re looking to create, but let’s run with the simpler first one.

Since we plan on contrasting this pattern later with a second rhythmic pattern, we don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves.

To preserve some of the “odd” group feel, we can spice it up a bit by dividing the two groups of 6 into 5 + 1:

Now, we need to introduce more pitches. We can start at the root note and follow up (or down) until the group ends. Then, we start at the root note again. This creates a simple connected line.

I’ve included some chords with a simple arrangement to give an idea of where this could go.

Enhance Your Melody With Arpeggios and Chord Tones

Another approach is to “arpeggiate” and choose notes that follow the chord tones of the underlying harmony.

The C Minor chord consists of the notes C, E♭, and G, so we could focus on those notes in the melody.

For the first three notes of our 5-group, we’ll start at C and go down to G and then to E♭. We can go up again to G and C for the remaining two notes.

4+1+1+4+1+1+4

Harmonize Rhythmic Patterns for a Dark and Connected Feel

The three consecutive Cs sound a little odd.

A simple fix is changing the fifth note from C to B♭. The resulting Cm7 chord (C-E♭-G-B♭) creates a slightly darker feel, and the step from B♭ to C also adds a nice melodic touch.

And there we have it, our fully harmonized “5+1+5+1+4” pattern.

Write a Bass Pattern in Hookpad

Next, let’s create a bass pattern that follows the same 16th-note method.

This time, we’ll aim to create a contrast between the two patterns. This contrast will give each pattern its own space and will ultimately make our track sound more musical.

Let’s look at some ways to achieve this.

Craft Varied Bass Patterns With Octave Variations

This first contrast we get for free. By definition, our bass pattern will naturally be lower than our original pattern. Just like before, we’ll build up our bass pattern step by step, starting with notes on C.

For context, we’ll also include the first pattern, but we’ll only show accents at the beginning of each of its groups for clarity (red outlined notes).

Contrast Bass Patterns With Even or Uneven Numbers

With its big groups of even numbers, our first pattern has a somewhat simple rhythmic feel.

For the bass, let’s experiment with smaller groups of uneven numbers and create a livelier pattern.

One example could be 1+1+3+3+2+2+1+3.

Play With Accent Timing in Bass Patterns

An effective way to create timing contrast is to put accents in our second pattern at positions that are not already used by our first pattern.

One easy way to change an existing pattern is to shift the whole pattern to the right (or left).

Now, we’ve eliminated two shared accents, and we have only one overlap left.

Tip: Check out our YouTube channel for more beginning songwriting tips and tutorials! We have videos about writing melodies, chord progressions, and lyrics that can help you improve your songs.

Emphasize Backbeat and Dynamism in Bass Patterns

The most important position in rock and pop music is the “backbeat” (beats 2 and 4).

Let’s extend all notes on those positions to eighth notes. This will accentuate the backbeat and make the pattern more dynamic.

Create Dynamics with Rests in Bass Patterns

In our first pattern, every 16th note is played. For this second pattern, let’s remove all notes except the last in our groups of three 16ths.

Now, there are only 16th notes, 8th notes, and rests left, so the pattern feels more lively.

Craft a Melodic Bass Line With Scale Movements

We arpeggiated the first pattern using notes from the underlying chord, so for this pattern, let’s try making a more connected line by going up and down the scale. This is a common technique for bass lines.

Here, I’ve changed our non-accented notes from C down one scale degree to B♭.

Add Tension With Non-diatonic Tones

Finally, let’s experiment with adding a non-diatonic note (a note not in the scale) to our bass pattern.

Non-diatonic notes create a tension that is released when it is followed by a diatonic note (a note in the scale). This tension and release, when done properly, can create an edginess to the bass line that helps it groove.

The second to last note is a great place for a non-diatonic tone in our bass line. Let’s raise it by a half step to D♭ so that its tension releases on the final C.

Now, let’s add back all of the notes in our first pattern so we can hear everything together to see how it all sounds.

I also wrote the bass pattern in its correct range, one octave below.

So far, we’ve selected a key and used a simple approach to experiment with different rhythmic patterns to create contrasting melodic patterns. We’ll use the first pattern in the background of the song to give some color, while the second, more melodic one will later be played by our synth bass.

We put a lot of effort into creating a nice contrast between the themes, and now they complement each other nicely. We are well on our way to writing a great song!

Have a look at this short video to see the whole process in time-lapse form.

This is just the beginning of our songwriting tutorial series. In the next part, we’ll discuss picking the right chord progression and adjusting our patterns accordingly. We hope you’ve found these songwriting basics helpful. Use these tips on how to write a song to start writing music yourself!

Ready to explore Hookpad? Experiment with the last two patterns we’ve created together in our songwriting sketchpad!

Explore more music theory articles

Counterpoint Music: The Evolution from Bach to James Blake

Minor Chord Progressions

Song Hooks: What Are They and How Do You Create Your Own?

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Arts and Entertainment
• Music Production
• Composing Music
• Songwriting

How to Write Song Lyrics

Last Updated: May 28, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Amy Chapman, MA . Amy Chapman MA, CCC-SLP is a vocal therapist and singing voice specialist. Amy is a licensed and board certified speech & language pathologist who has dedicated her career to helping professionals improve and optimize their voice. Amy has lectured on voice optimization, speech, vocal health, and voice rehabilitation at universities across California, including UCLA, USC, Chapman University, Cal Poly Pomona, CSUF, CSULA. Amy is trained in Lee Silverman Voice Therapy, Estill, LMRVT, and is a part of the American Speech and Hearing Association. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 3,405,476 times.

There’s something magical about good song lyrics. They’re relatable, or poignant, or they just really make you feel a certain way. We all know great lyrics when we hear them, but what exactly makes them so great? How do you write your own song lyrics that convey your message and help people connect with your music? In this article, we break down the songwriting process step-by-step, from getting inspiration to crafting the perfect lyrics to pairing your lyrics with music. Once you know the basics, you'll be ready to write a song whenever inspiration strikes.

Understanding Common Structures

• An Introduction - this is the section at the beginning which leads into the song. Sometimes it might sound different from the rest of the song, might be faster or slower, or it might not exist at all. Many songs do not have an introduction, so don't feel like you have to use it. [3] X Research source
• A Verse - This is the main part of the song. It is usually fifty percent to twice the number of lines as the chorus but it does not have to be. What gives away a section of a song as a verse is that the melody is the same but the lyrics are different between the different verses. [4] X Research source
• A Chorus - The chorus is the part of the song that repeats without changing: both the lyrics and melody are unchanged or nearly unchanged. This is usually where you try to fit the catchiest part of your song (usually called the hook). [5] X Research source
• A Bridge - The bridge is a part that exists in some songs but not all. Usually coming sometime after the second chorus, the bridge is a part of the song that sounds completely different than the rest of the song. It is usually short, just a line or two of lyrics, and will sometimes lead into a key change. [6] X Research source

• C usually signifies a bridge, other letters that you see cited elsewhere likely just mean that that section of the song is none of the traditional parts and is unique to itself (sort of like taking a verse from a different song and putting it in).

Getting Inspiration

• Do your exercises every day to help you brainstorm . In time, this may help you write better lyrics.

• What you consider to be a good song might differ from someone else's preferences. Focus more on what you like because that's what's important.
• For practice, you might try writing different lyrics for a song you like. You might change a few lines or create a totally new version.

• If you're not sure what kind of music you want to write, give your favorite songs a listen and look for similarities.
• Find the song writers who penned your favorite songs. Then, check out their body of work to look for trends and to evaluate their style.

• Songwriting is an art-form, so it's good to develop your own style. Don't feel like you need to do what everyone else is doing.

Be brave when making music. "Songs are my diaries; they always have been. You have to put your trust in everyone because putting down those real, personal details and thoughts that make a song authentic also opens you right up."

• Lyric writing may go through stages. Don't worry if what you're putting down on paper doesn't look like a song at first. You'll be able to shape it later.
• Keep everything. If you write a single sentence of a song down, it always leads to something else sooner.
• It's okay if your songs aren't very good at first. You can always revise them to write better lyrics.

• Journal entries can be a big inspiration for a song. For instance, when you're going through hard times, you might write song lyrics that encapsulate your frustration, despair or hope. This will help your listeners relate to you.
• You're probably going to get writer's block, as it happens to everyone. The best way to get past writer's block is to just get words down on paper. Don't worry if they're good or not.

Keeping Music in Mind

• Think of a section of music as being like four cups of water. Now, you can pour half of one of the cups into a fifth cup, but that now means that you have two half-full cups. The first doesn't get any more water in it. You similarly can't add extra beats without making it up somewhere (usually with a pause).

• A good example of this is the USA's national anthem, after the line "For the land of the free". There is a pause before "And the home of the brave", which allows the singer to recover from the very powerful previous few bars.

Finding Your Words

• A good example of an alternative to this "I'm so sad" thing is from Damien Rice's song The Animals Were Gone : "At night I dream without you, and hope I don't wake up; 'Cause waking up without you is like drinking from an empty cup".
• Brainstorm some ideas so you can see what you have and choose or even build off of an existing idea. It is probably best if you have an inspiration.

• Good: "You make me feel real again/You just have to smile and I know/The sun's coming out - Amen!"
• Bad: "I really love my cat/My cat is where it's at/Her tail looks like a bat/She's getting kind of fat..."
• Of course, there are some genre considerations. Rap often has far more rhyming than other genres, but even then it's not required. It's just stylistic.

• For example, Macklemore's Same Love uses many examples of assonance rhymes and other non-standard rhymes: lately/daily, anointed/poisoned, important/support it, etc.

Wrapping Up

• Try to write a great first line to hook the listener.
• Revising your song is the best way to write better lyrics.

Getting Extra Help

• With practice, you may be able to teach yourself how to play a musical instrument . However, you might prefer to take classes. This will make it easier to learn proper techniques and concepts like chord progression.
• Learning to write music will help you write a whole song rather than just writing song lyrics.

Sample Lyrics

Become a Song Writer with this Expert Series

Expert Q&A

• Think about who you want to hear your song. What is it that you want them to hear? Thanks Helpful 8 Not Helpful 1
• It's good to have a song writing notebook or perhaps a file on your computer. This helps you organize your thoughts better. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 1
• Never dismiss an idea for a song as "too stupid". Many of the best songs are about the most outlandish topics. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 1

Tips from our Readers

• Check out songs you love and study how the lyrics work. Try out different writing techniques until you land on a style that clicks. When I first started, I had no knowledge of song structure. Then I realized my favorite band used a specific song structure, so I tried that and progressed way faster. Play with writing all kinds of songs to stretch your skills. Audiences like variety.
• Nail down the lyrics if you'll sing your songs live on stage. Before a show, have someone check to make sure the words make sense. If you blank on the lines, take a breath and go through them slowly. Rereading a few times can help them stick. This will give you confidence to belt out those lyrics.
• When first writing songs, you might copy classic tunes too much. While you can take cues from favorite songs, put your own spin on things. Most artists don't like direct copies. Instead, channel the vibe or style you admire, then create your own melodies and lyrics.
• Don't filter your real feelings when you write lyrics. Grab a pen and paper and let it all out — get to know yourself better in the process! The page won't tell your secrets or judge you, so share freely. Use this as therapy for your mind and heart.
• Craft lyrics that feel true to who you are. Songs come off more real when the words ring true to your identity. If certain lines seem untrue to your personality, they could be tough to perform with conviction.
• Keep a notebook on you to jot down song ideas when they hit. Inspiration can strike anywhere, anytime, so be ready to follow those creative sparks. Revisit your notes later when you're working on new material.

• Don't plagiarize a song somebody else wrote or you could get in some serious legal trouble. But it's good to pick a style of lyrics or music you like. So if you like Katy Perry, write pop like her. Or if you like Taylor Swift, write lots of love songs. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Example : My life is horrible and I think it is horrible because I left my cat at my Grandma's and she won't give my cat back so what am I going to do ohhh yeah... What am I gonna do? (that was bad)

Things You'll Need

• An instrument - the guitar,the piano or whatever you can play (recommended to have on hand to create the melody)
• Pencil or pen
• Paper or computer (depending on whether you choose to write or type your lyrics)
• You can also use your mobile phone instead of pen and paper

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.songstuff.com/song-writing/article/aaba-song-form/
• ↑ https://www.careersinmusic.com/song-structure/
• ↑ https://www.fender.com/articles/play/parts-of-a-song-keep-it-straight
• ↑ https://online.berklee.edu/takenote/how-to-write-song-lyrics/
• ↑ https://thinkwritten.com/poetry-writing-inspiration/
• ↑ https://lens.monash.edu/@politics-society/2019/07/19/1375851?slug=the-future-of-music-notation-in-a-digital-world
• ↑ Amy Chapman, MA. Voice & Speech Coach. Expert Interview.1 April 2020.
• ↑ http://songwritinglessonsonline.com/howtowritemusiclyrics.html
• ↑ https://www.secretsofsongwriting.com/2017/03/01/how-to-know-if-your-song-is-good/

About This Article

To write song lyrics, try writing down everything that pops into your head for several minutes without stopping. Then, take a look at what you've written to see if anything inspires you. You can also try looking at different songs and poems for inspiration and to get an idea of what kind of lyrics you enjoy. As you're writing your song, focus on describing how you feel in interesting ways as opposed to just telling people, which will make your song more relatable and memorable. To learn how to organize your song, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Did this article help you?

Jerry Coccoli

Jun 17, 2016

Apr 22, 2019

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Develop the tech skills you need for work and life

English Compositions

Anchoring Script for Song Performance [With PDF]

In this session, you will learn how you can write an anchoring script for any song performance. Let’s get started. 

Table of Contents

Welcome speech (for local clubs / small events), welcome speech (for big events), honouring the chief guests (for both small and big events), song performance (for local clubs/small events).

• Song Performance (For Big Events) 

Ending Speech (For Both Small And Big Events)

Good morning/ good afternoon/ good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am [name], your host for today’s/ tonight’s event. On the behalf of [name of the organising committee], I warmly welcome you all to this beautiful event.

We are really honoured to have the Honourable [full name], M.L.A., and his wife, Mrs [full name], as our chief guests today. Dear chief guests, special invitees and everyone in attendance, I am very glad to have you all with us today/ tonight and I welcome you with all my heart to witness and enjoy the event.

Today/tonight is going to be a day/night full of music, happiness and joy. We have many wonderful performances lined up. Let us all look forward to the performances with a lot of excitement and anticipation. Thank you.

Hello and a warm good morning / good afternoon / good evening to all! What a beautiful day it is today! The weather is pleasant and the breeze is gentle. We truly couldn’t have chosen a better day for this magical event! People say that music is one of the most magical things in the world. If that is so, we can say that we have some of the best magicians here with us today! From award-winning local bands to renowned folk singers to world-famous playback singers, today our line-up is star-studded.

And I, [name], on behalf of [organising committee name], heartily welcome you all to enjoy this magnificent event. I would like to especially welcome our chief guests, Mr [name], chairman of [company name] and Ms [name], CEO of [company name] to this event. Sir and ma’am, thank you so much for joining us today! 

Before we commence the event, we would like to honour our chief guests and offer them a token of our appreciation. I request our committee head, Mr [name] to please come up on the stage. Now I would like to invite our chief guests to please come up on the stage as well. Thank you, sir and ma’am. I would now request Mr [committee head’s name] to honour our chief guests with the bouquets and mementoes prepared for them. Thank you. [As the ceremony is taking place – everyone claps].

After the Ceremony:

Thank you so much. Respected sirs and ma’am, you all may now take your seats. Please enjoy the rest of the event. Thank you.

Our first performers of today/tonight are [name 1] and [name 2]. These talented youngsters took the nation by storm when they posted their self-written, self-composed, self-shot music videos online. It was viewed millions of times and it made them household names. Today, they will be performing some of their latest compositions. So, let’s put our hands together and welcome them on the stage!

After the Performance:

Oh my! That was magnificent! Such a beautiful melody! You both are truly gifted. Thank you so much. Everyone, please give these talented kids a huge round of applause. Thank you.

Our next performer is someone you already know and love! She is also known as the nightingale of [the locality name] and has been singing since she was 5! Today, our nightingale, [singer name], will be singing [track name 1] and [track name 2] for us. Let’s welcome her on the stage with a huge round of applause!

Wow! No wonder she is called the nightingale! What a melodious voice and what a beautiful performance! [Singer name], you did amazing, as always! Thank you so much. Everyone, please give her a huge round of applause! Thank you.

[The anchor can similarly welcome different acts on the stage and carry on with the show.]

Now, it is time for the final performance of the day/night. Our renowned folk singers, [names], will be singing [folk song names] for us today. Let’s give it up for them!

What a beautiful performance! Folk songs truly make our soul dance! Thank you so much. Everyone, please give these amazing singers a huge round of applause! Thank you.

Song Performance (For Big Events)

“Life is a song. Your thoughts are the music. Now play beautiful music and sing a wonderful song.” – Debashish Mridha

It is now time for the opening act. And for that, we have someone special! The pride of our city, the one who brought so much glory to [city name] by representing us countless times on the national stage – he/she is none other than [singer name]. So, put your hands together and let’s welcome him/her onto the stage with a huge round of applause! 

What a soulful performance! Your voice is a gift! Thank you so much for such a lovely performance. Everyone, please give [singer name] a huge round of applause! Thank you. 

Now, moving on to the next performance we have here with us our beloved Ustaad [name]. Ustaad [name] has been performing for the past 45 years, since the age of 6. It is a pleasure to be able to watch him perform with such intricacy and grace. Today, he will be performing [song name] on his veena. So, please put your hands together and warmly welcome him onto the stage. 

Wow! What a spellbinding performance! You are truly a gift to us! Thank you so much, master. Everyone, please give him a huge round of applause. Thank you. 

Now, it is time for the act all of us have been waiting for with bated breath. Finally, the time has come! The singer known for his divine vocals, the one who is world-renowned for his melodious songs, the one without whose songs a movie is said to be incomplete – with a huge round of applause, let’s welcome the singer, the legend – [singer name]! 

Oh my! So ethereal! I am at a loss for words. What a beautiful performance! You are truly our shining star! Thank you so much! Everyone, please give him a huge round of applause! What a performance! 

Now we have come to the final act of the day/night. This is for all the rock lovers out there! We have here with us the [band name]! I can see your excitement! Yes! It is going to be awesome! So, let’s put our hands together and warmly welcome [band name] onto the stage! 

What an energetic performance! I am sure everyone present here enjoyed it to the core! It was fabulous! Thank you so much, team! Everyone, please give these talented men a huge round of applause! Thank you. 

We have now come to the conclusion of the event. I hope that everyone enjoyed the various song and musical performances. Thank you for attending this event and making it successful. Thank you all for your time, encouragement, enthusiasm, love and support. I would like to especially thank our chief guests who took time out of their extremely busy schedules to attend this event and grace us with their presence.

Thank you so much. Also, a huge thank you to all our singers, musicians and performers. It is you guys who made this possible! To our organisers and sponsors, without you, we wouldn’t have been able to organise this event – Thank you! 

Thank you, everyone! Have a good day/night!”

Note: This is a sample script meant to provide you with a basic idea of how to write an anchoring script for a song performance. Feel free to use this script and edit it as per your needs. 

Music to Write By

Here are three guidelines for choosing music to complement your writing..

Posted July 1, 2024 | Reviewed by Davia Sills

• If you’re an audiophile, beware choosing just any music when you’re writing—and listen to vocals sparingly.
• Choose instrumental music if your topic is challenging to make it easier on your working memory.
• If you want a creativity edge, listen to music before you write. Silence is then golden.

In a study by two researchers at University College London, 10- and 11-year-olds were asked to write an “exciting” story. Some wrote while listening to exciting music—"I Spy, The Looking Glass" (a breakbeat instrumental). Some wrote to calming music—"Gymnopodies" by Erik Satie (slow-moving piano). And some wrote in silence.

Which kids do you think wrote the most exciting pieces? Surprisingly, the ones listening to either calming music or silence (about the same), according to independent judges. And which music did the kids perceive worked best? The exciting music.

The kids in the “exciting” group not only did not write better, however. They had more trouble getting started, were more restless and fidgety, and asked lots of non-task-related questions.[i] They were distracted.

This research, though involving youngsters, reflects decades of research on the impact of listening to music on adult cognitive performance: People doing cognitive tasks while listening to music—adults or children—have a tough time, and they often don’t realize it.

Experiments give mixed, sometimes conflicting results, however.[ii] They also point to different effects among people with different personalities.[iii] If you enjoy listening to music while you write, science offers just a couple of general guidelines.

First, if you’re a diehard write-to-music type, you’ll do best to listen to instrumental music. People who listen to instrumentals often perform cognitive tasks just about as well as if they perform in silence.[iv] Second, if you can’t resist playing an exciting tune, especially one with vocals, listen before you write.

You might have thought that listening to what you like works best to inspire writing with more impact. That’s what the kids thought. But the research shows that three factors should figure into your choice.

1. Choose music to fit your task.

If you’re writing something easy—rehashing familiar ideas, tailoring passages for a fresh audience—you can just as well listen to whatever you like. The reason is that your working memory can handle the processing of both the music and of language production.

Working memory is the constraining factor. If you have some to spare, you won’t hinder your performance. Some experiments even show the music will help you perform better.

Manuel Gonzalez and John Aiello at Baruch College and Rutgers conducted an experiment in which they had people perform simple verbal tasks—finding words in a list with specific letters. The people performed better while listening to music. But the story was the reverse for complex verbal tasks—remembering the second word of a word pair read earlier.[v]

So if you’re expressing new ideas, beware burdening yourself with too much to process. Music can hijack essential capacity you need—or at least slow your output. In a study of college students who were writing original 10-minute essays, researchers found that listening to music cut their output by roughly 60 words an hour.[vi]

2. Choose music to fit your personality.

A number of studies have compared the cognitive performance of music-listening introverts versus extraverts . In studies that tested verbal tasks—tasks like finding synonyms and antonyms—extraverts did just as well while listening to music.[vii]

Not so for the introverts. They performed worse. Researchers theorize that the extraverts preferred and sought external stimulation owing to their lower resting cortical activity, and they had the working memory to accommodate it.

Gonzalez and Aiello at Baruch and Rutgers, who included both introverts and extraverts in their 2019 research, found mixed results, however. The capacity or people to listen and perform cognitively depended on the difficulty of the task.[viii]

So if you’re wondering: Do I have extra leeway to add audio stimuli to the background and perform well? You may if you’re an extravert. But if you’re an introvert, forget it. Future research may confirm these results.

3. Choose music at the right time.

You have another option as an audiophile. Listen to music before you write. A number of studies examine the effect of music on cognitive tasks performed after listening. Although this research also remains inconclusive, it yields interesting results.

A contingent of researchers speculated for years that music aided cognitive performance—at least performance of certain kinds. In one landmark experiment, researchers showed that people who had just listened to a Mozart sonata performed better on spatial-temporal tasks.[ix]

The results kicked up a media craze, and more than one news story in the 1990s promoted a thesis that overshot the data, dubbing the finding the “Mozart effect.” Small children, guided by their parents, were then led to believe that music had almost magical cognitive-enhancing powers.

Alas, nobody has been able to replicate the Mozart effect.[x] The pop psychology that grew from the Mozart study…popped. Still, a piece of the theory has remained in play. It suggested that music can put people in a right mood to facilitate cognition.[xi] Researchers in recent years can’t find much empirical backing for that either, but an intriguing, related line of research makes one wonder about another effect—on verbal creativity .

Katherine Eskine at Wheaton College led a study in which people were asked to listen to 260-second-long music tracks. The music included hip-hop (“Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis) and classical (Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”).

Afterwards—after the music quit—the Eskine team asked people to perform 38 compound remote associates tasks (so-called CRATs). Each such CRAT challenges people to combine a set of three words given to them (“stick,” “maker,” “point”) with a fourth of their own that goes with the initial three—more or less as prefixes or suffixes.

Solving CRATs, a widespread experimental technique, is believed to be a measure of creativity, and Eskine’s team’s results were clear: Although people who listened to the music did not report changed moods, they did perform much better in solving CRATs.[xii]

The implication? If you’re trying to be creative verbally, play the music beforehand. It can help you to then connect faint—yet fruitful—thoughts across distant and disparate parts of your brain. And such connections can help you to come up with something new—in this case, the word “match.”

Why music would induce creativity remains speculative. But experiments suggest that the music does have a positive effect on mood—as in the calming music for those kids. Yet other research shows this positive mood can spur the emergence of insights. These insights, so the evidence suggests, come from intuitive instead of analytical thinking.[xiii]

Whether you finally decide to write to music, of course, is up to you. But when you choose, the lesson is not to refrain altogether—or to just listen to instrumentals. It is to pick the right time and right music for the right writing job. Let your museful common sense, in other words, be your guide.[xiv]

[i] Susan Hallam and Carey Godwin, "Actual and Perceived Effects of Background Music on Creative Writing in the Primary Classroom," Psychology of Education Review 39, no. 2 (2015).

[ii] John Elwood Romig and Amanda A Olsen, "Examining the Impact of Listening to Music on Writing Fluency," Educational Studies (2024). See also Wilson Lim, Adrian Furnham, and Alastair McClelland, "Investigating the Effects of Background Noise and Music on Cognitive Test Performance in Introverts and Extraverts: A Cross-Cultural Study," Psychology of Music 50, no. 3 (2022).

[iii] Manuel F Gonzalez and John R Aiello, "More Than Meets the Ear: Investigating How Music Affects Cognitive Task Performance," Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied 25, no. 3 (2019).

[iv] Yiting Cheah et al., "Background Music and Cognitive Task Performance: A Systematic Review of Task, Music, and Population Impact," Music & Science 5 (2022).

[v] Gonzalez and Aiello, "More Than Meets the Ear: Investigating How Music Affects Cognitive Task Performance."

[vi] Sarah E Ransdell and Lee Gilroy, "The Effects of Background Music on Word Processed Writing," Computers in Human Behavior 17, no. 2 (2001).

[vii] Cheah et al., "Background Music and Cognitive Task Performance: A Systematic Review of Task, Music, and Population Impact."

[viii] Gonzalez and Aiello, "More Than Meets the Ear: Investigating How Music Affects Cognitive Task Performance."

[ix] Frances H Rauscher, "Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship," Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association (102nd, Los Angeles, CA, August 12-16,) (1994).

[x] Mehr SA, Schachner A, Katz RC, Spelke ES (2013) Two Randomized Trials Provide No Consistent Evidence for Nonmusical Cognitive Benefits of Brief Preschool Music Enrichment. PLoS ONE 8(12): e82007.

[xi] Gonzalez and Aiello, "More Than Meets the Ear: Investigating How Music Affects Cognitive Task Performance."

[xii] Katherine E Eskine et al., "Effects of Music Listening on Creative Cognition and Semantic Memory Retrieval," Psychology of Music 48, no. 4 (2020).

[xiii] Mark Beeman, Professor of Psychology, Northwestern University, personal communication, May 5, 2022.

[xiv] Luca Kiss and Karina J Linnell, "Making Sense of Background Music Listening Habits: An Arousal and Task-Complexity Account," Psychology of Music 51, no. 1 (2023).

Bill Birchard is a writer, writing coach, and book consultant. He writes about the neuroscience and psychology of writing. His most recent book is Writing for Impact: 8 Secrets from Science That Will Fire Up Your Reader’s Brains.

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Self Tests NEW
• Therapy Center
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

At any moment, someone’s aggravating behavior or our own bad luck can set us off on an emotional spiral that could derail our entire day. Here’s how we can face triggers with less reactivity and get on with our lives.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience