How to Write a Song

From before King David, to the Reformation, to the colonization of the Americas, and into present times, music has been a big part of civilization. The process of creating music has evolved over time. People have developed more words, fine tuned melody, and stacks of Marshall amps that go to 11. Regardless, the urge to express oneself through song remains as strong as ever. This wikiHow will show you how to do it.

Method One of Two:
Listen to the Masters

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   Work out the melody, if music is what starts to happen in your mind. You just begin at the beginning without words. That beginning is to know what works best for you. Many songwriters, such as Peter Gabriel, work out the music before they work out the lyrics. They may sing nonsense syllables just to get a sense of how the lyrics and music might work together.
   

   • One of the most famous, most covered songs in history was created this way. The composer woke up one morning with the melody in his head, and sang "Scrambled eggs, oh you've got such lovely legs" as the lyrics as he developed the song. He eventually figured it out, and that's how Paul McCartney wrote the song "Yesterday."
   • For a good example of this technique, listen to Peter Gabriel's "A Different Drum" starting at about 1:40. His "lyrics" are just word-sounds.
   
   
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   Try the alternative; so, write "poetry" before creating the music: Work out the lyrics first, and possibly work with another lyricist as a partner, to get the "story/poem" created, possibly for a church worship team, TV drama, theatrical stage production or a movie. Think of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein -- Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter -- or Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. Many people find this a much more difficult row to hoe—there's a big difference between poetry and song, and without a solid musical foundation, there are many hurdles to overcome to fit music to the lyrics. Still, when the muse strikes, who really cares if she hits you with the words or the melody first? Grab the inspiration and run with it.
   

   • One composer became very well known working with a lyricist: Elton John, putting the lyrics of Bernie Taupin to music. When it's done well, it's very good!
3. CHECK learn craft of writing good music
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   Work out the structure. Most songs have a recognizable formula: The intro, a verse or two with a chorus, a bridge, followed by another verse and chorus, and then out.
   

   • The intro. This can be strictly instrumental, a part of the chorus, or something completely off the wall. For example, "Rocky Raccoon" by the Beatles starts with a talky introduction describing the character and setting the stage for the song.
   • The verse. This is the majority of most songs—though not necessarily the most important part. This is the exposition, describing the scene, or the person, or an emotion. Very often there are two or three verses in a row that have the same musical structure, the same rhyme and poetic meter, but different words. The second verse builds on the picture painted in the first verse, etc. Most songs have a recognizable verse structure, though unless you read lyrics on websites, you may not always hear the actual words being said.
   • The chorus. This is where it all comes together — all the verses have been leading up to the chorus, and is usually the part of the song people sing along with. Think "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles. Can you remember the verse lyrics? Maybe. Can you remember the chorus? It's easy! "All you need is love!" However, as important as a chorus can be to a song, it's not necessarily a given. In "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go," Dylan has one sentence at the end of each verse (the title line), and that's about as close as he gets to a chorus.
   • The bridge. This is the part of the song that shifts—it can suddenly change tempo, or volume, or instrumentation—it's all fair game. A good example that puts this all together is "Better Together" by Jack Johnson. He uses this form: Intro-Verse-Verse-Chorus-Break-Verse-Verse-Break-Bridge-Break-Out