Basic Song Writing

In order for you to understand basic song writing you must understand some key components.

• Intro: Beginning part of the song usually instrumental at first and then 1st verse begins typically but not always
• Verse-Where the story part of the song is. A verse usually consists of 4 lines and most often (but not always) the ending words usually rhyme with each other
• Chorus: This is the hook part of the song. Also, maybe be where the name of the song comes from. It usually consists of 2 to 4 lines of words. Another thing to consider is to make the chorus memorable enough that people can sing the words. This is said to be a "catchy" song when its very memorable and people want to sing it.
• Bridge: A transitional part of the song that may go into a instrument solo
• Solo: An instrument plays a melodic phrase
• Outro: Ending of the song

A basic pattern of song writing ususally looks something like this

Intro:

1st Verse

2nd verse

Chorus

3rd verse

4th verse

Chorus

Bridge

Solo

Chorus

Outro:

Not all songs are laid out this way. Please study you're particular type of music to get an idea of writting styles. But at least you will have a foundation on what to look for.

Here are a few examples from different types of music

Metal: "Master of Puppets" by Metallica

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/metallica/master+of+puppets_20092140.html

Hiphop: "Lose Yourself" by Eminem

http://www.metrolyrics.com/lose-yourself-lyrics-eminem.html

Country: "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band

http://www.metrolyrics.com/chicken-fried-lyrics-zac-brown-band.html

Gospel: "Amazing Grace" by John Newton

http://www.constitution.org/col/amazing_grace.htm

Note: I do not own these lyrics. I merely posted them here for educational purpose.

Understanding song writing basics is very useful to everyone who plays instruments as well not just the singer, because it gives them reference points of where they are in the song. When to do the changes etc. By counting how many times they do a certain pattern they know when it goes from the 1st verse to 2nd verse and then chorus and so on.

Well obviously most people don't really know where alot of sources come from but here are some helpful tips for your song writing. When all else fails talk about subjects you know

• Write about things that are close your personal experiences.
• Books you might have
• Articles on various subjects that YOU are personally interested in

NEVER try to force a song or it will not come out as geniune

 Instrumentalists or virtuosos can use this same pattern to write their songs. The only difference is that the singing part is replaced by the instrument which is why it is called a "voice" because it replaces the part where human vocals should go.

Dictionary- to figure out meanings of words

Thesaurus- to help you find words that rhyme with each other

www.dictionary.com is a helpful resource