Songwriting is a very useful skill that can come in handy in many fields, such as the music industry, television, advertising, and others. You can write song lyrics both for yourself to start your own career in music and for other artists. Therefore, many aspiring musicians often wonder how to write their own song at home.
In fact, anyone can do it! All it takes is some basic knowledge of the musical instrument you’re using, such as a guitar or piano, an idea and the right methodology. Also, special programs like Amped Studio can help, where you can not only record and edit your composition, but also share it with the world.
But writing a good song is notoriously difficult. After all, professional songwriters spend their entire careers chasing success. But everyone has to start somewhere, and you don’t have to be a musical genius to make quality material. In fact, there are so many different ways to do it that each songwriter has their own unique workflow and style. And while there are no rules here, there are some simple steps you can follow to learn how to write songs, which we’ll cover in a moment.
Music Writing.
Choose a style
Decide what genre you want to work on your song. Different music genres have certain classic features that you can use. If you’re writing a country style song, you can pick up a steel guitar and build your melodies and lyrics around the theme of loss and adversity. If you’re writing a rock song, you can apply power chords and write lyrics about protest.
Create an arrangement.
Decide on the rhythm.
Choose a beat and beats that fit the mood and genre of your own song. A faster tempo is best for fun or chaotic songs like techno and punk rock. Sad or emotional tracks, such as pop and country, usually have a slower beat. If your song doesn’t fall into any of these categories, you can try a mid-tempo approach, which is typical of classic rock music.
For example, the punk rock style usually has a fast, dynamic rhythm and uses a 4/4 beat (a beat is a quarter note lasting 1 second and has 4 beats in each measure). Reggae music often uses syncopated beats that are played off-beat to convey a non-traditional atmosphere. Try searching online to find out what kind of rhythm the particular genre of music you want to play uses.
Develop a melody.
To start writing your own song, you should develop a basic melody on the piano or guitar. Even if you’re not going to use these instruments, it’s easy to experiment with them when it comes to creating a melody. Start by playing with common tones such as G, A, C, D, E, and F. Be aware of the intended theme of the song and choose a tonality that you think can convey it.
Develop the melody using major and minor. Use scales in your chosen key to convey the mood you are trying to express. Experiment with different melodies until you find what sounds and feels right for you. The basic keys are usually considered happy, optimistic or energetic. Melancholic or emotional are usually considered minor scales. For example, D minor is often called the saddest tonality. C major is one of the most successful-sounding keys. Depending on the theme of the song, you can also alternate between major and minor to convey a variety of feelings.
Take lessons
Take guitar lessons if you need help writing your own song at home. You don’t have to own a guitar to do it, but it does help to learn the basics, like how to create different notes, play chords, and experiment with tunings. You can find a local guitar teacher at your local music store or look them up online.
You can also consider using online video lessons to hone your skills. Once you have the basics down, start experimenting with melodies for your song and use your guitar to develop ideas.
Ask for help from a co-writer if you need help writing your music. If you’re coming up with elements for your own song that you can’t create yourself, consider asking a musically gifted friend to join you in the writing process.
Equipment Needed
Arrangement is a big topic in music. It includes concepts such as tonality, tempo, instruments, vocal chords, and more. Although arranging seems complicated, it’s not if you work in a DAW.
Experiment with music creation software. If you can’t play a musical instrument, don’t let that stop you from writing songs! Many people use music software such as Amped Studio to create their music, especially electronic performers. This program has a huge number of ready-made drum sounds, basses, chords, and melodies available online, allowing you to manipulate and combine them in endless ways to write your own songs.
In addition, you can experiment with synthesizer sounds, guitar effects, apply filters, and more in the program. You can also add separate plug-ins with entire libraries of new sounds to the software’s standard sounds. The possibilities are truly endless.
Writing lyrics
Song Structure
With a great main idea and overall direction, you’ll need some structure to give your song shape. Many songwriters find structure to be the hardest part of songwriting, but that doesn’t have to be a stumbling block.
In fact, the vast majority of popular songs are built on only a few possible structures. Most songs consist of three key structural elements: a verse, a chorus, and a bridge:
The verse is the section that builds and develops the narrative.
The chorus is a recurring section that usually contains the most direct statement of the song’s main idea. It is also the most memorable moment.
A bridge is a contrasting piece that takes the track in a different direction before returning to the verse or chorus. Bridges are usually used to shake up the pattern and make familiar elements, such as the chorus, stronger.
This structure is standard, but your version doesn’t necessarily have to follow it to work.
Choose a title.
It may seem counterintuitive, but one of the easiest ways to come up with ideas for your own song is to think of potential titles. Listen and look for particularly memorable or meaningful phrases in TV shows, movies, books, and everyday conversations and write them down in a notebook or in your phone. You can also give a song title when you write the melody and lyrics.
In addition, it might be helpful to make a list of questions for your title. Then by the end of the song, the lyrics can answer all those questions. For example, in the song Heartbreak hotel, Elvis asks the questions: “What is the Heartbreak Hotel?” “What happens there?” and “where is it?” and then answers all those questions in his lyrics.
Write down ideas.
When a good idea comes to mind, you need to be prepared. Capturing musical fragments in the moment of inspiration is a key part of an author’s creativity. If you create a bank of ideas, you can revisit them later. On top of that, being creative helps shape an author’s mindset. The more you pay attention to it, the more often you find new ideas.
To form a similar habit, you can start keeping a special journal of your own song lyrics. It can be a notebook in which you write down phrases, excerpts of words, or other written material that will be used in the song. Many writers keep such diaries for sudden glimpses of inspiration or sketches of ideas that come to them during the day. Keeping a journal is a great first step to learning how to write song lyrics.
Write verse lyrics
Write a verse based on the themes presented in the chorus. Your verses should use strong, specific imagery and concrete examples to develop the more vague themes in the chorus.
After you have written the first verse, the next two will be easier and faster to do. They should follow the same lyrical and melodic patterns as your first verse, but contain new information already.
Also decide if you want to add a bridge to your own song. It is similar to another chorus that is only sung once and introduces the themes of your song in a new way. Use your bridge to liven it up by humming new words and in a new key or with other chords in the same key. Make sure the bridge lyrics are as vague as your chorus lyrics. Don’t introduce any new details.
Record your own song.
After you’ve written your own song at home and have it memorized, you should record it. You can use a variety of devices to do this, such as your phone, recorder, and video camera. You can also record the track directly in Amped Studio, as all the necessary tools are already built into the program. When you already have a recording, be sure to make a copy of it or upload it to the cloud. That way you’ll never forget your song or lose it.
How to Promote Your Song
You can use different tools to promote your own tracks, here are some of them:
Publish your material on dedicated websites and social media, such as SoundCloud, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok.
Distribute your music by commenting on blogs, forums and other social media, but don’t spam! This will cause you to lose credibility and potentially annoy people.
Ask people for feedback, but don’t get angry if the response is negative. You can never make everyone like you.
Post your content on Spotify. It’s currently one of the most popular ways to listen to music in the world-so you have to be where everyone is!
Reach out to local radio stations, blogs and podcasts. Don’t rule out outdated methods of promotion. Local radio stations need rotation of new music.
Conclusion
Writing good lyrics is one of the most rewarding experiences for a musician. At first, when thinking about how to record your own song, it may seem difficult, but in fact anyone can do it with some effort and learning the basics.
From inspiration to creating the final lines and chords, songwriting consists of many steps. But discovering each one is an exciting part of the creative journey that will help you develop as an artist. This guide will be a great start to writing your first song.