A Beginner’s Guide To Songwriting

The purpose of this tutorial is to teach complete beginners how to write a simple song. Rather than focusing on the specific applications, skills, and techniques you might need to record, mix, or master a song, this series focuses largely on the process of writing a song.

Introduction

For the purpose of this tutorial series, I am going to assume nothing about you, your musical background, your talent, or your level of familiarity with making music. Rather, I ask only that you be willing to try these techniques out, work through the process, and be willing to give and receive constructive feedback!

Without further ado - on with the show!

What is Music?

How do we define it? It's not a trick question! In fact, the answer is much simpler than you might think. Music - at its most basic level - is simply organized sound, according to composer Edgar Varèse. And that's it. Any person who is able to organize sounds (even zero sounds if you are a fan of John Cage!) into some structure - any structure - can make music.

To make something you might want to listen to, it takes more than just arranging random sounds. We will not discuss the psychology, physiology, and philosophy of why we listen to music, etc. here (but if you're interested in learning about those things, check out this book), but suffice it to say that our analysis will revolve around what makes a typical, popular song work within the context of simple music theory.

 Listen to The Heart of Music.

"But if a song is sung and there's no one there to hear, does it even make a sound?" ~ Storyhill

Listening is a skill that can never be practiced enough, even by the most accomplished and experienced musician. Listening to music critically and analytically is crucial for beginning musicians and songwriters. As a listener, we can identify the elements of a song that work for us when we listen to music from the perspective of the creator rather than the consumer. Consequently, we have a better understanding of why certain songs evoke particular emotions, irritate us, energize us, or put us in a thoughtful mood. At a more mundane level, we can examine a song's fundamentals and begin to identify its patterns, and how it differs from or is similar to other songs.

"But wait," you might say. You cannot enjoy music as it is if you listen 'critically' to it. You will always think about it! Trust me when I say that many new musicians have this fear - and any musician will tell you that it simply isn't true. Music can be appreciated on multiple levels the better you understand it. You won't always listen critically to music. As you develop the skill, you'll always be able to listen in a way that allows you to better understand whatever is happening at any given moment.

Gem Of Musicians Wisdom #1: I am going to tell you something that will surely evoke strong opinions, but I will nonetheless say it. You will be better at composing and writing music if you learn more about the craft. You will go a long way if you have a lot of talent. To create something new, you have to break the rules. In music, you cannot truly break the rules until you understand them first, and raw talent without dedication and practice can only go so far. You can make some noise if you don't want to write music that people will want to hear - at least family and friends. If you want to learn why people like certain kinds of music so that you can make music that people enjoy listening to, you have to understand the rules, structures, and language of music.

You understand that listening is an important skill for a new musician. But what are we listening for?

What Makes a Song?

According to blogger and songwriter Graham English, "We can say a song is good when it accomplishes its purpose as envisioned by the artist." I think most experienced musicians and songwriters would agree with this statement, but what if you've never written a song before? If you've never taken a music lesson or played an instrument before, what should you do? If you haven't even learned the simplest of forms, how can you be sure of your purpose? In music, we must also learn some basic language before we can express our meaning clearly. It is similar to the process of learning alphabet, words, subjects, objects, adjectives, sentences, and paragraphs in writing.

So for the purposes of this series, let's look at a few elements that make up a good pop song.

Most of us latch onto a song's melody when listening to it. Pop music typically carries it through the vocal line, though occasionally it may be temporarily carried by another, non-vocal, instrument.

Harmony is what supports a melody over time. Adding tension and release to harmony gives motion and accentuates the emotion. Harmony is usually carried by the backing instruments such as guitar, piano, and bass, though other vocalists may harmonize with the lead vocal for an even stronger musical statement.

A song's rhythm literally moves. From the drums to the lead vocal, all the elements of a song have a rhythm that works together to form a complete whole.

Lyrics are often the part of a pop song that elicits the most emotion. Songs are made up of words that tell a story or lead the listener on a journey.

A song's form is its structure, which can vary from very simple to very complex. Typically, a song has an introduction, at least one verse, at least one chorus, a bridge, and an outro.

There are a few other aspects of music that can contribute to making a great song - the arrangement (the layout of instruments over the course of a song) or the production (how the song is recorded, performed, engineered, etc.) But the truth is, good arrangement and solid production cannot save a song without a solid foundation of melody, harmony, lyrics, rhythm and form.

Review

We have reached the end of Part 1 of our songwriting tutorial. Here is a quick review:

• Music is organized sound.
  
• To understand what makes a "good pop song" in the context of this tutorial, we need to understand the language of music.
• Listening critically is the first step to understanding the language of music. Remember that critical listening does not mean taking the fun out of music!
• Listening to a song, we can identify its constituent parts: melody, harmony, rhythm, lyrics, and form.

To Be Continued...

I hope you're still reading. Then don't worry, because we'll take a closer look at each element in Part 2 and explore ways to listen for and deconstruct them by analyzing popular songs. Until then, here is a challenge for you:

Listen to a song multiple times. As you begin to listen more critically rather than casually, pay attention to the aforementioned aspects of music and make notes on anything you notice.