9 Effective Strategies to Help You Write Your First Song

Saturday, May 25, 2024 by Alyssa Martin | Writing

In the world of songwriting, expressing yourself is key. Whether you're a seasoned songwriter or just starting out, these tips will help you channel your creativity into crafting meaningful songs. Dive into the art of songwriting as a way to share your thoughts and feelings with others.

Get into a flow

Start by writing 5-10 minutes daily of whatever is on your mind. It could be a literal brain dump. Start from a place of what's real for you. Eventually the lyrics and poetic verses will come on their own without forcing.

Write for yourself, without judgment

If you are thinking, “I’m going to show this to later.” or “What if finds this and reads it?,” the inner critic takes over and detracts from the freedom of self-expression.

Use literary devices like alliteration, allusion, metaphor, simile and imagery

Alliteration is when you repeat the same letter or sound such as “And, baby, now we’ve got bad blood” in Bad Blood by Taylor Swift. Another example is, “Whisper words of wisdom” in Let It Be by The Beatles. It sounds good to the ear and the brain, and it’s fun to sing. Check out this article on popular literary devices in songs.

Choosing a genre

Some genres don’t have a lot of lyrics required - you can repeat one line over and over with varying intensity. Techno, trip-hop, chill-out, ambient and electronica are some examples. There are few lyrics in some Rock/Pop songs too… Check out “We Found Love” by Rhianna and "Is There Anybody Out There?" by Pink Floyd, 

Song meaning can guide your writing 

Do you want the song to make a statement about something you’re passionate about? Do you want to just express your emotions? Are you going to tell a story with the lyrics?

Try improvisation

Get comfortable with creating in the moment. Improv is a practiced skill. Sometimes, at first, self-judgment and criticism prevents us from letting any ideas out. Just a little improv practice goes a long way though, and we soon find our brain coming up with whole sentences. Allow yourself to be the instrument, and let the words and music flow through you.

If you know how to play piano or guitar, pick 3 notes or chords and keep repeating them - then let yourself riff out loud or write/type while you listen.

If you want to practice writing lyrics and melody, you can get a backing track that a musician already wrote! Search YouTube for “Write your own song” or “Songwriters backing track.” You can add search terms like guitar, piano, slow, rock, etc. 

Coming up with the melody

Pick out a few chords and play them over and over, recording yourself. Then play it back over and over as you play around with singing different melodies, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

Pick a song format

The basic sections of a song are verse, chorus (refrain) and bridge. Some songwriters assign these section letters to make it easier to organize. You can choose the format at any stage in the song-writing process. Some artists like to write out a bunch of lyrics first and then break it up into parts that make sense. Whereas other artists like to choose a format first, and then write lyrics to fill the empty spaces.

Always record!

Record yourself during the melody writing process using an app on your phone such as "voice memo" (Apple) or "voice recorder" (Android). This ensures you will remember all the great ideas you come up with.

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