Need help writing songs !!!!

I need help writing a love song. can anybody tell me anything that will help me. just lyrics,i have my chords already for my song.

floriann101 said:

I need help writing a love song. can anybody tell me anything that will help me. just lyrics,i have my chords already for my song.

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It really helps me to pay attention to what I learned in English class. A lot of people ask me for help with their lyrics, and too often it's some kind of formless stream-of-consciousness thing... I actually think it's easier to write with form in mind. For the verses try a simple rhyme scheme like:

A
A
B
B

The easiest style of chorus is one line repetition. Think "Born in the U.S.A." or "Dude Looks Like A Lady."

Now that you've got your chorus, write your second verse using the same rhyme scheme as the first verse. Repeat the chorus. At this point, you could write a bridge or a third verse. Sometimes people even just repeat the first verse again. After that, repeat the chorus twice and you're done.

There's your structure. Now as far as finding what notes to sing and what chords to play, usually your lyrics will tell you what notes they are. Or at least give you clues.

Speak your first line or two aloud. Your voice will naturally give stress to certain syllables and de-stress others. The stressed syllables are your high and/or longer notes, while your de-stressed syllables are your lower and/or shorter notes. Your line should also have it's own natural rhythm. The most important syllables also usually come on the down beat.

For example, let's say I wrote this line as my opener:

"I sell baby carrots from door to door."

If I speak that line aloud, my naturally stressed syllables are the "car" in carrots, and the first "door." These syllables would be my high and long notes. Furthermore, they seem to lend themselves to a feel in 6/8 time. Given that, I might write the rhythm of that line as:


If the above is greek to you, let me help you understand. 6/8 time means you have 6 beats to a measure. Clap your hands 6 times. That's one measure. The stressed beats in 6/8 time are the 1 and the 4. Clap a little louder on those beats. I have two measures above, so do two repetitions of 6 claps. Got it?

Now speak the line while clapping, taking care to place the syllables on the beats I have assigned them to. Here's a short video to help you.

Now what notes to use? What chords to use? Pick a chord, any chord will do. Let's choose C. We have already decided on the "car" in carrots and the first door as our "tent poles," so I would start the melody low and rise up to "car." I'd then go back down before going back up for "door." Something like this could work:



Here's a link to an mp3 so you could listen to what that sounds like:
http://www.box.net/shared/avsmgugl4x

The song seemed to want to switch chords on that first "door," so I went ahead and switched to an F chord there. I went back to the C for the second "door." It just seemed to want to do that.

I like it!

So I guess the short answer is, listen to what your song wants to do. It's not that you're "writing" a song per se, it's more like you're letting a song write itself.

You might try modeling it after one of Seeso love songs. "I'm a Queen" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKkzn29mgQ8 Great tune!!!

I sell baby carrots from door to door
And when I run out people scream for more
They bake them! they fry them!
You really should try them!
Cuz mine are much better than those at the store

If the song is for someone special to you, think about a "pet" phrase that you use when you talk. Like a private joke or something. It should be short and concise. Then start building from there. It will have special meaning for the person you are writing about. Sometimes the phrase will actually dictate the rhythm of the resulting song.

For instance, in one relationship we used to trade a friendly sarcastic line at an opportune time "Cuz you know, your happiness is all that's important to me"
I might even work on that one myself!

Or you could go to the Dark side like Faricelli. God only knows what he would have done with selling baby carrots from door to door but it would have been interesting to listen to.

floriann101 said:

I need help writing a love song. can anybody tell me anything that will help me. just lyrics,i have my chords already for my song.

Click to expand...

Study the structure and form of several of your favorite songs. Look at the lyrics to examine the structure of the verses (how many lines, line length, use of end rhymes and internal rhymes) and the chorus (length, rhyme use, placement of title/hook).

Most pop songs use a verse/chorus structure where the verse and chorus alternate: such as ABAB where A is the verse and B is the chorus. On the other hand, The Beatles' "Yesterday" uses the classic AABA (with an additional BA) structure, where A is the verse and B is the bridge. There are alternates and diversions to these structures, so that's why I suggest you look at the lyric structure of your favorite songs.

Dissect them to find their magic and try to sprinkle some of that magic mojo into your own original song. Best wishes!

Everyone has awesome structure, so keep those in mind. I always just play the chords over and over. I start humming a bit. Then, normally, the words just come. You just need to focus on the idea of the song or what you have in mind. I know that's hardly advice at all, but normally, if you keep playing, humming, something will come.

Oh thanks you guys for all the advice XD

As someone who's writing his first love-ish song himself I can only agree with Pueo.

It really helped me to focus on that person and what I'm feeling (Edit: actually that's a lie, the idea for the song came to me when I was almost asleep). It sounds weird, but we shouldn't let the idea of writing a love song get in the way of writing a love song. Think of love and how it affects you, and then start writing that song. The other way around might work, but it won't be as genuine.

Just what passing on what I learnt. Good luck!