I wrote my first complete song at 15.
It was a rock ballad about a male friend of mine that broke my aromantic heart.
That was over 10 years ago and since then I've written quite a few other songs, but what I've realised that with time all of my songs started to have a simple structure and formula to follow. Once I realised this, it made songwriting so much easier for me and saved me so much time.
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me to share my system and she was stunned.
Since then I've shared it with a couple of my clients and followers on The Black TCK facebook page, and I've finally decided to write it down here so I can help demystify the songwriting process.
STEP 1: Melody First.
I always come up with a melody first when I am writing a song. Sometimes this happens when I'm in the shower, often it happens when I'm walking down the street. Once I've come up with the melody, I hum it and save it to my recorder (a your phone recorder works too!)
STEP 2: Match the Melody To A Story.
I usually work on the story I want to write about that goes with the melody. I often develop a story that has a problematic situation to be solved in it and then use the lyrics of the song to show the journey to solving the problem. Telling a story in general is a key part of writing a ballad and is one of the reasons why I've always been attracted to this lyrical style.
STEP 3: Come up with the Chorus
I always write the lyrics to the chorus first, mostly because it ties together the whole song and usually portrays the main message that I want to tell in the song. In terms of melody and harmony it is often the second most instrumentally important part of the song and tends to have a lot of power in it. If you nail this you have a song, because this is usually the most memorable part of the song and can also be seen as the front page of your song.
STEP 5: Pen the first verse
Once I've written the chorus I usually go back and write the first verse. I like to think of the first verse as a setup or intro to the major subject matter that will be discussed in the rest of the song. It is like a prologue for me and usually sets quite general and vague, tending to focus on portraying the initial emotions and atmosphere of the story. I sometimes write a prechorus to connect the first verse to the chorus, which acts as a hook for the song.
STEP 6: Create the Second Verse
For me, the second verse is a more detailed version (or example) of the situation set up in verse 1. It is specific, tangible and real. It shares actions and events in a way that puts the major problem of the song in a way that is visible and unambiguous. After verse 2 is written I usually write a prechorus that connects verse 2 to the chorus. The prechorus uses the same melody as the first prechorus but has different words.
STEP 7: Come up with the bridge
The bridge is often the most emotionally charged, and lyrically significant, part of the song. It is also very important to the story being told in the ballad because it is the part of the song where the solution to the conflict is presented. The bridge shows the change that needs to take place in the story to solve the main conflict of the song, and it therefore often carries the main message of the song. It acts as a transition between the verses and the final chorus which is like the original chorus but it can change in small ways to reflect the results of the bridge. Often the changes in the final chorus are just changes to the tense of the main chorus.
What do you think of my formula? Is there anything that is not super clear? Is there any part you would like to know more about? Let me know in the comments below and feel free to join my facebook group for artists, Art Speaks Society.