Estimated reading time 5 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Want to write better songs? Want to have your listeners sit up and take notice? You need to develop your skills if you want to write effective songs with compelling music and strong lyrics. Read more to learn the elements of writing well crafted songs.
This article uses technical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
Writing Well Crafted Songs: What is a Song?
“Song. A form of musical expression in which the human voice has the principal role and is the carrier of the text…” – The New Harvard Dictionary of Music
Over the years, the purpose songs serve around the world has changed. From the earliest times, they were used to mark major life events: weddings, births, and deaths. Parents used them to lull babies to sleep. Songs marked the change of seasons and created oral histories.
They helped with work, regulating the flow of the workers’ jobs, especially in manual labor. People used them in religious services and also featured them in seasonal holidays and festivals.
Songs still fill these roles in cultures around the globe, even in the Western world. However, in the West they gradually developed another role: they were used for pure entertainment.
Not that the songs can’t be entertaining in the life cycle, religious, or work roles. However, songs slowly began to become products that could be bought and sold. This led to the rise of the professional songwriter, and so the art of writing well crafted songs developed at the same time.
Standards and Writing Well Crafted Songs
Clearly, songwriting is when you write a song. I mean, the name pretty much sums it up.
However, currently the word songwriting implies professional songwriting. Popular songs started to be sold as sheet music in the 19th century. Later, they got played on the radio, put in movies and TV, and sold as records, tapes, CDs, and MP3s. Over time, they began to take on songwriting standards.
The songwriting standards covered various topics:
- How long should the song be?
- What form should you use?
- How do you write the lyrics?
- What rhyme scheme do you use?
- Who will it be sung to?
- Who will sing it?
- What instruments play it?
- What styles of music do you use?
As the standards of the profession evolved, listeners heard how the songs they liked were organized. When they started creating songs just for fun, they intuitively included these standards into their music and lyrics.
This means that writing a well crafted song involves learning how to write to the standards found in popular music in all its various forms. You may be a pro trying to make a living off your songs. Or you might be an amateur and just want to make your songs sound more like your favorite music. Either way, the craft remains.
Do I Have to Write to These Standards to Write Well Crafted Songs?
Does this mean that you have to write to these standards? No, of course not. Nevertheless, if you write outside the standards, you might not get the results you want.
Moreover, if you write outside the standards, you risk having people complain about your song. This happens because your listeners also expect songs to be written to these standards. Therefore, if your song breaks the standards, it needs to work so well and sound so catchy that nobody will care what “rules” you broke.
If you plan to be a pro, a song that breaks the standards has to be so popular that you, in essence, create a new standard, maybe even a new genre. Regardless of whether you break the standards or not, always get feedback on your songs from people you trust who will be honest but supportive. This will help you improve the craft of your songwriting.
However, you should know how to write well crafted songs, even if you choose not to follow the current songwriting standards for your genre.
Writing Well Crafted Songs: The Craft of Songwriting Blog Category
In the Craft of Songwriting blog category, you will learn how to write well crafted songs and lyrics. The blog category is aimed at anyone who wants to increase the quality of their craft.
A song is not just poetry set to music. A well crafted song skillfully balances the lyrics and the music so that both elements have their say. Therefore, lyricists that write dense blocks of poetry-like text need to remember to allow space for the music to have a say too.
Conversely, catchy music that contains lyrics with weak images, bad grammar, and a confusing or vague story also constitutes unbalanced songwriting. The lyrics need to be of the same quality level as the music. In addition, some writers like to create obscure lyrics on purpose. People want to know what your song is about, don’t make it hard for them.
Many songwriting books and blogs focus only on the lyrics. Why? These writers often haven’t had formal musical training and don’t know how to write music down. In The Craft of Songwriting blog category, we will deal with both the lyrics and the music.
Writing Well Crafted Songs: Lyrics
When you craft lyrics, the process contains many of the same elements you learned about in creative writing class in school:
- You need your lyrics to focus on nouns and verbs with a judicious use of adjectives and adverbs.
- In addition, your images should be vivid and evocative.
- Your lyrics should have a consistent rhyme scheme, employing slant rhymes in addition to pure rhymes.
- If doing story lyrics, you should outline your plot.
- Your lyrics should contain an effective use of poetic devices, such as similes, metaphors, portmanteaus, etc.
- Plus, you need to be aware of your point of view, use action words, and it is essential to show-don’t-tell.
- Also, you need to have good prosody.
However, the lyrics are only half of writing a well crafted song.
Writing Well Crafted Songs: Music
In the music, you need to pay attention to:
- The phrase structure.
- You have to understand how to work with and transform motifs and rhythmic motifs.
- In addition, you need to grasp the basics of melody, chords, and modulation.
- You should be familiar with the essentials of arranging and counterpoint.
- Also, you have to develop the ability to write music to your lyrics in addition to being able to write the lyrics to your music.
Put it all together, and you’ll be able to write a well crafted song.
Concluding Thoughts on Writing Well Crafted Songs
Sure, talent helps when creating music and lyrics. However, songwriting is a skill that can be learned. If you dedicate yourself to the goal of writing well crafted songs, you will achieve it. So, get writing and have some fun!
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
Join me for in-person or online lessons today!
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