Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Do you need advice on how to write cool kids’ songs? Writing music for children is a fun way to motivate, teach, and entertain them. Having said that, writing for kids is similar to writing for adults but with a few differences. Keep reading to learn how to write kids’ songs.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission from purchases made through the links. I’ll only recommend products I use, use in lessons, or ones my students or colleagues have recommended.
How to Write Kids’ Songs: Get Feedback
“How do I make sure my songs are effective?”
There are a few ways that you can get feedback on your songwriting to help you improve.
When testing your music on children, look for these signs.
- Do they sing with you?
- Do they dance or otherwise move to the music?
- Can they follow along with the hand motions (if there are any)?
- Does it make them smile?
- Does it make them laugh?
If you see these things happen, you’re on the right track.
How to Write Kids’ Songs: How Do I Write the Lyrics?
When writing kids’ songs, repetition and simplicity are important.
- First, know the vocabulary of your target age range. Fifth graders will have a vastly different grasp of language than seven-year-olds.
- Choose easy words and use memorable word choices.
- Boost the memorability of your lyrics by focusing on word repetition.
Make the lyrics silly and fun and use simple subjects for preschoolers.
Example subjects:
- Taking turns
- Letters and numbers
- Colors and shapes
- Seasons and holidays
- Potty training
- Days of the week
- Months of the year
- Animals, fish, and birds (including farm, zoo, wild, and pets) (See the video below)
- Everyday activities (e.g., getting dressed, eating, taking a bath, etc.)
Video: The Goldfish (Let's Go Swimming)
Older kids have different wants, likes, and needs.
Lyric subjects for elementary-aged kids can include:
- Sports, games, and play
- Holidays and vacations
- Parodies and mild potty humor
- Lyrics that deal with strong emotions
- Educational (e.g., math, science, history, writing, etc.)
- Lyrics that build self-concept and self-esteem.
- Silly subjects (e.g., a cucumber looking for his lost hairbrush) (See the video below)
- Songs that build moral character (i.e., truthfulness, sharing, kindness, fairness, etc.)
By the time kids hit middle school, they often start transitioning to pop and rock radio.
Video: The Hairbrush
For more information on crafting your lyrics
How to Write Kids’ Songs: How Do I Write the Music?
Writing music for kids’ songs is much like writing pop music.
- You need a catchy melody, cool chords, and toe tapping rhythm.
- Fun and engaging arrangements.
- All that stuff.
However, children’s music emphasizes different things from music for teens and adults.
- Go for upbeat and happy melodies that encourage participation.
- Try to make it as catchy and memorable as possible so that the kids can sing along.
- Use straightforward chord choices that emphasize major harmonies.
- Write music that encourages hand motions and other body movement (i.e., clapping, tapping, dancing, marching, stomping, etc.). (See the video below.)
- Call-and-response works well in kids’ songs, making them particularly easy for children to remember.
- Incorporate nonsense sounds (vocables, humming, whistling, etc.)
- The rhythm for kids’ song melodies can be surprisingly complex. Having said that, you should simplify the rhythm if your test audience doesn’t respond well.
Basically, you do anything you can to engage the kids.
Video: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
For more information on how to write music
- How to Extract a Melody from Your Lyrics
- What’s a Melody (and How to Create Strong Ones)
- 10 Ways to Spice Up Your Melodies with Melodic Variation
- 7 Songwriting Templates to Get Your Ideas Flowing
- Learn the Elements of Songwriting Construction
- Creating Great Melodies Using Rhythmic Motifs
- Do You Want Cool Chords for Your Song?
These books give you a deep dive into songwriting.
Final Thoughts
Takeaway points:
- Know the vocabulary of your target age range.
- Write music that encourages hand motions and other body movement (i.e., clapping, tapping, dancing, marching, stomping, etc.).
- Volunteer to play at your local library so you can see how kids react to your songs.
Have fun!
Songwriting – Let Her Scream
Do your lyrics lack powerful emotions? Do you want to learn how to write using stronger images? Take Mark Twain’s advice, “Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.” The first of Twain’s sentences uses abstract language, but the second uses concrete images instead. Simply put, when you describe a scene, you need to show it rather than tell it. "Songwriting - Let Her Scream" shows you how. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Read More
Color Coding Musical Instruments for LD & Special Needs Student Success
Does your student confuse the notes on the instrument? Learn how color coding musical instruments leads to LD and special needs success. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Read More
A Note Contains Many Pitches: Singing in Tune
Want to sing in tune? Knowledge is power. The following post talks about how singers group pitches as they perform. Read more to find out how the fact that a note contains many pitches can impact singing in tune. Estimated reading time 7 minutes.
Read More
What’s the Key Difference Between Trills and Tremolo
Do you want to know what the difference is between a trill and tremolo in music? The two terms sound alike, and superficially they have some things in common. However, they produce very different results. This is particularly true when you consider that tremolo picking on guitar and orchestral tremolo are two different things. Keep reading “What’s the Key Difference Between Trills and Tremolo” to learn how they’re similar and how they differ. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Read More