There is no standard way to write a song because they are all unique.This implies that every song contains a time-consuming element of trial and error. We also need to develop a number of abilities since songs are a tangle of quickly changing components, and it’s simple to produce one that doesn’t function.
Songwriting may be challenging due to:
- A Complicated Jumble of Moving Components is a song.
- You are not an instrumentalist.
- Music and words do not always go together.
- You Should Know Some Music Theory
- Lyric writing is not as simple as you might think.
- You Must Be Able to Recognize and Express Your Emotions.
- Anyone can experience writer’s block.
- Music is a complicated muddle of quickly moving components.
It’s crucial to understand how challenging songs can be in order to make them simpler, especially when learning your first few. As you’re listening to them, they seem simple, but that’s only because you’re an expert listener. Throughout your time in the womb, you have been doing it.
So be kind to yourself and be prepared to generally make a mess of noise. Spending time with other artists, especially talented ones, will reveal their excellent sense of humor. specifically in relation to failure. They frequently fail, which is why.
Just count the number of components in a typical song and keep in mind that everything must occur in the right sequence and at the right time for your listening mind.
The elements of a story are rhyme, repetition, melody, rhythm, pace, dynamic, harmony, instrumentation, genre, performance, crescendo, structure, hooks, metaphor, message, character, emotion, attitude, vulnerability, empathy, and context.
There are 25 elements in total, all of which will occasionally disrupt your good fortune. I have another fantastic article regarding all these components if you want to learn more. It demonstrates the significance of each and is available at the URL provided below.
25 Components in Songs
Therefore, make an effort to have a positive outlook on failure and the difficulties you face. You could, for instance, put your faith in yourself, be stubborn, determined, tenacious, or curious, or you may resolve to just keep trying because you have nothing better to do with your time. Next, recognize the creative process for what it is, which is just this.
1. Testing concepts
If an idea doesn’t work, try another, then another, then another, and yet another. As you try each one, keep choosing which one will be successful. Each decision will be agonizingly tough for you to make without expertise, but it will get easier.
There is no magic wand; inspiration rarely strikes in a blinding flash, and if you aren’t constantly trying things that don’t work, it will never strike. Two ideas will eventually collide, and when they do, you’ll know it’s right, and your creative lights will turn on. That is currently the world’s nicest sensation.
It’s sometimes necessary to acknowledge that a concept is failing and that it would be best to abandon it. You’ll write some of your best songs after you’ve given up on something but kept working on it. When you combine two or three previous unsuccessful ideas, you’ll find that you’ve created a real treasure.
When you acknowledge that the road to success is only a series of errors and failures, the entire process turns enjoyable.
You might have dozens of failures, and since you’ve never made any before, you’ll have to learn by making mistakes. Yet, persist. One of the most difficult but rewarding things you will ever do is write a song.
2. You aren’t an instrumentalist?
If you don’t play an instrument, songwriting is difficult.
Without being able to play a few chords on an instrument of some type, you’ll find it difficult to be a decent songwriter. Even if you’re a poet, rapper, lyricist, or librettist, a songwriter still requires melody, harmony, and groove.
You will need a musician to collaborate with if your specialization is solely in words. This method is not inferior; on the contrary, it has several benefits, including
- the inclusion of a second person
- the specialization of responsibilities; and
- a consequently greater skill level in each function
Collaboration has resulted in the creation of some of the greatest songs ever, yet classical composers would never consider penning the words to an opera instead of simply the music.
If you’re good at working with others and getting along with other people, teamwork is a far better option than struggling to learn an instrument and becoming discouraged and quitting.
The reason for this is that learning an instrument takes a lot of time, and improving at it takes much longer. Your tunes will be richer and more intriguing the better you play and the more instruments you use.
The fact is that your song’s music selection is equally as significant as its lyrics and plot. Frequently, it is more significant because its force advances the meaning conveyed by the words.
Also, having a sub-conscious understanding of the rhythm, melody, and chord progressions allows you to instinctively know what will work and what won’t. That makes it easier for you to identify music quickly that will drive home your meaning and discard music that won’t.
Playing also allows you to rapidly test out ideas. When you actually play anything, it might not sound as good as it does in your head.
The inverse is also accurate. The most unanticipated fortunate accident at the piano or on the guitar can transform a bunch of nonsensical words into something spectacular. Which instrument, then, would you learn if you had to?
Your initial option should be a piano or keyboard because they have a wide range of pitches and can play both bass and melodic accompaniment. You’ll gain a solid understanding of every kind of music by learning how to play it, along with the ability to read music. Its drawbacks include the difficulty of learning it, the difficulty of carrying it, and the fact that it rarely performs ear-splitting solos like a guitar, violin, saxophone, etc.
The guitar comes next. It offers sufficient support for any genre and is more portable and simple to learn. You should ideally study the guitar and keyboard.
Banjo, mandolin, bouzouki, tenor guitar, ukulele, and banjo are just a few of the many instruments that don’t contain the typical six strings or string sets. Although their range or key may be constrained, they are typically simpler to play than a six-string. But don’t forget, they’re all more than excellent enough to make songs with.
Other polyphonic instruments with which you could compose songs include the harp and dulcimer. in particular, if you want a folk or medieval sound. I’ve heard them done, and they do sound great, but this is entering the realm of specialty genres.
If that’s your thing, it can be done quite easily; bass, cello—many musicians compose many fantastic songs to a bass line.
Anything else you can press or stroke with your fingers will also function, but keep in mind that loud instruments like violins will drown out your voice.
Flute, recorder, oboe, and similar instruments What do you think, then?
My preferences are first piano and second guitar; ideally, both.
3. Speech and Music Don’t Often Align
Songwriting is challenging if the lyrics and music don’t mesh well.
It’s incredibly simple to create a complicated jumble of noise that doesn’t sound like a song, since a song is a complicated jumble of noise. Songwriters frequently engage in it. When this occurs, you should laugh heartily and then remove all of the other elements so that all that is left are the words and the rhythm.
You can keep repeating your speech over your beat by recording it. Then, assess whether the words fit the rhythm; if not, just choose which has to be changed.
If you appreciate having strange-sounding lyrical phrases that go past the conclusion of musical phrases, changing the words is typically easier but much more daring and fascinating. You can begin to add instruments if the song has a groove that makes it sound somewhat like poetry.
Don’t be one of the many seasoned musicians who completely botch the merging of lyrics and music. Never forget that the song’s most crucial element is your voice. But if it is paired with a loud or noisy instrument, it will lose some of its impacts.
Allow your voice room to breathe, harmonize, and maintain the beat, but don’t let anything else compete with your voice. Employ instruments that aren’t close in pitch or tone to your voice so that the listener’s ear can distinguish between them.
A simple accompaniment to your music is far preferable to a cacophony. Because it will just overshadow your voice, the one thing you must never do is play loud or thrilling music while speaking.
Use extended, dull chords that only serve to enrich the rhythm to keep it simple. At the end of a phrase or lyric, make sure that any interesting music backing you up is not blocking your voice.
Also Read: 7 Most Common Songwriting Problems and How To Fix Them
4. You Must Understand Music Theory
Songwriting is challenging because it requires knowledge of music theory.
Music theory is the “elephant in the room,” “skeleton in the closet,” and “pooper” that always gets in the way of songwriters’ parties.
A song composer needs a fundamental understanding of the link between keys, chords, and the notes they’re constructed of, even though most people can get by just fine without knowing or caring how many tones there are in an octave.
Otherwise, you’ll complicate your life by wasting time experimenting with unfeasible ideas.
For instance, only specific melodic notes suit well in a given chord progression. There are some you can “get away with,” and there are others that will sound terrible. Although you can pick up all of these concepts very quickly by playing around on the piano for an hour or two, theory encompasses far more than that.
Rhythm, pace, structure, harmony, melody, key relationships like “the circle of fifths,” and a hat full of other concepts are all covered in music theory and have nothing to do with just reading notes on a stave.
Also, you don’t want other “legitimate” musicians to think less of you when the time comes for you to collaborate with them because you don’t know how to switch a chord from major to minor.
Some people adore and excel at music theory, while others find it incredibly difficult to understand and feel any connection to music. This could be because brain regions that respond to music differ from those that are fascinated by chord relationships.
The important thing to keep in mind is that theory is just a formal means of putting something into words that is difficult to describe. It’s also somewhat of a mash-up because it developed through the centuries into a shared framework shared by numerous languages that would work with our western culture.
The rules change when you enter another culture since the cultural and social norms are different.
You may get by with surprisingly little theory if you have an innate talent for music, but the more you know, the better.
5. Composing lyrics is harder than you thought.
Songwriting is challenging because writing lyrics is more difficult than it seems.
The biggest source of annoyance for writers is lyrics. It might be particularly frustrating if you can play an instrument well but struggle to form complete sentences. Particularly when a lovely face and three chords on a spotty teenager kill an audience with a song about their pet rabbit,
Remember that you don’t need to speak in a great or eloquent manner. While it’s true that they tell the story, they don’t have to go into great detail or convey every feeling because you don’t need that many.
You will undoubtedly have something if you string together twelve short statements that include verbs and sensory details. At the very least, enough to describe a scene that might result in emotional conflict.
Your words don’t even need to be all that connected or comprehensible because your listener’s mind will fill in the blanks. All that is required is for the context of what you’re playing to link them together. The power is therefore in the presentation, and the music’s task is to do that.
If you’re unsure about your writing abilities, consider these four pearls of advice:
- Take a poetry course, purchase a thesaurus, and engage in some brainstorming or mind-mapping activities. There is nothing better than obtaining a huge sheet of paper and writing down every thought that comes to mind.
- You might collaborate with a lyricist. Many talented writers would like to have their works set to music.
- Choose a few poems you like from a collection of works that are not protected by copyright, and add music to them. There are literally tens of thousands of outstanding poems waiting to be revived.
- Use two or three-word sentences to set the scene rather than attempting to compose a full novel.
- Rather than attempting to write an entire song about how you feel, concentrate on the events that led up to it and include the intense feelings in the chorus or refrain.
6. You Must Be Able to Recognize and Convey Your Feelings.
Because you must be able to easily identify and express emotions, songwriting is difficult.
There are moments when you have intense feelings yet find it difficult to express them.
Even though it feels really difficult, this is actually a terrific place to be from a creative standpoint. If you feel overburdened by the number of ideas in your head, don’t worry. Simply put, there are many emotional voices competing for your attention.
The secret is to spread them out a little. Certain voices won’t work since, once you’re done, it will be obvious that they belong to a different tune. Even the ones that do fit will be quite annoying. They will debate, quarrel, and attack one another’s arguments.
They’ll become agitated before leaving. In fact, it’s quite an accomplishment if you can get all of your ingredients to sit together for three minutes.
You will struggle if you’re still extremely close to a pressing problem that is consuming you. especially when you are replaying it over and over in your mind. But the best type of therapy you’ll ever experience may be songwriting.
Consider the fact that a therapist would ask you to consider your feelings repeatedly while going over every aspect of the situation.
Get lots of paper first. You need to be able to identify links between concepts, so I’d advise against using a phone or a small screen. The key is to record everything, no matter how trivial or unimportant.
Stick all of your sheets of paper to a large wall, board, or the back of a door, using different sheets for each concept.
You are able to add single words, sentences, and whole monologues, as well as draw graphics and put photos on there. Getting an emotion wheel and using it to pick one or two words that best describe your volcano of anger is a pretty important self-help technique.
Go back and take a look at your wall once you’ve had enough of adding to it. The most significant task is this one.
Take your time and examine it without passing judgment on yourself. I guarantee you’ll be surprised at how many connections pop into your head. The ability to combine sound with emotion is the craft of the songwriter.
As you might have expected, you’ll only need a small portion of the ideas you come up with, and the worst ones frequently end up being adopted. Thus, don’t fear your foolish notions.
7. Anyone may be affected by writer’s block.
Songwriting is challenging since anyone can have writer’s block.
There are numerous reasons why authors get stuck, as well as numerous problems that might be identified. Every single one of these can be overcome by the writer: a) being completely engrossed in their work; b) anticipating or really experiencing feedback; and c) developing a writing habit.
Without feedback, motivation wanes and the process loses its purpose. Consider whether you could compose a symphony if you were the last person on earth.
Even when the audience is a fictional version of ourselves, we always have the audience in the back of our minds as we do art. They may go unnoticed by us, but they are constantly there, making judgments and comments and showing support.
So, it seems sensible that there won’t be much opportunity for exploration if we are overly critical of ourselves or have unrealistic expectations. And when we keep producing the same dull dirges and fail to surprise ourselves, our motivation wanes.
On the other side, we paradoxically receive more favorable judgment if we consistently deviate from expectations and speak our minds without concern about a reaction. especially when we are alone. This thus serves as the foundation for a positive relationship with our creativity.
We must actively participate in the creative process for its own sake. We must experience the emotional struggles we’re describing and take on the personas of the characters we’re writing about. They must be the center of our universe for us to feel that nothing else matters.
Then, once we are fully immersed in our creation, there is no room for writer’s block since our mind is filled with curiosity rather than doubts, worries, or limitations. Of course, it helps if we think that people will appreciate, look forward to, and value our labor. But if we can’t fully and unapologetically immerse ourselves, we won’t even be able to write it.
Words of encouragement
It takes more ability to write a song than it seems, but if you’re persistent and continuously try new things, you can get by with shockingly little.
Start with what you have if you are unsure of where to begin. Keep it simple if you feel overwhelmed because it looks too intricate. Don’t worry if you feel like you lack creativity, are having trouble figuring out the song’s direction, or have a terrific hook but aren’t sure where to take it.
I can guarantee that you’ll start to twitch. Or a text message will be sent to you. Otherwise, you risk losing confidence in your skills. Maybe you’ll worry that you’ll waste your time, get frustrated, and do nothing.
There are countless internal and external factors that can cause you to lose interest, lose heart, and think, “What’s the point?” There may be no point, but if you care about what you have to say, a complete song will emerge. Say it then, and say it with all the conviction you can muster.
Summary
- Because songs are complex, writing them is difficult.
- The easier it gets, the more technical skills you have.
- But it’s crucial to learn how to communicate your feelings.
- It is simplest, to begin with a rhythm, then add melody, and then add emotion.
- Distractions will always come and go; if you are invested in your work, it is simpler.
- Lack of inspiration is frequently a sign that someone doesn’t care; caring makes things simple.
- Don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed; laugh at your mistakes; keep things straightforward; and go forward.
