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If you want to know how to write a pop song, let me first tell you that there is not one single set way to writing a pop song. I’m pretty sure that the songwriters who have had their songs played on the radio did not write their songs with the same exact strategy. If that was the case, we might have a deeper “every song sounds the same” problem.
The following is just one of the many ways you can write a song.
1) Song Structure
The first thing you may want to start off with is the song structure. For example, many pop songs use the format verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus or even a variation of the pattern. A variation may be necessary if you have a much needed lyric that needs to be fit into the song to complete it or maybe you feel like the song is too short. An example of a variation is Jay-z’s ‘Empire State of Mind’ where an extra verse and chorus is added. The song structure goes verse-chorus-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus.
When adding extra verses or choruses, make sure that the song does not get too long. I count any song over 5 minutes as a long song.
2) Lyrics
Lyrics in pop songs should be relevant to popular culture. What’s popular in our culture? It’s whatever you see on TV, movies, and even in other songs.
There’s really an unlimited amount of themes you can use. Eminem raps about his real life experiences, Lady Gaga sings about the celebrity life, and everything else is about sex, drugs, and rock & roll 🙂
When writing a pop song, the lyrics should fall into a general structure. You want to set a specific number of lines for each song section. For example, you can set your verse to have four lines, the chorus to have four lines, and the bridge to have six lines. If you want, you go as far is setting the number of syllables.
3) Chords
Many pop songs share the same chord progressions or patterns. A very popular one is I – V – vi – IV. (If you want an explanation of the Roman numeral numbers and examples of popular chord progressions and popular songs that use them, you can find an explanation at songwriters123.com) This pattern in the key of ‘G Major” would look like this: G – D – Em – C.
You can use the same chords for your verse and chorus if your melody and lyrics contains enough variety. If you feel like your melody and lyrics of your verse and chorus are too similar using the same chords, you should change the chords to one of the sections so the song may breathe with a sense of variety.
4) Melody
Now you can write your melody to your lyrics. When you’re coming up with a melody for a pop song, you want to make sure you have a ‘hook’. A hook is a melody line that is painfully difficult to get out of your head. Usually, the hook is used in the chorus.
One word of advice- do not make your whole song the hook. When you start off with a really catchy verse, it actually takes away the bang from your chorus. It’s like that saying “You know what is good only because you know what is bad”. I sort of reworded it, but you get the point.
These four steps aren’t the “standard” of writing a song. It’s just one way. You can start writing a song by having a random melody stuck in your head (which could potentially be the hook of your chorus). Or maybe you wrote what you thought a brilliant set of lyrics that can be a potential verse to a song and you build from there. Be creative and have a blast writing your song.