10 Tips on Songwriting!

For those of you love songwriting and need some tips, I made this video for you guys. Enjoy(:

1) Write what you feel.
– Don’t just write out random lyrics. Write about something that’s important to you, something you care about, or maybe even something funny you saw on the way to school or work.

2) Set a mood for the song.
– If it’s a sad song, set a melancholy mood for the song, but make sure to not go too sad. Try to have a common mood or tone throughout the song.

3) Take your time.
– It’s not the end of the world. Take your time to craft the work of art in which you imagine. Unless you’re on a big deadline or something like that, just slow down and take your time.

4) Keep the words simple.
– A song isn’t a college english essay. There is no need to use big words in songs and I wouldn’t recommend it in general because using too much of these can lose the listener if he or she doesn’t know what the words mean.

5) Don’t be discouraged if your first song isn’t well done.
– Many songwriters, including myself, struggle when it first comes to creating a song. If your song just doesn’t seem good on the first draft or in general, do not be discouraged. This is only your first song and you will get better. I promise this to you.

6) Practice, Practice, Practice!
– Like anything else, songwriting is a skill that requires practice. By practicing even once a day you can and will improve your songwriting skills. Just like singing everyday helps improve your singing and playing piano helps improve your piano playing skills, practicing your songwriting skills will improve your songwriting skills.

7) Relate to the listener.
– It may not seem like it, but there are definitely people out there who can relate to your break up story or the love you have for summer vacation. People love it when they can relate to something and songs are one of those things. So, be sure to try and relate to the listener.

8) Understand the structure of a song.
– Most songs have a structure of Intro, Verse 1, Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, Bridge, and then the Chorus and Outro. As you know, the choruses have repeating lyrics so all you have to do is write one chorus and you have 3 parts of the song done. Most of the writing comes from the verses because most of the time the verses have different lyrics, but sometimes artists repeat the same lyrics in both verses. The bridge doesn’t always have lyrics because sometimes artists choose to put in an instrumental break there.

9) Explore the world for inspiration, even if your “world” is only your backyard.
– Most of the time, sitting at home and just staring at a wall won’t help with writing a song. So, take your notebook, sheet, phone, or whatever you use and go explore your world. This could be anything from your own backyard to Times Square. Go out and explore and you will get inspiration. The best exploration would be places that you love. If you love the beach, go to the beach and try to get inspiration from there.

10) Write because you love it, not because you want money.
– This may be the most obvious but it’s true. Some writers write because they care about making millions and having a luxurious life. Do NOT do that. Write because you love to. Write because it is the world you escape to when you’re feeling sad or lonely. Write because it makes you happy. I believe that the best art comes when you put your heart into it. If you’re just writing random stuff to get a number 1 hit and make millions, it takes the fun away from songwriting and it takes away your skilled gift. So, write because you love to, not because you want money.

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