Writing Your First Song Part I

Yes, YOU can do it!

With so many people writing in so many genres, choosing your genre and style can be difficult. Here's my ways of coping and managing the many steps in writing a song.

Planning- As you know, most songs have lyrics and a story line. It's up to you to write a story line, and put it to your own music. Most people like to start out with lyrics before writing the notes to go with them. If you don't, you will probably end up taking much longer (unless you've had plenty of experience.)

Every song must follow a specific song structure. If your song doesn't have structure, the listener will easily become distracted. All songs usually have a repeating line or chorus which draws the listener in. Sounds hard doesn't it? Well my friend, it isn't. Once you read and follow the steps, you will be making songs left and right.

Dealing With Writers Block- Life in general follows the concept I am going to use. Everything happens for a reason. Good or bad, you must deal with it. So what's the reason you can't think of anything to write? You need inspiration.

Ask yourself: "What is on my mind right now?" Even if it's something simple like "I want a Hot Pocket." Go for it. You could write about feeling hungry. You could go on to write something that explains "I am glad I have food, so greatful I don't starve like others." Think outside the box and let your mind go.

If you are bold, or you just want a clean idea, try something I like to call "letting the words mind your muse." Go to a website such as this one. Find yourself a nice quote, and build from it. For example, let's say you use the quote "Every rose has it's thorn." Sure it's cliche, and I'm not telling you to use it. But if you did, ask yourself some things. "What kind of things in my life can I compare to that?" For instance: Your new music teacher is a tad crazy, kind of pushy, but he or she is the best teacher you've ever had.Voila! There's your story line.

Finding The Right Key For Your Song: My suggestion is to start your FIRST few songs in the key of G Major. It tends to be the easier for beginners. Many, many songs are written in G Major. It's always easier to know the progressions as well. Check out this site.

Choosing A Genre: What kind of music touches you the most? Nearly everyone has their own favorite genre they can fit right into. What kind of songs are you most "in love" with? What kind of songs do you see yourself playing in the future? For me, it is classic rock. I have adopted the style, along with some blues into my songs. Many artists have used more than one genre, but they mainly stick to the same one (or same variations). Once you get your fans (if you don't already) they will most likely be disappointed if you changed your music style just out of the blue. Find one that fits you, that you feel great being a part of. This way, you can start making more important decisions regarding your musical career.

Keep tuned in for part II!