How To Write A Song (music first)

Did you read my introduction post entitled Songwriting For Beginners? If not, go check it out before reading this one. It'll give you some info about my background and where I'm coming from.

So, let's talk a little bit about the process of how to write songs. There's this one question that I get asked a lot... And I know that other songwriters hear it often as well. It may be the question that's in your mind at this very moment.

"Do you write the music first or the lyrics first?"

It makes perfect sense, of course. If you want to write a song it helps to know where to start. But I'm afraid the answer isn't as simple as the question. Different people have different ways of doing things. If you've done a lot of writing in areas besides music (poems, blogs, etc.) it's likely that you'll start with a lyrical idea. But if your musical instrument was your primary focus to begin with, you'll probably come up with a chord progression or another musical idea before thinking of what words to sing.

For me, the music usually comes first. But not always. That's one thing I love about music. There never has to be an always. Sometimes a melody will pop into my head and I'll try to pick out chords that fit with it. Other times a lyric or idea will come to mind and I'll write it down and figure out how to add music to it later. But I believe the most common songwriting style is to write the music first. So we'll focus on that for now.

Let's talk about chord progressions.
"A series of chords that blend well with the melody they accompany."
-source

When figuring out which chords to use in your chord progression it helps to know a little bit about music theory. But just by experience you will get a feel for what flows well and what doesn't. Allow me to give you an example. Here are some chords that go well together in the key of C:

C, F, G, A minor ("Am")

You can put those four chords in practically any order and it'll be a decent sounding chord progression. (If you don't know how to form the chords, Google it.) You could also throw an E minor ("Em") or even a D minor ("Dm") in there somewhere to mix it up a little. Always remember... There are general rules that people tend to follow in music. There are countless artists who have written good songs using the above chords. But I think that when an artist learns to tastefully bend those rules they'll start to create genuinely great songs. If for some reason a B flat ("B♭") fits well in your song, go for it! Art is about expressing yourself. Play what feels right.

Another cool thing about knowing which chords fit together well is you can transpose every chord to whatever key you're writing your song in. Here is the full scale (not counting sharps and flats):

C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C

So if your song was in the key of D, you can move all of the chords from our original progression up one full note on the scale. So your chords would be as follows:

D, G, A, Bm

Does that make sense? I hope so. I want to remind you again that I am assuming you have some basic knowledge of how to play your instrument. If you do, this should all be clear.

Next post I'll be talking about song structure. Check it out!