As a musician or singer, songwriting likely plays a big role in your success as an artist. Of course, you can always work with experienced songwriters to create your musical pieces, but it’s always better to know how to do the job yourself.
Besides, songwriting is not as difficult as it may seem at first. Once you have mastered the basics, you will be able to start creating your own songs. Hence, here are the five elements you should consider when you want to make memorable songs.
First and foremost, you’ve got the structure of your song. Depending on the genre you work with, you might want to stick to certain structure-related conventions associated with your respective genre. That being said, most songs will still follow a very similar logic in the way they are structured. This is usually something along the lines of verse / chorus / verse / chorus / bridge / chorus.
Using that basic structure for your song will already give it a solid base, but if you want to spice things up, you can add other parts to your song. For example, there can be an intro and/or an outro. You can add a pre-chorus and/or a post-chorus. You can even go crazy and disregard structure whatsoever. However, this last option is definitely riskier than others and should be used only if you are comfortable with standard song structure formats. With good structure, your song becomes coherent and gains momentum in all the right moments.
Another thing to consider is your text. The lyrics you write for your song are just important as the melody you come up with. Moreover, your lyrics are directly related to your structure so you could actually work on the two at the same time. Keep in mind that some artists choose to rely on the melody more than the lyrics while others take the opposite approach. What you choose will usually depend on your genre (e.g. rappers tend to rely more on lyrics rather than the melody they use).
Elaine Rush, an expert from the writing services reviews site Trust My Paper, says, “When writing your lyrics, think about the emotions you want to convey as well as the ideas or topics you want to discuss in your song. You can also use storytelling if you truly want your song to be a narrative. However, this isn’t mandatory, so you could easily let your melody take the center stage.”
Speaking of your melody, this is yet another crucial part of what will make your song memorable. When you start promoting your song, you will notice that a lot of people focus more on the melody rather than the lyrics which is why you should treat your melody just as seriously as your text. This is particularly important if you want to make big hit that everyone will keep singing for weeks or even months.
In this case, you will likely want to have a catchy chorus or hook. Club bangers particularly have more chances of getting very popular. That being said, if you want to make a ballad about heartbreak, you still need to think about your melody to make it fit the general mood of your song. Once again, it all depends on the genre you are working in.
Harmony might not seem like the most important aspect of your song but having good harmony can actually make a big difference. Harmony will usually come in the form of a chord progression where your melody and chords play off of and support each other. In other words, it’s about the way you balance your melody and chords that will define how good your harmony is.
Neil Dunne, an expert from the custom writing reviews site Supreme Dissertations, explains, “The harmony of your song can give it an additional layer of emotional subtext and can truly make your song sound different. It’s about your chord progression, your riffs, and so many other little details you add. It could define the unique sound of your song and can really make it stand out from everything else.”
Last but not least, there’s rhythm. In some cases, the rhythm of your song can become the most distinctive and memorable part of it. This is particularly true for hit songs that play well at parties and clubs. With a particular rhythm, you can make the crowd go wild and really start feeling your song and dancing to it.
One thing you should remember though is that rhythm isn’t just the beat you use. Sure, the drum pattern you use is important, but it isn’t the only thing that defines your song’s rhythm. The instruments you use and even the sound of your voice could help you create the rhythm for your song. Just like with harmony, rhythm is made up of many different details you add to your song.
At the end of the day, writing a memorable song is definitely possible if you put your heart and soul into the process. However, you should also keep in mind the five key elements discussed in this article to really help you make the best song you can create. So utilize the tips in this article to help you with your songwriting and take it to the next level.