How to Write a Good Song: A

Beginners Guide to Songwriting

Music, they say, is the only universal language, and songs are its
words and alphabets. Weve been writing songs since our
ancestors first learned to speak and tap rhythmically on blocks of
wood. Singing comes naturally to us as barking to a dog or
meowing to a cat.
Writing a good song, however, isnt easy. You have to create
lyrics, melodies, and harmonies. But with the right training and
enough practice, anyone can be a songwriter. Try taking this
college-gradecourse on writing songs with great lyrics, melody
and form to get started.
In this blog post, well walk you through the five things you need
to know to write good songs:
1. Listen to Good Songs

Im going to lay it straight: if your iTunes playlist is filled with

Justin Bieber and Katy Perry (no offense to their fans), youre
going to have a hard time writing good songs. To write great
music, you must listen to great music.
Heres a helpful guide to starting your musical education, sorted
by genre:
Rock
Hotel California, The Eagles
Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan

 (I Cant Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones

Johnny Be Good, Chuck Berry
Hey Jude, The Beatles
One, U2
We Are the Champions, Queen
Pop
Billy Jean, Michael Jackson
Superstition, Stevie Wonder
I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Beatles
Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, B.J. Thomas
Imagine, John Lennon
Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley
Lets Get it On, Marvin Gaye
Tiny Dancer, Elton John
Rolling in the Deep, Adele
Blues and R&B
(Sittin On) the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding
Respect, Aretha Franklin
Feeling Good, Nina Simone
What Id Say, Ray Charles

 The Thrill is Gone, B.B. King

Whats Going On, Marvin Gaye
Papa Was a Rolling Stone, The Temptations
Mannish Boy, Muddy Waters
People Get Ready, The Impressions
Ill Make Love to You, Boyz II Men
Hip-Hop
Stan, Eminem
99 Problems, Jay-Z
Hail Mary, Tupac
B.O.B, Outkast
Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A
Juicy, Notorious B.I.G.
Fight the Power, Public Enemy
Nuthin But a GThang, Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg
Rappers Delight, Sugarhill Gang
Mind Playing Tricks on Me, Geto Boys
There are hundreds of other songs from different many, many
different genres. But these forty should give you a good idea of
what makes a song great a combination of profound lyrics,
storytelling, solid music and powerful vocals.

To explore more, try going through lists such as the Rolling

Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time , and Pitchforks
Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s.
2. Learn a Musical Instrument

To write lyrics, you need a pen and a paper. To write songs, you
need a musical instrument.
The piano or electric keyboard and the guitar are two
instruments favored by songwriters. Theyre relatively easy to
pick-up and can accommodate a wide range of styles and
genres. The electric keyboard is better than its acoustic
counterpart as it can create drum loops and complex harmonies
from a single instrument.
Some tips for learning a musical instrument:
Focus on Chords: Both guitars and pianos are powerful
solo instruments, but for the purpose of songwriting, you
only need to know a few basic chords. Practice a few
common chord progressions (see below) to create simple
harmonies and songs.
Start Small: Dont go ahead and splurge $1000 on a
guitar. Start small with a beginner guitar/piano. The same
goes for learning the instrument. Dont inundate yourself
with advanced theory. Focus on learning the absolute basics
first major chords, scales and songs. Try taking this free
course to learn how to play guitar as an absolute
beginner.
Practice Simple Songs: Youll be surprised to know that
many of your favorite songs are actually very easy to play.
Tom Pettys Free Fallin, Eric Claptons Wonderful
Tonight, and Pink Floyds Wish You Were Here can all be
played with some very basic chords.

3. Pick up Some Basic Music Theory

Music theory isnt necessary to writing good songs a lot of

great songwriters started out without knowing their scales from
their chords but it will come in handy when you want to write
more something more complicated. Of course, mastering music
theory can take you years, but picking up the basics is relatively
easy:
Learn the 12 Notes: The Western musical notation is
made up of twelve notes. These are denoted by letters from
A to G. There are also sharps or flats (written as # or b)
in between some notes. Altogether, the 12 notes are A,
A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab. Every
piece of music is made possible by a combination of these
12 notes.
Understand Scales: A scale is a harmonious progression
of musical notes. Most scales are made up of 8 notes, called
an octave (with the 8th note repeating). There are
hundreds of scales in Western music. As a beginner, you
should try to learn the Major Scale in popular keys (tonal
chords) like C, G and A.
Understand Chords: Chords are the bread and butter of
any songwriter. A chord means playing several different
notes simultaneously. Since there are seven basic notes in a
scale, there are seven basic chords as well. Beginners must
know how to play the popular chords C, G, D, E, Am, F, B,
and Am at least.
Understand Chord Progressions: A chord progression is
a harmonious movement of chords in a particular key. The
most basic chord progression in popular music is I-IV-V
that is, the 1st, 4th and 5th chord played in succession.
These are called primary chords. For example, in the C
scale, the 1st, 4th and 5th chords are C, F, and G. These are
also the chords used in songs like La Bamba and Louie,
Louie.
Music theory is a vast subject. Start off by learning basic
music concepts in this course .

4. Analyze Great Songs

When you become a student of songwriting, youll realize just

how similar most songs are. Certain patterns, themes, motifs and
chord structures are repeated across artists and genres. As a
songwriter, analyzing songs should become a habit, a reaction as
natural as pulling your finger away from a hot stove.
Song Structure

Most pop songs follow a simple structure: Verse-Chorus-VerseChorus-Bridge-Chorus or similar variations.

Lets take a look at the classic Backstreet Boys pop song, I Want
it That Way as an example:

Try doing the same for other popular songs. Youll soon realize
how common such song structures really are.
Chord Progressions

Most pop and rock songs follow simple chord progressions. As

mentioned above, I, IV, and V chords in any scale are called
itsprimary chords. Combining these chords in various
permutations is the basis of thousands of songs.
Lets see some examples:
I-IV: Used in verse of Imagine by John Lennon,
I-IV-V-I: Used in Youre Beautiful by James Blunt.
I-V-IV-I: All the Small Things by Blink-182
Throw in a minor chord Vi and you get the most popular chord
progression in music (I-IV-V-Vi). This is often called the pop-punk
progression and has been used in thousands of songs. In fact, it
is so popular that theres even a Wikipedia entry with a huge
list of songs based on it. Youll recognize some of these Not
Afraid by Eminem, Someone Like You by Adele, Take Me
Home, Country Roads by John Denver, etc.
You can use this tool to generate chord progressions
automatically.
5. Writing Lyrics

For many people, writing lyrics is the easiest part of songwriting.

For others, it is the hardest. Whichever side of the divide you
may fall on, you can benefit from these lyric-writing tips:
Notice how Adele stretches the ee part in deep when
singing Rolling in the Deep. Thats because words ending
in vowels can be stretched while singing. Keep this in mind
while writing your lyrics.

 Write like you would sing. Hum each line while writing,
preferably accompanied by a guitar or piano.
Being poetic doesnt mean being profound. Sometimes the
silliest of things can sound great when sung (Lets Do It
by Cole Porter is one example who wouldve thought
even educated bees do it would fit into a song!).
Borrow motifs and themes commonly used in your genre,
but dont over-rely on them. To write truly great songs, you
must break the mold and go beyond whats comfortable.
Baby will be your staple filler for pop and rock songs.
Be judicious in your use of simple rhyming schemes.
Newbies often make the mistake of rhyming all their lyrics.
Rhyming can be extremely powerful when done right
(American Pie by Don McLean is one example) but more
often than not, it make your songs sound like something
from a kindergarten textbook.
A thesaurus will be your best songwriting partner.
So there you have it a complete guide to writing a good song.
For homework, analyze your favorite songs and see what kind of
chord progression and lyric structure they use. For more insight
on songwriting, try taking this course on how to create a
song in GarageBand in 1 hour .