10 Guidelines for creating a Great Song

by KnowTruth
Anyone can make a good song, but few people can make a great song. Oddl
y enough there s a really thin line between a good song, and a great one, but most
people get stuck trying to cross that line. These guidelines will help you turn
all your good songs into great ones.

****These Guidelines go across the board for all Genres!****

1.) Song Length - Most artists make their songs too long, attention spans are sh
ort; take yourself for example. When listening to a new song even if you do happ
en to like it, after 4 minutes you ve had enough. Be careful not to make your song
too short however. The last thing you want is to hook a new listener and then h
ave them upset because the song keeps ending at 2 minutes. A good song length i
s 3 to 4 minutes. Granted there are exceptions depending on the type of song; in
terlude & promo songs tend to be shorter and artist defining or in-depth songs t
end to be longer. If you re questioning the length of the song most likely its off
.
2.) Original & Relative Lyrics - Everyone is tired of hearing the same thing ove
r and over again. Of course you and I both know there probably isn t any topic you
can write about that someone else hasn t done, so the key is to do it in a differ
ent way. Stray away from using overused sayings and phrases, pick a topic that i
s rarely used or pick a common topic and attack it from an original angle. Also
make sure to keep your lyrics relative to the topic of the song. Going on tangen
ts lyrically is the quickest way to confuse and lose an audience.
3.) Comprehensible & Unique Arrangement - You want your audience to be able to f
all into a subconscious groove when listening to your music, so stray away from
haphazard arrangements. A great arrangement has 3 pieces to it; Verse, Chorus, H
ook (The Verse being the only piece that changes lyrically when repeated). The
length of these arrangements are up to you just keep in mind that the Chorus and
the Hook should never be longer than the Verse (If they are longer it will make
the song too repetitive). A few ideas for arrangements are [Verse-Chorus-Verse-
Hook-Chorus-Verse-Hook-Chorus] and [Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Hook-Verse-Chorus-Hook-C
horus]. There are tons of great ideas out there for arrangements (this is the mo
st flexible guideline) but the main thing to keep in mind is enabling your audie
nce to fall into that subconscious groove.
4.) First Impressions - The first 15 seconds of your song is everything. If you
don t come in vocally then it s all up to the band/producer to grab the audiences at
tention. If you do come in vocally in that first 15 seconds then you need to hav
e something to draw them in. From record labels to impatient music consumers you v
e got a very limited time to wow someone so make sure you put your gold in those
first few moments.
5.) Overall Sound Quality - Having a crappy mix or just not having your song mas
tered can make a great song sound below average. Take the time out to get the qu
ality of the recording as best as it can possibly be. The same goes with live pe
rformances; bad speakers and/or microphones can ruin a show. Everyone s a critic a
nd few people give second chances when listening to new music so before you let
anyone hear your music make sure the sound quality is top notch.

6.) Unique Vocal Timbre - One of the most important things you will ever do is f
ine tune yourself vocally. Whether you re aiming for a rugged and edgy voice or so
mething smooth and intimate you have to define yourself vocally and then find a
way to set yourself apart from everyone who sounds anything like you. Once you ve
got your voice down, keep it there. Granted your voice may change slightly depen
ding on the feel and emotion of a song but fans need to be able to identify with
your voice.
7.) Great & Unique Instrumentation - Arguably the most important aspect of any s
ong is it s instrumentation. The musicality of a song is the first thing your audi
ence notices so make sure it s nothing short of incredible. Part of having great I
nstrumentation is not letting it be too simple or too complicated. Make sure the
re are recurring melodic and harmonic themes. Keep your audience interested by h
aving some instruments that don t come in until half way through the song. Learn t
o utilize drops; whether its dropping everything and leaving the vocals naked fo
r a few seconds, or just going down to bass and drums, drops make your music go
from sounding good to great. There are tons of different tactics to keep your mu
sic interesting so don t limit yourself, just make sure the final product is cohes
ive.
8.) Vocal Phrasing & Themes - Phrasing refers to the repetition of rhythmic and
melodic patterns. Using good phrasing can make or break a song; it allows listen
ers to groove with you and sing along even when they don t know the words. It s allo
wing the flow of your vocals (not lyrics) to be a little predictable. Examples o
f phrasing are ending vocal lines on the same beat every 2 or 4 bars, placing re
sts and pauses between vocals, changing the speed of your vocals, the list is en
dless. With a trained ear you ll be able to identity phrasing in all of your favor
ite songs.
9.) Simple Catchy Chorus - It s called a Chorus for a reason; so people can sing a
long. Don t make your chorus so complicated that people have no idea what s going on
and will most likely think that you just have a long verse. It s a good idea to h
ave a repeating theme or phrase in a chorus, or to have an 8 bar chorus that is
really 4 bars repeated. By no means sacrifice the integrity of your song by crea
ting a popcorn chorus but unless you plan on only playing the song for yourself
make it simple enough for others to sing along.
10.) Musical and Lyrical Cohesion - There are hundreds if not thousands of music
al themes, genres, emotions, etc. For each song you create find a way to define
the feel of the song and then make sure the music, the timbre of the vocals, and
the lyrics are all on the same page. With all the hybrid and genre crossing mus
ic today this is obviously a flexible guideline but definitely not one to ignore
. The best tactic is to think of think of how you want that song to make someone
feel; happy, sad, thoughtful, inspired, lustful, hype, etc. and make sure every
thing is cohesive.