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songwriting
suggestions:
Mix It Up some.....
I'd like to see the first and second line in the
chorus rhyme, and then with a completely different
thyme sound, rhyme the last two lines in the chorus.
You really shouldn't ever use the same rhyme sound
in more than two lines in a song, unless maybe its
in a three line bridge. You should also mix up the
syllables like using compound words for rhyme.
always be thinking unique, original, variety. Use
variety in your rhyme sounds, line lengths, single
words vs. compound words, high and lower notes in
the melodies, etc. Always be thinking variety. The
only thing that is the same in a song is the hook
repeating and the rhyme placement. Listeners expect
to hear and recognize rhyme patterns and sing along
with them. It helps them remember the words. So it
make sense you would want to have rhyme in your hook
and chorus.
Experiment With New Directions
& Ideas
Play around with each line for a while. Gotta be
something more descriptive, personal, original,
unique to express what turns you on about your
woman or the situation you're writing about.
Some line can make the difference between a hit
song and just another good song. Whatever it is,
the words need to paint a picture for the
listener of love, desire, lust???
Study the craft of songwriting
Become a student of song crafting. Search the
internet for songwriting information, go to the
book store and read everything you can find.
Mastering the art of song crafting can take
years so get started now. Read our free
information below and practice, practice,
practice. If you have written 50 or 100 songs,
then you may have one great song. Take one of
your songs and make it as strong as possible
before you go pitching it to professionals.
The best example of your songwriting skills will
be Issus rated by the song you are pitching, so
make sure the song is constructed properly with
a great unique hook
Roy John Fuller
has been writing songs
ever since he was a young kid growing up in the Appalachian
mountains of Southwest Virginia. Roy
Fuller has received several Billboard
Top Single Pick Hits
and still pitches his songs in Nashville.
He has Free information
DVD's and an article called
How To Write Songs.
Advertising Space Available Here
Instructions On How To Write A Song
Start
With A Great Idea
Before you can
write a hit song
you have to have a
hit idea. Don't waste your time
developing an idea that doesn't rock the
house. How do you know if you have a great
idea? First, the idea should excite you.
Never write about anything that doesn't
excite and move you. If the song idea
doesn't keep your total attention and
devotion you will not be motivated to spend
the countless hours developing, moving parts
around and re-writing the song to make it a
hit song. It usually requires a huge effort
on the part of the songwriter from writing,
re-writing and pitching a song before any
material success is realized from that song.
Don't spend a lot of your valuable time on a
bad song idea. That doesn't mean you have to
have an old cliché or catchy title to start
writing a hit song. You have to have a great
song idea. One that can project images of
actions or love. You song idea can about a
songwriter that meets the love of his life
while co-writing a new hit song. Could be
called
"Love From A Hit Song", etc., but you need
to be able to sit down and write out a list
of actions or events that will take place in
the lyrics of the song. They
need to eventually develop into the
climax of the song where you and your new
soul mate get married for instance. In any
case, test your initial idea from several
angles and ask your friends or fellow
songwriters what they think of the song idea
before you reach for that pen and start
writing your heart out. Make sure you have a
hit song idea first. Something new and
unique with a twist of its own.
Writing An Interesting Melody A Hit Song
consists of hit lyrics and a hot melody. One
without the other will not make a hit song,
it takes both. If you write only lyrics you
will need to co-write with someone that is a
good melody writer. A hit melody must have
variety and excitement just as the lyrics
does. Never settle for the first melody that
comes into your head, it will almost never
be the best melody you can write. A great
melody requires constant re-writing to make
it a hit melody.
Most songs fit one of several basic
patterns such as a verse with 4 or 5 lines, a chorus of 4 or 5
lines, another verse of 4 or 5 lines and possible a bridge. My
focus will not be on song structure as there are many books and
articles on correct song structure. We will focus primarily on
things you can do to make your songs better and hopefully hit
songs.
Make sure you
have a melody that can be complemented by one of the song
structures above. If you have a melody that uses its own verse,
chorus, bridge or other structure, you may not be able to locate
lyrics that can be used with your melody. You do not need a full
production melody to know if you have a hit potential melody. It
does have to be interesting, exciting, new and refreshing
though. Take your melody idea and experiment with slightly
different versions. Go high or low here and there instead of
vice versa. Switch things around and try for the melody that's
the most original and unique. You will need to make a great
professional demo of the song later, but for now you just need a
great unique chord arrangement.
The First Verse
The
first verse is the most important verse in the song. Not that the other verses are not
important because they are also important to a hit song. If the
listener is not excited by the song during the first few bars
and lines of lyrics they may stop listening to the rest of the
song. The first few lines of lyrics must get the
listener's attention and set the stage for the rest of the song
to develop. Be sure to use colorful and descriptive words and
adjectives. Don't tell the listener what is happening, let the
lyrics show the listener what is taking place in the song. Make
sure you explore the where, what, whom and "what happened then"
concept when writing your lyrics. Try to keep reading those good
parts over and over in your mind. Then try to add some new and
interesting information in the song via imagery. Let your
characters act it out in the song. That way your listener
becomes part of the song.
Remember you
want one main idea only in your song. Once you determine what your
idea is you have to fully develop that idea and not introduce
other ideas that will water down your idea. Write strong lines
that will develop your idea and contribute to the listener's
understanding of the situation of our song. I recommend always
using the third person point of view when writing songs at
first. He, she or they is better at first than I or me. You can
experiment with writing first person songs later. Also, Try to
write happy, faster paced songs at first. You can write sad,
slow, cheating songs later after you have developed more skills
and have had some chart topping successes of your own. You want
all the odds in your favor when trying to write your first hit
song.
The second verse needs to continue the story
to another level. Don't just repeat what the
listener already knows, add new information,
new action that will contribute to the
listener's understanding of the basic story
line. Keep asking yourself, "then
what did they do"?
Or,
then what happened?
Be sure to use more colorful, descriptive and
entertaining words and lyrics. Use rhyme carefully
and don't overdo. Rhyme is used to help sell your
song to the listener. The rhyme will help the
listener predict what's coming next and in
remembering the lines to your song, especially in
the chorus where you will usually
repeat the lines.
Writing The Chorus
The chorus is where you bring your primary
idea to bear. This is where you provide the solution or the
result of the actions in the verses. The
melody of the chorus should be a change up
from the melody of the verses also. You
need to use variety here to keep the story interesting, but to
the point. Always stay on target with your one idea and
every word of the song needs to contribute new information to
the idea you are developing. Don't take off on another angle
that leads you away from the main basic idea of your song. Every
line of your songs needs to point to the main idea or title of
your song. If any line of your song does not point directly to
or complement your main idea and title, cut it now. Always keep
reading your title and main idea over in your head while you are
writing new lyrics or re-writing old lyrics. Stay on
track with your one main idea.
Use repetition
in your chorus to drive home the main idea of the song. Repeat
the title more than once. Use rhyme in the chorus to drive home
the main idea that you are repeating. The chorus is not
the place to inject new angles or directions. It's the place to
drive home the main theme of your song and maybe the
consequences of the actions in the verses.
Finishing The Song
I'm not sure a song is really ever
finished. I have songs I have been writing on for years
with demos completed and I still find a better more creative way
to deliver the message. Always stay open to new ways to improve
your songs with new lyrics and new melody changes. Strive to
make your song as strong as possible. Only then will it have a
chance of being hear and recorded. Make sure you have tied all
the lines of you song back to the title. Can the song do without
one of the lines? If so, cut it now and write another.
It won't survive the test of pitching a song these days.
Publishers and recording artists are not looking for good songs,
they want hit songs that will further promote their careers. The
good songs they record will be written by their friends, etc. You need a hit song to get
anyone's attention today. That's why its so important to have a
great idea before you start writing the song. Only a song with a
great unique idea and carefully crafted lyrics and melody will
get consideration in today's competitive songwriting market.
Co-Writing
Consider co-writing
with another songwriter. Co-writing offers many rewards, one of
which can be hit songs. Find someone that brings something other
than what you bring to the table. If your strength is writing
lyrics, find someone that is a better melodist that you are. The
combination can result in stronger songs. When it comes times to
cutting quality song demos and pitching to artist you have two
resources to contribute with a co-writer.
Final Songwriting
Comments: I have been writing songs many
years now and I have a collection of some nice song starts,
tunes, verses, etc. I literally have a suitcase full of
napkins, torn off paper with lines on them and let's not even
talk about my home studio where I have hundreds of tunes to
music waiting on lyrics to finish them. The best advice I can
give to a songwriter is stick to just one song and force
yourself to make it strong. Make sure you have a hit idea
though before you spend your time on a song.
Master
writer has a great rhyming dictionary software package for
songwriters. It provides great rhyme you'd never think of. You
can download a demo of it for 30 days and try.
Roy John Fuller a BMI songwriter has had
several Top 10 Billboard Pick Hits
starting with "Angel In Disguise"
(1975 Nashville Columbia Studio B), "Your
Song" (1975
Nashville Columbia Studio B), "The
Image of Me"
(1978 Nashville RCA Studios), "Giving
Up Getting Over You"
(1979 Nashville Tandem Studios),
"The First Time"
(1981 Nashville Woodland Studios), "Do
It" (1981
Nashville Woodland Recording Studios), "The
Shoe's On Another's Foot"
(1981 Nashville Woodland Recording Studios).
He has Pick Hits
and write up's in Nashville
Entertainer, Songwriter Magazine
and other music industry publications.
Roy's
Biography
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