5 Practical Tips For Beginner Songwriters To Embrace
Over the years, a common question we’ve been asked by budding songwriters is “What are some of your top tips for beginners?”. In this article, we aim to answer that question with 5 practical, and actionable tips that we wish we knew when we started out.
This article is a summarised transcript of our video “5 Mistakes Beginner Songwriters Should Avoid”. Click here to watch the video for more details, explanations and examples.
Tip #1: Watch Your Pronouns
Although often overlooked, pronouns are an important aspect of lyric writing. Beginner songwriters often make the mistake of mixing up their pronouns in a song. For example, take a look at the following lyrics:
“She open a window, lights a candle
And whispers his name
Will you ever be happy again?”
This makes it difficult to follow a song’s narrative because pronouns are how we indicate viewpoints, and switching pronouns means switching viewpoints. So, it’s confusing for the listener if we change from one pronoun to another, even though we’re talking about the same person.
When we maintain consistent pronouns, the conscious and subconscious reception of a listener becomes extremely direct, and clear. Below is what the earlier lyrics would look like with consistent pronouns:
“You open a window, light a candle
And whisper his name
Will you ever be happy again?”
To learn more about pronouns, click here to download a free PDF of the 4 Points of View, with examples and song references:
Tip #2: Change Your Starting Chord
Many songwriters fall into the habit of using the same starting chord for every section. This particularly applies to the usage of the home chord i.e. the tonic chord. It’s fine to use the tonic chord at the beginning of a song because that’s when we’re trying to establish a key centre.
However, when we start every single section on the tonic chord, it becomes difficult to tell the difference between sections. This is due to the fact that the home chord has a very resolved sound. So, when every section starts with the home chord, the story doesn’t have a chance to go anywhere since all the sections start by sounding grounded. Here’s what that would look like:
” Verse: C | Am | G
Chorus: C | G | F | C “
The solution to this is to go through your song, and deliberately swap out the starting chord of every section. A great tip is to try starting your song using chords that will help you define the key, without actually using the home chord. This way, the home chord will sound far more dramatic when used later. The following is an example:
” Verse: Am | F | G
Chorus: C | G | Am | F “
Tip #3: Vary Your Melodic Phrasing
When it comes to melody, it’s the tendency of beginner songwriters to focus on lyrics and pitch. In reality, the melodic phrasing of your lyrics is just as important as both of those things. A mistake commonly made is to start every melodic phrase on the first beat of the bar. This means that your lyrics are all coming in on the downbeat, without much variation or anticipation.
Unfortunately, this is detrimental to the flow of a song as it’s the interaction between melody and chords that creates interest for a listener. By ensuring not all of your phrases fall on the downbeat, you create space for both your lyrics and melody to breathe.
Tip #4: Write More
At the beginning of your songwriting journey, it’s very common for you to want to pour a lot of effort and energy into each song. Whilst trying to perfect something isn’t a bad trait, this perfectionism puts too much pressure on each song. Thus, we don’t get to practice our craft often enough, which results in us not progressing further. As said by famous American writer and speaker Elizabeth Gilbert, “Perfectionism is just a fear of failure dressed up fancy…”.
The solution to this is to simply write more. We must understand that failure is inevitable but is necessary for growth. Give yourself permission to write more, whilst understanding that the majority of your work will be mediocre, some will be terrible, and a few will be great.
Although this may feel like a waste of time, the truth is that only by writing more can we generate more great songs. Even the songs we feel are mediocre could become great songs once we turn to people for feedback, and work at them some more. By providing yourself permission to be terrible, you also free up creative energy to practice, and become amazing.
Tip #5: Start From a Hook
Beginner songwriters commonly write songs with the mindset that they can write a song from start to finish. This means that their songwriting starts at the beginning of the song, and they write hoping that eventually a theme will emerge from the feeling or idea that they initially had. Although this is a valid way to write songs, there is benefit in starting your song not at the beginning, but rather the beating heart of it i.e. a hook/ title.
The hook/ title represents your song’s core emotion, and central message. When we start from there, we start from the most important line, and build the rest of our song around it. This ensures that the entire song is set up so that hook will hit harder when it lands.
A great example of this is the song “First Times” by Ed Sheeran. The first line goes “I thought it’d feel different playing Wembley, eighty thousand singing with me”. Since we know that the title of the song is ”First Times”, we understand that what he’s describing here is one of his first times. So, when he talks about how important his first times with his partner are in the chorus, it sinks into us more profoundly. We can really feel a resolution to the tension that he’s built.
Conclusion: 5 Practical Tips For Beginner Songwriters To Embrace
Overall, there’s plenty of things you can do as a beginner songwriter to improve your songwriting skills. What’s important is to be persistent in your songwriting process. By never giving up and being critical when you revise your songs, you’ll be on your way to writing amazing songs.
If you would like more details, explanations and examples, then be sure to check out the video now.