Songwriting: Styles & Ideas

Songwriting: Styles & Ideas

What do John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Taylor Swift all have in common? They’re all considered some of the best songwriters of all time! From original styles to radical topics, to the ability to capture complex universal emotions and make them relatable through song, these musicians are/were the best in their field. While I can’t teach you to be the best songwriter in history in the time it takes you to read this blog, and I don’t at all consider myself an excellent songwriter, here are a few songwriting tips that can help you get started!

1. Follow the Formulas

There are several formulas that songwriters use to format their songs. One of the most common structures is found primarily in pop music, and it goes like this:

Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Chorus 

Another popular formula is AABA, which goes like this:

Verse (A) - Verse (A) - Bridge (B) - Verse (A)

1. Use Standard Chord Progressions

“Don’t mess with success” is a valid point to make here! Many pop songs follow this basic progression: 

vi - IV - I -V   (for example, C, Am, G, F;    or    Em - C - G - D )

This chord progression will automatically give you a song that sounds ‘put together’...now let’s talk about lyrics!

1. Create a ‘piggyback’ Song

This is a clever little way that music therapists can come up with a song at the drop of a hat! You take a really popular tune and change the words up to craft your own song! Of course, you don’t want to do this if you’re trying to write your own original song, but if you want to write something to aid in memory (i.e. singing a song to remember how to brush your teeth or tie your shoes), or something to teach a concept (ABC’s, for example- which itself is a piggyback song using the tune Twinkle Twinkle Little Star), this is quick & easy way to put together a helpful song! 

1. Fill in the Blank songs

Again, not a way to write an original song from scratch, but fill-in-the-blank songs are widely used by music therapists as well because they follow a basic structure while encouraging creativity and self-expression from the clients. Think Mad Libs but for music (only maybe not so silly!). In this method, you would remove certain words from the original lyrics and come up with your own.

Here’s an example:

Moon river, wider than a _________(noun- thing)

I'm crossing you in style on ________(day of the week)

Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker

Wherever you're goin', I'm ________(verb) your way

1. Original Lyrics Topics

When you are writing an original tune with your own original lyrics, you can focus on a certain theme/topic for the song (family, romantic relationships, struggles, simple things happening in your day-to-day life, addiction, depression, things that bring you joy) and build out your verse/chorus/bridge from there. Alternatively, you could write based on feelings alone and let your emotions flow and see where it takes you. You don’t have to focus on only one emotion (i.e. love, heartbreak, anger, sadness, etc.) and depending on how you structure your song, you may not need to stick to only one topic either. Just choose a place to start and go from there!

1. Songwriting for Addressing Goals 

If you’re reading this and you’re a music therapist who wants to improve your songwriting skills- same here! You’ve come to the right place. Another method of approach is to choose a goal area/objective that you want to work on with a client (social-emotional learning, movement, communication, etc.) and build out a song based on what you’re trying to achieve. For example, we currently have an adult group that focuses on working on social skills. One really important one is waiting your turn to speak/listening to others while they speak. Who’s to say that we can’t write a fun song that explains this skill in a fun and engaging way? 

Maybe we stick with a basic I– IV – I– V– I structure and keep it in the key of C. Here are our chords: C, F, C, G, C. Now let’s switch over to lyrics and brainstorm some ideas. Here are some phrases we can use: 

Let’s sing together, and listen to one another

Then pause and wait –

Now it’s your turn to sing, then I’ll wait for mine

It’s easier to speak when we take our time

This is a start! Brainstorming phrases like this can help you to get ideas onto the page. Writing them down with your handwriting may help too, because then you can scratch out/erase/rearrange lines as you see fit and the act of writing down words makes the process more tactile. This is also an activity that you could do with your clients, so that they are learning the songwriting process while discussing the importance of taking turns/communicating more effectively.

We hope this helps you get started if you’re new to songwriting! If you’re more experienced in this, please share your wisdom with us! What’s something you enjoy doing as part of your songwriting process? 

Written by Molly Harell, MT-BC