Have you ever wished it was your song that was playing on the radio? Could be. It’s not that hard once you know the formula. With a little creativity, a little knowledge, a little luck, and a good formula to follow, your song could be one of the next big hits.
Songwriting is easy for some and very difficult for others. In fact, I have written songs in my sleep, and immediately after waking up, I wrote them as fast as I could put the words on the paper.
What I want to discuss here is popular songwriting, like the songs you hear on the radio. A good pop song, whether it’s rock, country, halfway, is made up of two things: a catchy melody and good lyrics.
There is a formula that most great songwriters use to write great songs. It refers to the structure used to write a song. Okay, it’s music and it’s art, so the rules aren’t hard and fast. But if you want to increase your chances of getting your song played on the radio, it’s a good starting point.
Here is the formula. Verse, chorus, colada, chorus, bridge, chorus.
Write it down on a piece of paper leaving plenty of space between each word and this will be your script.
Pour
The verse is the part of the song that tells the story, the part that leads to the chorus. Each verse is usually different and tells a different part of the story or adds to it. It usually explains how you came to the things you sing about in the chorus.
Chorus.
The chorus is the part of the song that is repeated after each verse. The lyrics are usually the same every time the chorus appears. The verse usually leads into the chorus, and the chorus is often the reward for hearing the verse. Makes sense?
Here’s a pathetic example (you didn’t think I’d give you my best work, did you?):
(pour)
My dog is sick, he has a tick.
He’s my best friend, don’t let it end
(chorus)
Oh, woe is me, can’t you see
Alas, will I ever be free!
(pour)
My car broke down, just out of town
They towed it, but it broke again
(chorus)
Oh, woe is me, can’t you see
Alas, will I ever be free!
Now, if you would kindly stop laughing at my silly song for a minute, I want you to think about whether or not you get my point. Writing songs is telling stories. The verse tells the problems, the chorus expresses the results or emotions.
Alright, now that you’ve got that down, let’s tackle the bridge. Oh yeah, there’s more to the song than pain and release. We need the distraction. That is the bridge; it is the deviation of the verse and the chorus.
The bridge may have a slightly different melody, or it might even have a different beat or tempo (Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds” did a great job with this technique).
Let’s go back to the lame song and add a bridge:
(pour)
My dog is sick, he has a tick.
He’s my best friend, don’t let it end
(chorus)
Oh, woe is me, can’t you see
Alas, will I ever be free!
(pour)
My car broke down, just out of town
They towed it, but it broke again
(chorus)
Oh, woe is me, can’t you see
Alas, will I ever be free!
(bridge)
Tomorrow is a better day, got a new truck on the way
Looks like my dog just had a flea so once again I’ll be living my dreams.
(chorus)
Oh, woe is me, can’t you see?
Alas, but now I am free!
The bridge offers a solution to the problems you were having. You don’t want to leave your listener on the verge of suicide, you want to give them hope.
Notice, I also changed the wording of the chorus. This was done to reflect my new found joy.
One more thing about the formula. It can be whatever you want, but most verses and choruses come in lines of 4. So instead of this:
(pour)
Oh, woe is me, can’t you see
Alas, will I ever be free!
(pour)
My car broke down, just out of town
They towed it, but it broke again
could be:
Oh, woe is me, can’t you see
Alas, will I ever be free!
My car broke down, just out of town
They towed it, but it broke again
The same goes for the chorus. Again, if you’re creative, make it however you like. But for a new composer, this gives you some guidelines to scrape off and begin to carve out his new creation.
One more thing, don’t make the melody notes so high that your fans can’t sing along. Certainly not all of us are Stevie Wonder.