Ten 10-step System To Write A Song – Part 2/5

The next two steps to write a song would be choosing a song structure and writing the first version of the lyrics.

3. The Song Structure

Now that you have already the material to create your rough lyrics, it should be wise to start writing them. But before writing any line, chord or melody, let’s take a look at the bigger picture.

The structure of your song.

Taking time to plan the overall layout of your song will later help you to create a consistent flow – both musically and emotionally.

Here are two basic templates to get started with.

Usually, a good song can include some, or all of these parts:

Introduction
Verse 1
Pre-Chorus
Chorus
Verse 2
Pre-Chorus
Chorus
Final Chorus

You can also use a variation of this structure by removing the Pre-Choruses, and adding a Chorus and a Bridge after the second Verse.

Introduction
Verse 1
Chorus
Verse 2
Chorus
Bridge
Chorus
Final Chorus

Choose one or the other – we can change things later on.

Check out my blog post Song structure explained to fill in any missing details about structuring your songs.

4. Writing Lyrics

After setting up a layout for our song, we are ready to start writing the actual lyrics based on the questions from the previous steps.

If it helps, create a short storyline in your head and summarize it to paper. Divide the story into two or three sections – according to the total count of your song verses & the bridge.

After summarizing the story, write down a couple of summarizing sentences that nail the song idea straight away and summarise the overall feeling of the story.

The song verses are to tell the main story. Based on your storyline, start making drafts of your lyrics, writing more material than needed at first. Start with a sentence that catches the audience’s attention right in the beginning. Continue with introducing the key elements of your story, one by one.

Write without hesitation and then after all of your verses are at some degree complete, start rewriting and trying to summarise everything down. Then, after you have a basic template for your verses, proceed to the choruses.

The chorus should sum the whole story up. Using too many phrases could make your song complex and hard-to-understand – so use your summarising statements to create efficient and powerful sentences.

Choose how to summarize the song:

• If your story needs more depth, write a total of four phrases to your chorus. Making the chorus longer will expand the song, but it could happen with the cost of effectiveness.
• If you want your story to be more simplified and easily-understood, use fewer lines. A chorus can consist of just one phrase but should be chosen very wisely.

After creating your first version, take a 5-minute break and then start re-writing your lyrics. Try to avoid filler material. Make every lyrical line count.