4 Keys to Effective Songwriting

I'm in print! The following article is on the Vineyard Worship website:

I started learning music when I was 8 years old. My parents bought an electronic organ, and I took music lessons. My family moved to country Western Australia when I was 15, and it was about that time that I started writing my own songs. When I left home for Perth, I joined Grace Community Church and eventually became the worship team leader. Apart from the songs that I wrote, we had some talented team members who also wrote worship songs. I organised worship team retreats where we would take time out to write songs together. We had a collection of home-grown songs that we played often, to our own fellowship and to other churches.

When Grace closed down, we came to Southside Vineyard Christian Fellowship and after some time I became worship team leader. Our song-writing attempts have not been as successful as in my previous church, but we have written songs individually and as a team.

Song Writing Structure

I had learned to play keyboards, and then later on guitar. When I started writing songs, I usually began with a chord progression or melody. I found that I would get a chord progression, a melody, or a drum pattern with an unusual beat, and around this I would form a song with a structure – an intro, verses and choruses, maybe a bridge, then an ending.

Every song needs a structure, something on which to hang the words and melody. If there isn’t a structure, then there’s no clear start or finish. A song needs to have ebb and flow – does it build up to a crescendo, is there a peak, a focal point to the song? Is there a bridge – a break in the song, different chords, a different tune? Is there space for a solo or lead break? You need to have a rough idea of the structure, which will get clearer as you progress through the song writing process.

Unless the song is an instrumental, songs need words. When I write songs, sometimes I have a word or phrase going through my mind. Sometimes it reflects where I am at in my journey. Lyrics don’t necessarily have to rhyme, but there needs to be a rhythm to them. When you write words, verses need to have the same rhythm so they are easy to sing.

You can think of a song as a story. What story does your song tell? What is the theme? Write words around that theme. That can help narrow down the field if words aren’t your strong point. Some songwriters think of a “hook” – a word or phrase that the song is built around. The hook repeats in the chorus, or maybe in the verses, to help hold the song together. We tend to remember the hooks in songs, long after we forget how the rest of it goes. It’s the part of the song we’ll sing when we’re trying to tell people about it.

Group Song Writing

In my experience, group song writing is a bit of a mixed bag. I wanted to write songs as a group, so we could “own” the song as a group. Song writing can be a real bonding experience. In practice, song writing in a large group is impractical. There’s such a diverse mix of ideas that it can be hard to build these into a song. Small groups seem to work the best, and the most successful times have been when one person comes forward with a basic structure, a starting point from which to construct a song.

Last year we tried this approach with Southside’s worship team. I brought in a song where I had the chords, melody and some words, but I felt that the song was incomplete. In the small group that we had that night, we were able to arrange the song and end up with a final product.

Recording

It’s important to record the songs that you write, so you don’t forget how it goes! I have stacks of entries in my journal where I’ve written some chords and/or word, thinking that I’ll remember how it goes. Looking back, I can’t for the life of me remember the tune or the rhythm.

If you don’t have a computer, then tape decks are cheap. Keep it nearby and ready to go so you don’t interrupt the flow when you get an idea.

These days, computers are commonplace and recording software abounds. I use a Macintosh iBook G4 and Garage Band. I can lay down tracks very quickly using the built-in microphone just for a rough structure, or take time to record each track properly, and later on mix levels etc. There are built-in loops so you can put down a drum track very quickly to give you something to keep in time as you build up the other tracks.

Handling Criticism

When I write a song, I pour a lot of myself into the writing. This song represents something of myself. I love to tell people about my music, but not everyone likes what I write. After all this time I still find it hard when I eagerly play a song I’ve just written and recorded to someone and they say they don’t like it. You feel like they are really saying “I don’t like you”. Just remember – you won’t please every one all the time. Not everyone will like your music – it isn’t a personal attack on you. Do you like everything that’s played on the radio? So when you play for people, be prepared that not everyone will like what you write.

Keep persevering – I’m sure that if you asked any artist today, they would say that they wrote hundreds of songs before they had a hit. With each song you’ll write, your skills will improve. Let the songs you write be a history of your journey.
Happy writing!