How do I write a song?

Question:I love to sing and I'd like to write a song. The problem is, how do I do that? I've written poems before, lots of them, but I can never fit them into a tune.
I've been trying to write something soulful and kind of R&B but it never works and I hate what I come up with.
Can you tell me how could I start? Do I have to find the melody first, the beat or the lyrics?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I love to sing and I'd like to write a song. The problem is, how do I do that? I've written poems before, lots of them, but I can never fit them into a tune.
I've been trying to write something soulful and kind of R&B but it never works and I hate what I come up with.
Can you tell me how could I start? Do I have to find the melody first, the beat or the lyrics?

start with the melody, not the lyrics. play that melody over and over. fit chords to it. your heart will respond with what it feels when it hears that melody, and lyrics will appear. leave the beat 'til last.

You pour out your heart and it all comes together. Start with a tune in your head and add lyrics to that.

You should have no problems if you sing and play

The melody should just come to you and then you should be able to pick out the chords.

A beat can help. You can download free electronic drum machines from the internet or buy a beat box somewhat cheap.

If all else fails use the Tin Pan alley way

ALL songs can generally be lumped into any of about 12-24 patterns of chords

1-4-5 being the simplest (C F G)

There are also variations 1-5-4 1-4 1-4 1-5

But it's still all 1 4 5

You have to decide if you're going major or minor.

Then you have to find a key that fits your voice (1-4-5 can be C F G, A D E, G C D, Eb Ab Bb, etc.)

There is also Major/Minor/Major patterns.

Just look at all the songs you listen to and see the patterns they fit into.

Write the patterns down.

Stealing patterns isn't totally illegal, it's the melody that has to be different.

So you play a chord and sing your poems and keep changing chords until you find one that fits and see how long you stay there before you need to change.

Many songwriters say that once you've found a great title, the song almost writes itself. The title will contain the hook, which is the key phrase around with the rest of the lyrics are built. The most common structure is to have a chorus that is repeated after each verse and a bridge or break that comes somewhere after the middle of the song.

The easiest type of song to start with is a twelve bar blues structure, which has only two lines per verse. The first line is repeated three times with the second line sung between the second and third repetition of the first. Twelve bar blues can be done with or without a chorus. A typical example is "How Blue Can You Get?", which B.B. King did so fabulously.

The lyrics need to sound good and be easy to pronounce. Alliteration works well, but should not be overdone. Very tight rhythm and rhyme structure are very appealing, and similar vowell sounds in the middle of lines that rhyme with each other add to the feel. Free verse rarely works at all.

It's a good idea to stimulate the listeners' imaginations with very specific images--in a sense, a good song is like a computer program for the emotions of the listener. Abstract ideas don't stimulate the imagination, and overuse of abstractions tends to lose the attention of listeners. Symbolize abstract ideas with specific images.

The easiest way to make the lyrics consistent from verse to verse is to have a tune in mind when you are writing them even if you will use a different tune in the final form. You can use a tune from a song you like and write a new tune once the lyrics are done or write the tune first or even write the two simultaneously. Lyrics are a very specific branch of poetry. It's a rare set of verse that works well both as recitation and in song.

I hope some of this helps.