How to write a song: the basics

There are a number of different ways and approaches to getting started, and different people will gel with different processes. We’ll try to explain more about these and give you some key tips from popular songwriters’ toolkits a little later, but as a general guide, here’s our quick six-step process. 

1. Come up with an idea or pick a point of inspiration 
2. Find a chord progression 
3. Develop a catchy chorus melody 
4. Build a song structure 
5. Write lyrics 
6. Bring it together 

Song structure

So, where do you start with song structure? In reality, the answer is wherever you want, but try to keep overall structure in mind as you build your ideas. The idea of four-bar loops is pretty ubiquitous regardless of genre and is a great way to start sketching out your ideas to then build them into full-length songs, but your idea may be longer – this is fine too, go where your inspiration takes you! 

It doesn’t matter if you start with a rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic idea. It can be a chord progression, a bassline, a melody, or drum pattern – if you have an idea, try to get it down. Focus on whatever you’ve got and add the next element on top of it: bass, melody, rhythm, or harmony, and keep doing this. Once you have at least 16 bars, you have enough length for either a verse or a chorus, depending on what the part is like. 

How do you tell where to use what you’ve written? If your section is big, bombastic, and catchy, it’s probably well-suited to being the chorus. If it’s more subtle and changes a lot, or is generally lowkey, it’s probably better as a verse. Choruses tend to have a lot of big hooks and melodies, whereas verses have repetitive but consistent movement. Verses will usually also have less complex instrumentation. 

It’s typical to structure a song as Verse 1, Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus. Some songs will avoid a bridge or add a building pre-chorus section in between the verse and chorus to closely link them and add some momentum.  

Play around with these systems and find what works for your style of songwriting. You might want to use half-choruses or pre-chorus sections for extra variation. These can add momentum and tension to a song. A song’s intro might help build things up into a verse as well. 

Another common format is the AABA structure. This consists of essentially three verses, or A-sections, and a bridge, or B-section. This is better for more stripped-down songs, like instrumental jazz, soft rock, and ballads, keeping things a little more stable. 

Some songs may forgo extra parts like bridges and just bounce between verses and chorus too. This can be better if you have a busy or fairly catchy verse and are struggling to make things any bigger than the chorus you’ve written. 

How to write a song: our top tips

1. Capture all of your ideas

Record, write, hum, notate. Whatever you do, however do it, be sure to capture every idea that comes your way. You never know what you’ll be able to develop and when. Maybe you try to build something out of a hook, riff, or melody, and struggle to build a song out of it.  

Make sure you have a microphone, notebook, or portable recorder to log your ideas. Put a voice note on your phone, scribble something down when you hear it. No matter what works for you, make sure you have a way of capturing your ideas that you can come back to.

It’s always worth keeping past ideas in your back pocket, even if they don’t work out. You might come back to it and find it’s the missing piece to something else you’re making. 

2. Let your inspiration guide you

As many of the best songwriters will attest, songwriting is usually driven by some kind of spark. You might have a story you wish to tell with a song, you might want to explore a thought or feeling, capture a moment in time, draw inspiration from another song, a book, or a movie, or just some melody that popped into your head one day. 

It can be almost anything that gives you the urge to create and the idea you want to build into something. No matter what it is, try to let that central idea lead your songwriting. This will make sure that your song is an authentic expression of whatever it is you want to say.  

As many of the great songwriters will tell you, you can’t force inspiration, and there’s not often a set method of getting it. So you have to wait for it to hit, and strike when inspiration does arrive. 

3. Build a solid structure

We’ve discussed structure already, but the form of the song can really help guide your concept into reality. Deciding things like the tempo of your song, the key, and the order of the sections that you’ll assemble can help your vague ideas become more solidified. It can take experimentation but just try things out until you find what feels right. 

Think about the environment and context you want your song to be heard in and write accordingly. A song designed to be blasted over the nightclub’s PA system won’t be written the same way as a song you want somebody to listen to intently in headphones, hit the gym to, or dance romantically with their partner to. Structure your song to fit the way you want people to listen to it. 

4. Be patient with yourself

Sometimes songwriting can come quickly, but don’t let that set an expectation! Writer’s block comes for us all sooner or later. You might try all sorts of variations and not find anything that works, you might feel completely hard up for any ideas whatsoever.  

When you hit the wall, try to distance yourself and regain some perspective. Not thinking about it for at least a little while and coming back to it later with fresh eyes and ears will open things up. Try to spend time with friends or family, indulge in your hobbies, or take a long walk.  

It might take a few hours of a break to be able to crack things open, or it might take days, weeks, or even months and years. If you’re struggling with a song, sometimes it’s better to put it down and work on a different song or idea in the meantime. You might even stumble into the solution to your original song’s problem as you go! 

5. Let the hook guide you

Every song has a hook, and no matter what instrument you play, you can make one happen. It might be a catchy guitar riff, it could be a melodic guitar line instead, it might be a good synth lead, it could be a bassline that propels the whole song, or it could be a vocal melody. Sometimes the hook will be something smaller and repeatable, or sometimes it’ll be an undeniable chorus that’ll make listeners want to sing along. 

Use the hook to grab attention and build the song from this. And if you want to really open up your songwriting, try to think of hooks on different instruments for various parts of the song. 

6. Build upon each section

Verses are typically a smaller part of a song, but you still want some form of hook in a verse. Verses should still be more sparsely arranged than the choruses, but they need propulsion to make your listeners want to get to the chorus. 

The chorus should be the most densely arranged part of your song, with the most going on in it, but it can be beneficial to add elements to each verse that follows. A new melody or instrument can go a long way to enhancing the progression of verses while not feeling like you’re going back to a smaller version of the song. 

7. Lyrics are the way people connect to music

Unless you’re focused on writing instrumental music, lyrics are the central way that listeners will relate to a song. People will always try to listen out for something familiar, and what’s more familiar and easier to connect to than a human voice? The way that you write lyrics is essential to building that connection. 

Draw from that central font of inspiration – whatever that may have been – and try to reflect those ideas as best you can. Use the verse to introduce and set up ideas, and then use the chorus to emphasise them with the big central concept of your song.

Try to evolve the story of the song using the verses to ensure there’s momentum over the course of the whole song. Think about ways to take listeners on a journey through those verses and don’t keep them in the same place. 

Lyric writing is a lot like poetry as the rhythm and cadence are very important to the flow of a song. Rhyming is also a useful tool, but not every line has to rhyme. Listen closely to some of your favourite songs – how many of them rhyme every single line?

Finding ways of switching things up through alternating rhymes, clusters of different rhyming pairs, or even setting up a rhyming line before swerving to insert a word that doesn’t rhyme at all can bring some emphasis. Imagery and metaphor are also very strong ways of getting your ideas across, try to play with this and use it to fit the mood.

8. Collaborate and get feedback

You don’t have to be a lone wolf to write music. In fact, doing so is usually antithetical to the whole process. Work with other musicians you know if you can, form a band if that’s something that appeals to you and the way you want to write, show what you’ve made to people you trust and get feedback from them – these are all ways to make the process more collaborative and exciting.

When getting feedback from peers, ask more than whether it’s just good or bad. Ask specific questions such as how they feel about the verse: is it catchy enough? Does it conjure emotion? Questions like these will highlight any weaknesses in the song and where you can make it better.

If you do get constructive criticism, try to take this in stride – it can sting sometimes, but it will ultimately be useful and help you grow as a songwriter.

Sometimes it’s good to work with producers if you’re looking to release your music professionally. Reaching out to local studios can really help you get that extra polish if you’re struggling. Producers aren’t just there to press a few buttons and record the song, they’re also there to help you write songs and will give you notes or suggest things to add, remove, or change as you go.

If you’re not in touch with many other musicians or want to work on a solo project, connecting with a producer is a good way to help bring your vision to life. 

9. Don’t overthink

Songwriting is deeply personal, and so it can be difficult and take a long time. If your song isn’t coming together, or you’ve finished it and wound up feeling a little disappointed in the result, don’t let this knock you down. Let the mistakes you’ve made inform the next one.

You might even come back to this song one day and see it with more positivity or have the skills to go back and fix it. But sometimes the best thing to do is let go and move on to the next one. 

You’re a developing artist, and you will eventually create songs that you’re happy with down. Learn from your experiences – both good and bad – along the way and take those into the next song. If nothing else you’ll have learned a lot more about how you operate as a songwriter, and that’s incredibly valuable. 

Every single musician you look up to will have gone through this in their careers, and most have a massive backlog of songs that were never released. A lot of the discographies you see are the best of the best of an artist’s output, so try not to compare yourself too much. Be brave, trust yourself and your vision, and keep working at it. 

It might take writing a lot more songs before you feel like you have enough material that you’re happy enough with to release into the world – if you really want to do this, don’t worry and keep going. 

Who’s your inspiration?

We all have inspirations for songwriting, and they’re all deeply personal choices. Think about yours and why they inspire you. What is it about them? Is it their lyricism, their virtuosic guitar playing, the emotive power of their vocals? What lessons can you learn from their approach?  

With this in mind,  you can find plenty of inspiration from considering what the artists you love do well, and why it works for you. 

FAQs

How do I begin to write a song?

To begin writing a song, start by focusing on a strong emotion or a simple idea as your foundation. Choose a melody, chord progression, or lyric to build upon. Experiment with structure and let your creativity flow while refining your ideas into verses, choruses, and bridges. 

What is the 80/20 rule in songwriting?

The 80/20 rule in songwriting refers to focusing 80% of your effort on the most impactful 20% of elements, such as the hook or chorus. Prioritise the parts of the song that will resonate most with listeners and drive its emotional or commercial success. 

How do I write a song when I have no ideas?

To write a song with no ideas, draw inspiration from personal experiences, random words, or external prompts like books or movies. Experiment with freewriting or playing random melodies. Sometimes starting with rhythm or chords can spark creativity and lead to new concepts. 

Final thoughts

Songwriting is challenging, but extremely rewarding work, and if you’re learning how to write a song and asking yourself whether you should start, I’d strongly encourage you to take the leap. Trust your instincts and keep at it.

There will be frustrations: things not coming together, lack of inspiration, parts you’ve written not working the way you hoped and needing to be scrapped. But if you stick with it, I can guarantee it’ll be worthwhile – even if it won’t necessarily make you rich and famous!

Follow our tips if you need a hand, and remember to not overthink and take breaks when you need them. Be patient and enjoy the process – there’s an awful lot to love about it. 

For more guides to take you from studio to stage, check out the links below.

The 29 Best Acoustic Guitar Songs of All Time

Our Favourite Mixing Tips and Tricks

A Comprehensive Band Equipment Checklist – Including Bags and Cases