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The following items represent a comprehensive listing of song characteristics . They may not apply to all forms of music. However, the majority will apply to most country, pop/rock and adult type songs.

Feel free to download this list for future reference. You should check at least 80% of the notes to have a marketplace contender.

• The first line or two should hook the listener into wanting to hear what comes next.
• People will be able to hum the melody after hearing it a few times. 
• The lyric is conversational. No forced rhymes, no convoluted phrases or sentences. 
• Today, you do not need to have perfect (care, bear) type rhymes. Meaning is more important.
• The listener will know the title of the song once he/she has heard it through. This is the place where many songs fall down. I've seen songs where the title is never mentioned in the lyric, or it is a pick up phrase, rather than a strong line. 
• The lyric and the melody belong together. It's called prosody. Happy lyrics/ happy melody. 
• The words and music flow naturally. No forcing more lyrics into what sings easily, no stretching out lyrics to fill in lack of ideas. 
• The song has a timeless feel about it. Try to avoid dating your material with references to events and people who may be obscure next year. Though, contemporary references do sometimes appear in country songs. How many of you know all the names and places in Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire?" 
• Songs should be built around a universal theme, idea or feeling. You want as many people as possible to relate to the material. 
• The song should be self contained. No explanation or mind reading is necessary to understand the story. If you have to say "What I mean by this, is...... then you need to rewrite the song. 
• The song is an acceptable length for radio play. Probably, no more than 3 1/2 minutes. The demo should not contain musical breaks. 
• The lyrics are honest, believable and heartfelt. 
• Ask yourself, would the singer want to be associated with the tone or message in these lyrics? If the male comes across as weak or the female as a victim, the artist will probably pass on the song. One big no-no is self pity. I have also been told by other publishers they don't like to hear begging songs, though its' been done. 
• Song lyrics aren't the same as poetry. Are your lyrics realistic in tone? Abstractions are hard for the public to grasp in the immediate sense, which is where the song is accepted or rejected. 
• Strong lines. The lyric should get better as it progresses through the song. Many times, writers cop out on the second verse, and resort to cliches to get through it. This is where rewriting may be necessary. 
• Does the song revolve around one main idea, or is the lyric scattered all over the place. It is usually okay to go somewhere else in the bridge, if it adds to the understanding with a different perspective on the same idea as the rest of the song. 
• Does the song change time frames? Has the listener been prepared to go from the past to the present, or, one locale to another? An abrupt shift will cause you to lose the listener. 
• Controversial topics should be avoided, but, if you do choose debatable subjects, make sure they are presented tastefully. I don't think the listener would sit still for a blow by blow account of an abortion, for example. 
• Does the song blame the listener for the singer's condition? No listener wants to associated with causing another's pain, or, be labeled as an s.o.b. 
• Has the song been subjected to an objective view? If you can, play it for few people who do NOT know you are the writer. In fact tell them it's an acquaintance's song and they can be truthful. 
• How many of these craft worthy details can you point to in the song? 
• The title is up front, the first line of the chorus? It is repeated for memorability? 
• The lyrics express a new way of presenting the familiar? They are cliche free? 
• The lyrics paint vivid images with word pictures? 
• The song/melody is short enough and simple enough to catch the listener's ear and be recognizable the first time it's heard? 
• The song has a touch of suspense or mystery about it that pulls the listener in?

Something Out of Nothing: 21 Songwriting Tips
by Ken Hill - Torchlight Creek Music

This is not a how-to article. This is just on some songwriting tips that I want to share with you to help you become a more versatile songwriter. Take the hints that you feel help you out and discard the ones you don’t agree with. 

#1) Authors and Musicians... 
I have had some people tell me that composing music is easy, and that anyone can do it. Yes, anyone can do it, but few can really do it.

Writing a song is much like being an author. Yes, we all have tools to write (everyone has a brain I hope!), but that doesn’t all of a sudden make us best selling authors.

Authors work at their abilities, often every day. The prime goal of an author is the same as a musician, which is to emotionally connect with the reader in some way or another. Writers do this by using motivation, chararacterization, and powerful word combinations among other things. Composers, like authors, have a lot in common. Our main goal is to connect with the listener emotionally. 

This is where our first tip comes into play: Never stop working at your abilities.

If our main goal is to connect emotionally, we should want to have as many tools as we possibly can to achieve that goal.

The more abilities that we have, the more choices we can make musically. It’s important to have a wide arsenal of choices at your disposal, because if we keep doing the same ‘tried and true’ methods, their emotional effects will wear off as the songwriting becomes caged into a predictable movement.

#2) Who are you writing your music for?
Know your goal.

The reason why you need to know this is because when you make music for yourself, there is no limit to what you can do to be ‘expressive’.

If you are making music for other people, you will have to be aware of how people relate to it.

It is like this: when you are a computer genius and you want to tell someone how to fix their computer, you have to speak in their terms so they can understand what the heck you are saying.

If you speak in your lingo, you will most likely lose them in techno-talk. Another example is the author. He can write a story with the largest, most sweeping words he knows- but if the reader does not know what those words mean, the entire meaning gets lost.

We, as musicians, face the same predicament.

Overcomplicated songs will lose the average listener.

Now, other hardcore musicians will greatly appreciate your abilities and probably get more feeling from it- but the common person will most likely not be able to follow.

Once again you should ask yourself when you write a song: Who am I making this music for and will they be able to relate?

#3) Scratching in the dirt
Minds are like flowers. If you let it sit there without soaking anything up, it will dry up.

Not to say that you can’t invigorate your mind again, but it is saying that it is harder to do so. Just like weight lifting. If you haven’t worked out in awhile, it is quite hard to lift as much as you did when you were lifting every day.

So this is my first suggestion. Practice. I’m not talking about technical ability this time (although you should practice that too!). I’m saying that you should practice making new songs. Make a goal to make 1 new song every week, even if it is only 50 seconds long.

It is the fact that you are working your brain out. Once you begin the song, you can latch onto ideas rather quickly. That is not the purpose of the exercise.

The purpose is to get your brain to find new avenues by exploring different ideas. It’s about trying something new every time.

#4) Music vs. Robots
Music is an art form. It is a way to wordlessly communicate. There are computer programs that are designed to ‘make songs’ on the fly. How much do you think that communicates? Please don’t be a robot! Don’t give in and throw in random notes that fit in a scale just to fill a passage. Make a reason for why every part of your song exists.

Find parts in your lead passage that really hook you. Now delete all the other parts. Now build off of the hook. Get it? Computers cannot find hooks, but your ear can. If you can’t feel anything interesting from a part, get rid of it.

Unless of course you want to have a “boring” part to build into something grand! There’s a nice strategy.

#5) The song’s opinion is better than yours! Nyah!
When you think in the best interests in the song, you may have to rid yourself some very good ideas that you wanted to do.

I have come up with very creative ideas that really didn’t work with the song I was currently composing.

Don’t mess up your song by trying to fit it in! If you can fit it in and it feels right to put it there- good shot! If it doesn’t- well then you have an idea for your next song to go! Remember, the song’s opinion is better than yours!

Oh, here is a good one.

Just because you got a new toy, does not mean every song needs to have it! There, I said it. Just because you get a wah-wah pedal for your guitar, now every song you make after that needs to have a wah-wah??

I think not!

Think about what the song needs not what you want. The both of you might have varying opinions. When you make the music bigger than you are, then you’ll understand what I mean- it tends to have a mind of its own.

#6) Where does inspiration come from?
Quite often when I write a song, I think back to a moment in my life. I use what has happened in my life as an inspiration to make music.

The more I do in my life, the more I can write music about- new experiences. Sometimes just getting out of the house and doing something you haven’t done in a long time (or never done!) can open up the doors to musical inspiration.

Open up a photo album, read old letters, visit family, friends, go do an activity, do anything but music! Read poetry, watch ballet, go see a movie, walk around in a museum, look at oil paintings and sculptures- these are all different forms of art. Music is an art form too.

Sometimes other forms of art can be inspiring to the musician. Come back, after your mind has been freed, and try to write a song about it.

#7) Oops I made an accident.. er- no I didn’t!
Once we begin a song, our minds begin to formulate where to go next, and most of the time- we excitedly travel down the road.

Throughout the excitement, we can make good mistakes. We hit the wrong key, and all of a sudden, our mind is opened to a new avenue. Mistakes can be good things, because it is an unexpected thing. I think the best music sounds familiar enough to know where it is going, but unpredictable enough to avoid musical clichés! 

Sometimes I will click on a random sequence of notes- not to actually use it in a song, but to see if I can find maybe a simple pattern that I can build off of. About 95% of the time, I just hear musical mush that I can’t use. The other 4% it is good stuff, and 1% of it is amazing! Accidents can be good things.

Remember that.

If you don’t have an inspiration, sometimes just ‘playing around’ is a good answer!

#8) Country?!? I make rock songs!
It is hard to compare Clint Black to Korn. That is not to say there isn’t something to be learned from different styles.

The best way to be able to attack a song from every angle is to have as many techniques and styles as possible. Your talent will tell you which ones would work for your song.

Learn country, rock, alternative even try polka! Learn as much as you can. There might be a place to use that knowledge somewhere in the future!

#9) A + B =C. A + B = XYZ???
Don’t use the same formulas for your songs!

Just because you found a winning formula, that may only work for that particular song.

Try different avenues.

There are artists that you hear (even on the radio) that seem to have all of their songs to sound alike. Be creative.

#10) Don’t retrograde your V into a IV??!? Are you crazy?!
Don’t be a music theory lawyer, but use it to your advantage.

Knowledge of the rules of music can be a great thing- if you also know that it’s okay to break them. If you stay theoretically sound, you may have a generic sound.

Dissonance can be a powerful tool. 

#11) That musician can’t play himself out of a paper bag...
Ahh, how many times have I heard one musician talk about another behind their back.

The reason why refraining this can help your songwriting is because when you stop comparing to the outside world, you can learn from them. Maybe the guitarist isn’t the most technically sound, but maybe he can fingerpick like you wouldn’t believe.

Learn from his strengths so they can be yours too. Examine his style and abilities and see if there isn’t something you can’t learn from him.

#12) I feel like listening to...
Maybe you’re brain fried but you feel like writing a song. Why not toss in a CD of someone who inspires you to write.

Examine the style, the mixing, how the entire song is constructed, when each instrument blends in and out of the mix, etc. etc.

You’ll find that many times you can get ideas from other artists. I’m not saying steal their riffs (but go ahead if it makes you feel better) but you can take some of their ideas and blend them into your own style.

Steal an idea and then bend it to the inner workings of your mind!

#13) Let’s write a Metal song next to a Kinder care...
Location is a very important aspect to songwriting.

When you’re next to a lake, you probably get the feeling of relaxation.

When you’re at a concert, I doubt you will feel so relaxed.

Where you are can impact your music.

If you are lucky enough to have your own private place in your home to play music, you most likely have it decorated with posters or something that puts you in the mood. If you don’t... try it! I had a guy tell me that he couldn’t write a song unless he turned off all of his lights except for one... and it was blue.

If you create an atmosphere, it will most likely affect your music. When you are in a store you act differently than at home. Even your kitchen will invoke a different type of feeling than your living room. No doubt about it..

Try to get a room that can match your musical personality and write there. Test out different places. I, personally, write my music in the dark. No blue light here.

#14) It sounds okay... I guess...
Get rid of it!

To exercise your mind, you have to work it to its full capacity. Back to weight lifting, if you can curl 45-lbs, don’t settle for 20 lbs one day. You won’t get stronger.

Half-hearted songs don’t count in my opinion. Playing around is nice and all, but your ultimate goal should be to write a song like you’ve written before. It is how we expand as musicians. Writing songs with methods that we’ve done before is like lifting 20 lbs.

Using new ideas and methods, that our mind would have only thought of because we’ve mastered the old- that’s your 45 pounder!

Keep it fresh! Don’t fall into the habit of generic music!!!

#15) Ideas.. Ideas.. Ideas...
Sometime I write a song off a central idea, instead of emotion.

For example, my idea might be: well what if I wrote a dance song with a heavy guitar?

What if I wanted to write a song uses a distortion over drums? Ideas don’t always evolve into songs, but they help you be creative!

The important thing is that since they are ideas (kind of like a hypothesis) you shouldn’t come to a conclusion till you have tried it.

In other words, if you have an idea that running distortion over drums would sound cool over a love song, and when you try it- you may tell yourself... “no- distortion with drums sounds good on a hard rock song.”

#16) I like it, but what do you think???
Let me start by saying that your friends and family members will most likely be very biased about your music. Ask them what they think if you want a self-esteem booster.

I take compliments more to heart from strangers who like my music. The most important thing is that you like the music. Will others like it as well? Maybe, maybe not.

If they offer suggestions, consider them... There is no right or wrong way to write a song. There are only songs that people can and can’t relate to. And I’m sure that almost any song that was ever made could probably relate to at least 1 other person in this world. 

#17) Catchy phrases for lyrics
If you’re planning on writing lyrics, then I offer you this suggestion:

Use words that people use everyday.

Why? Because if those same words are used in just an everyday conversation, it will remind that listener of your song.

For instance, if I said “I was outside last night and saw a twinkle twinkle little star”, immediately that song pops into your mind. Of course no one would talk like that, so if you mold your song around an everyday phrase, then it will remind people of your song easier. Just think of Staind, “It’s been awhile”. Every time someone says that phrase it reminds me of that song.

#18) Be healthy. Eat, sleep and exercise regularly as part of your daily routine.
Strange to think how proper sleep, exercise and food come into play, but it can.

Just think of this: Food is your body’s fuel. Without fuel, your body wants to shut down. That is why people who aren’t healthy are tired more often.

When you’re in shape, your metabolism will rise giving you an extra supply of energy that you can use to focus onto music or whatever.

Does that mean that if you’re out of shape and not eating right that you can’t make good music? Of course not! But what I am saying is that if you do choose to eat right and get in shape, it will help you keep your focus and energy for a longer period of time.

I can’t stress enough how different one feels when they choose to get in shape, but it really helps you psychologically, mentally and physically.

#19) Building a hook.
Some of the most powerful hooks are derived from taking a simple melody and modifying it ever so slightly.

Why does that make it powerful?

Hooks need to be predictable and not predictable at the same time. If there is a degree of predictability then the listener will be able to relate to the song more quickly. For instance, how many of you have said in your mind, “that would be so cool if this song did this...” and then the song took the same direction you wanted it to go.

Immediate satisfaction. 

If you twist it a little bit, then the song will have its unique identity that separates it from the traditional cliché of many hooks.

People have heard different artists use the exact same musical hooks and patterns, and if there is no unique twist then you will hear something like, “they copied (fill in the blank)’s song. Sounds just like it but with different words.” You will most likely want your song to have its own identity.

#20) Texturize
Music is about textures as well as melody.

Think of the texture of a nylon string guitar as opposed to the texture of a steel string. Think of the texture of a piano, and the texture of a synth.

Some of the same melodies played with different textures can completely change a song.

A lot of metal songs sound like classical pieces when played on a classical guitar instead of an electric. The human voice sounds thicker with a chorus and reverb than a dry signal.

Textures can bring out the best and worst in a song. We pay great amounts of money to get the ‘best’ texture we possibly can. That is why people buy expensive musical equipment over cheap pawn shop items. Distortion has a huge variety of different tones and sounds.

Not every distortion pedal sounds the same.

Why? For texture. Don’t keep using the same sounds, experiment with as many textures as you can. This is so important; I’m going to say texture 20 more times by the end of this tip. Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture Texture .

#21) Have fun
Have fun!? What kind of topic!?

Guess what. People don’t have fun making music all the time. It’s really sad.

If you don’t believe me, think about all the people who have been upset because of something their band did to them. Revert to the very beginning, when you first realized that you loved to create music... and have fun!

---

About the Author

Ken Hill is a guitarist and keyboardist for the New Age band, Torchlight Creek.

If you have any comments, suggestions or ideas about this article, please be sure to e-mail him at ken@torchlightcreek.com

Here we will cover some of the basics of writing songs. 

A song needs to do three basic things to impress a listener. I call it the songwriting triangle. 

• A song needs to draw the listener in with an interesting lyric. 
• A song needs to be "catchy", as a song must please the ear rather than just reading it like a poem. 
• Lastly a song needs to have good sound structure. 

Below I will explain some of the basics of good structure and some common songwriting terms.

If you have all three sides as strong as possible from the songwriting triangle, you will give your song it’s best chance at success.

If you have a weak side of the triangle or more, generally your song does not have a very good chance at pleasing listeners. It is suggested that you always continue improving your writing in those three areas.

Study songs and look at those three areas within songs that are successful. Now, lets go over some basic songwriting terms and structure fundamentals.

A song is composed of several items.

A stanza is similar to a paragraph in a book. A stanza is a section of grouped lines. Usually a song will have multiple verses and a chorus.

A verse is a stanza, or two of lines that give the details of the song.

The chorus is a section of lines that generally contain the catchiest part of the song. Usually the chorus contains a songs hook.

A hook is a phrase of words or music that catches the listeners ear and if the listener remembers anything of the song, it’s usually that part. The hook is often the title of the song and is similar to a slogan for a company.

In most cases, a song contains a chorus that is the same or has only very small changes to it’s content each time it’s repeated. Some songs have no chorus, but most do.

A song format of AAA would mean three verses with no chorus for instance.

Some songs use a bridge as well. A bridge is usually of different length than a verse and usually has different music accompaniment. A bridge usually will "sum up" a songs message, or flash forward or backwards in time or often give a different perspective or surprise twist to a song. 

Here we’ve mentioned "usually" and "generally" and words like that because there are no rules in songwriting. There are guidelines or principals though that we will continue discussing here.

Below I will go into some detail of rhyming in songs.

Again, I will say that songs do not have to rhyme, but I will also say that the vast majority of successful songs do rhyme and would strongly suggest you consider using this wonderful tool to aid your songs.

Take caution though because cliché’, boring, predictable rhymes can ruin any song.

Often a new writer gets so tied up in rhyming that the rhymes force the song to use words that sound like the words were picked simply because they rhymed, not because they helped the song. Don’t get discouraged.

Like anything, writing good songs takes practice and some effort.

A rhyme works best when it seems like it was an accident that words rhymed, and the lyrics are so fresh that the rhyming isn’t even noticed, the song just has that "effect" of all fitting together somehow and rhymes were a part of that.

Rhymes should not be in the way; they should be like the icing on the cake that made it taste better. 

Rhyme patterns are simply the pattern of rhymes within a stanza.

The rhyme pattern in each verse should match other following verses in the song, but this pattern does not have to be the same in the chorus or bridge and is usually best to be different than the verses.

Songs do not have to rhyme, but the vast majority of successful songs do rhyme. Rhymes are generally categorized as "perfect" or "near."

A perfect rhyme is not the best rhyme; the name just refers to the way it is. For instance, the two words "mind" and "find" are considered perfect rhymes. The consonants following the rhymed vowel (in this case I) are the same. The two words "find" and "line" are considered "near rhymes because the consonants after the rhymed vowel are different. (The E in both words is silent) 

Rhyme patterns in songs are referred to in several common formats. This is simply a way of looking at the particular rhyming pattern.

Usually rhymes come at the end of the line, but not always.

Let’s look at several popular rhyme schemes below. I will use 4 line stanzas, which is a popular stanza length, but don’t get caught up in 4 line rhymes all the time.

This is called a, the very first line

I am the second in the stanza this time

The third goes here in this song of mine

This stanza ends with another silly rhyme

Let’s imagine that stanza above is our 1st verse of your song. This verses rhyme scheme (pattern of rhyming) would be AAAA.

The reason it would be AAAA is that each line ended with a word that rhymed in following lines. (Line/time/mine/rhyme)

The A refers to the 1st rhymed line. An X would be used if the line did not rhyme to any other line. Often each line does not rhyme to every other line in a stanza, but maybe to just one or two others.

The 2nd rhymed word would then be B. For instance, see the stanza below:

This is called A, which here is the first line

Line two is now B, as it’s not the same

Three matches one, because they both rhyme

Four matches 2, and ends this silly game

This format is considered the ABAB rhyme scheme.

A is representing the 1st rhymed line (line which rhymes to rhyme in line 3) and B represents the second rhymed line. In a stanza there are sometimes more sets of rhymes that would be referred to as C, D, etc.

So, if you look above, you see again that ABAB means that the 1st and 3rd line rhyme to each other and the 2nd and 4th line rhyme to each other.

If the format were AABB, then the 1st two lines would rhyme and the 3rd and 4th line would rhyme. Consider now the stanza below that has lines that do not rhyme. 

This time is different; I’m now an X

The second is now A, and this is new

Line 3 matches nothing, just like the 1st

Line 4 rhymes nicely, but just with line 2

In this stanza, just lines 2 and 4 rhyme. Lines 1 and 3 do not rhyme to any other line.

This format would be considered xAxA. The X represents a line that does not rhyme, and again, the A represents the 1st line rhymed.

The important thing is that once you decide on your rhyme scheme, or pattern, is to keep it the same in following verses.

Again, the chorus need not match the verse, but verses need to match each other. So, if you use an AABB format in verse 1, use that same format in verse 2 and verse 3 etc.

If you use a different format for each verse you throw the listener off completely and make your song hard to follow. So using a format of AABB in verse one and a format of ABAB in verse two is not advised at all.

The reason you can use a different format in a chorus or bridge as compared to the verses is that they are completely different sections of a song with different purposes. Usually the music is different for those different sections as well. Having a different rhyme scheme further illustrates to the listener that this is a different section of the song. 

Inner line rhymes are also used in songs.

An inner line rhyme is two or more rhymes in the same line of lyrics. An inner line rhyme accelerates the time between rhymes and is a useful effect in songwriting.

Writing songs with inner line rhymes is a little tough because since the rhymes are closer together they are noticed more easily. Your rhymes need to be very good and not "cliché" or "predictable" because they will be noticed more than normal being close together.

Below is an example of an inner line rhyme. 

I wrote this for you, this little song

It’s not very strong, and it’s not very long. 

In that silly section of lyrics you noticed the word "song" in line 1 and that it was rhymed in line 2 twice. "Strong" and "long rhymed to line 1 "song" and also to each other which caused a near rhyme.

You can use an inner line rhyme with or without rhyming to other lines. For example, look at the change below:

I wrote this for you, and placed it here

It’s a couple of lines, to explain these rhymes

In that example above, the rhymes are only in line 2 and are considered an inner line rhyme because the rhymes occur in the same line. ("Lines" rhymed to "rhymes")

A song’s lines within verses will need to match the music. The repetition of patterns in stressed and unstressed words within lines are referred to as a song’s meter.

Now we will discuss meter and how that will affect your writing. Lines in one verse will need to match lines length in following verses. Have you ever wrote a song, and had to squeeze in words real fast and later decide that it just didn’t sound right? That’s because your lyrics did not match the music.

One of way of matching is to hum the melody where the line goes and count the syllables. The best way is to count the stresses in that line. For instance, read the lines below:

This song is silly

But serves a purpose for us

It shows song stresses

And I guess that’s enough

Song meter is not an exact science. It is a theory to a degree. Just as many poems can be scanned differently, so can lyrics. In the above stanza, I had the following words stressed that I will show in capital letters below:

This SONG is SILLY

But serves a PURPOSE for US

It SHOWS song STRESSES

And I GUESS that’s ENOUGH

Stressed words, are the "important" words that are focused on and "stressed" within the line. Take the 1st line you see above that reads "This song is silly." The two most important words in that line are song and silly. Say that line a few times and notice how you "stress" those two words when you say them. 

This stanza has 2 stresses in each line.

One way to find stresses is to quickly look for words that have the meaning in the line.

For instance, the word "this" and "is" don’t have a lot of importance in line 1. They are not stressed words in the line. The line would have 3 stresses if the line read "This song called meter is quite silly." The words "song" "meter" and "silly" would all be stressed.

Say the line out loud and notice how those words are stressed.

With this verse, we have established the verse's meter, the pattern of stressed words within the lines. With that pattern established, following verses would need to match the pattern of 2 stresses per line in each of it’s 4 lines. They could not, for instance, have 2 stresses in line 1, 3 in line 2, 2 in line 3, and 4 stresses in line 4.

The songs meter would be off considerably and would sound silly with the music.

For more information, search the Internet for meter and also purchase some of the songwriting books available.

When you take away everything but the stressed words of a line, you end up with the basics of the message of that line. For instance, line 1: song – silly. Knowing those two important words, we have a good idea about what the line is trying to say to us.

Many times you’ll notice that stressed words appear in the "down beat" of the rhythm.

Tap your foot while you say those lines. Tap your foot the 1st time, when you say the word "song" and then the next time when you say "silly."

Continue that same tempo as you say the rest of the lines. You will also find many chords fall on stressed words in a song. That is a good thing to happen, as this new chord highlights a word, and the words that you would want highlighted are the important words in your lyric which are also the "stressed words.

When a singer holds a note and lets it soar at times, you’ll notice that the notes will be stressed words as well. There is no reason for a singer to hold a word and highlight it if it’s not a stressed word. Imagine a line that said, "I wish I was in Toledo." The stressed words are "wish" "was" and "Toledo." You wouldn’t hold the note on the word "in" and not "Toledo." If you held "in," you would be highlighting the wrong word. 

Songwriting basics again are these three things:

• A song should have an interesting lyric that draws a listener in.
• A song needs to be "catchy" and draw the listener in by that as well. (Catchy tune, melody, chord patterns, musical parts etc.)
• A song should have proper structure. 

All those items cannot be covered in this short article.

This article is simply meant to give an overview of them. At this point, dive into studies of your own and search out books and study materials from several sources to begin continually improving your craft.

Treat songwriting as just that, a "craft." Make sure you have all the tools available to you as you work at your craft, and learn to use each more and more as the years go by.

It would seem romantic to figure that all lyrics are simply wrote in 5 minutes and with little effort or time spent on them. The reality is that many are not. The reality also is that when inspiration hits quickly and a song is written quickly and ends up a successful song that it is often due to the study and knowledge acquired long before that particular song was written.

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About the Author

Dave Byers is the author of the book "Songwriting Fundamentals" available at www.writingsongs.com/davebyers