Songwriter Advisor Blog

One great way pro songwriters approach writing a song is by writing out the song idea before trying to tackle the actual writing of the song.  The story doesn’t have to be lengthy, just enough to give you a solid idea of what your song will be about.  After you’ve written a few lines for your song’s idea, condense it to one–yes ONE solid story line.  This method is almost foolproof if you come up with an interesting song title to match the song idea.

Here’s an example of this method.  I recently used it to write the country tune “An Offer I Can’t Refuse.”   I chose the title after hearing it on TV and several ideas for a song poured into my head like ten severe thunderstorms raining down on me at once! 

1. First, I created the story by picking out ONE song idea from several possible ones that came to my head for this title:

I’m in love and I don’t want to miss the chance at having that special someone slip through my hands just because I’m not sure if I’m willing to commit to a serious relationship.  I can actually see us having a beautiful future and I can definitely picture her walking down the aisle to meet me at the altar.  I need to go for it–and take a chance at being happy.  I’m so grateful for having her in my life.

2. Then, I shortened my idea to only ONE sentence:

I’m not going to let my big chance of loving you pass me by, I’m going to commit to you, and I’m going to do everything I can to make this work and make you happy.

3. Next, I picked out a song form I thought would work to get my message across.  Keep in mind that initially selecting a song form is a good idea so you can structure your song but this can change minimally or drastically later on.  In other words, select a song form as a starting point.  For this song I picked the common verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus (ABABCB) form.

4. The next step I took was to outline what I was going to say in each section:

Verse 1 – I can’t let this chance pass me by
Chorus – You loving me forever is an offer I can’t refuse
Verse 2 – Can you see in my eyes how grateful I am for having a chance to love you  
Bridge – I’m ready to work hard at keeping our relationship going through the good and the bad

5. Finally, here’s the song after a few rewrites to perfectly drive my message across:

An Offer I Can’t Refuse
(O. Gutierrez)

Verse 1
I’m not going to give up on this chance
It feels much too right
To make my every step a lifelong dance
With you by my side

My gut keeps telling my head
There’s absolutely no risk
It’s easy to feel this way
Every time you kiss me

Chorus
Oooohh
I can taste the treasure in your lips
I feel the potential of my soul
To give itself
To you completely

Ooooohh
You don’t have to say another word
I’m already convinced
Your love has made me
An offer I can’t refuse

Verse 2
For you I’m going to trade in all my cares
For hopes and big dreams
Everday I’ll thank the man upstairs
For helping me see

You are the diamond
I never thought I’d find
Can’t you see how my eyes sparkle
Knowing you’ll be mine

Repeat Chorus

Bridge
I’ll take you up
On what you say will take us far
I’ve bought into
Me and you
Playing it smart
And placing our biggest bet
On each other’s heart

Repeat Chorus

Copyright 2008

We, as human beings, either consciously or subconsciously tend to fall into routines in pretty much every aspect of our lives because we like staying in our “comfort zones,” and we feel more safe and secure with things that are familiar to us. 

Songwriters are no exception to this rule, especially when they find they’ve written a few solid songs using the same “routine” and “formula,” so to speak.  In songwriting, it is sometimes hard to break free from a proven method of songwriting,  and some songwriters resist change by sticking to “their style of songwriting,” while declaring, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.”

So consequently, as an example, some songwriters stay focused on the classic song forms of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus, in pop and country music , or verse-chorus-verse-chorus-rap-chorus in r&b with little or no variation.  After a while, songs start to sound the same and you not only risk losing your listeners, but you also run the risk of having music industry people think you’re one-dimensional.

It’s not that difficult to add some variety in your songs and give them a definite boost if you know where to inject them with song form variations.  That’s right!  All you have to do is start experimenting with song forms.  This is the easiest way to lend variety to your future collection of original songs.   

If you find yourself in these songwriting shoes and you want to break free from the “all too familiar” type of song, try using the following song forms to help your songs be more original and stand out in a crowd:

1.  Instead of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus (ABABCB) format, use:

For rock, pop, r&b, and country music

verse-verse-chorus-verse-instrumental-chorus-verse-chorus
verse-chorus-verse-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus
chorus-verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus
chorus-verse-chorus-verse-instr-bridge-chorus
verse-chorus-instr-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus
verse-prechorus-chorus-verse-chorus-instr-prechorus-chorus

also:

try using the rarely-used verse-verse-chorus-verse (AABA) format, and variations such as:

verse-verse-bridge-instr-verse-bridge-verse
bridge-verse-verse-bridge-verse-new section-instr-verse

This list can go on and on–there’s no limit, and this works well for many other genres!
Try making a 2nd verse only half of a verse, or a 2nd chorus a half-chorus—You get the idea! Cut a song section in half and go into an instrumental part.
Don’t always settle for what’s expected. Sometimes rearranging a song’s form can bring out the life you never expected in that song. Big-time music producers routinely and instinctively rearrange song forms to make songs more powerful because oftentimes they’re presented with twelve songs that basically have the same song forms. Why not take care of all that work by yourself by being original in the first place?

These days, to stay competitive and original, songwriters are thinking outside the box far more often than just a few short years ago. Don’t get left in the dust! Always look for new ways to add spice and originality in your songs even if it means rearranging your song form in a small way to add that extra “ooomph,” and you can’t go wrong. Yes, human beings love familiarity, but didn’t someone say once that, “Variety is the spice of life?”