This is because a title reveals the angle or the flavor of  what you intend to write about, and it becomes much easier to write your song with a laser-targeted idea or plot.

Therefore, once you have the name of the song in place, listen to the words of the title and start conjuring up images and options of what the song could be about.

For example, if you named your song something simple like, “I Think I Understand,” it could be a song about a lover who believes he or she understands the other doesn’t want them anymore, or it may be a song about finally understanding a big life’s lesson of some sort, etc. – possibilities are many!

Song titles are everywhere; the first thing you need to do is train yourself to listen for a great phrase or line from a variety of the following sources:

Television Shows and Movies

Many hit songs have been inspired from watching a television show and using phrases from their scripts – this is perfectly legit as long as you don’t swipe a few lines, obviously.  Remember, what you’re looking for are phrases (between 2 to 6 words max).

The same goes for the watching movies, which is what I recommend highly.  Here’s a simple one I heard the other day -”You Don’t Have To Do Anything”  – sounds like a great title for a country song to me!  Note this is a simple line we’ve probably heard a few times in our lives, but now, while you’re training your ears to pick out song titles, it sticks out at you for the first time!

Listening Intently To Conversation With Other People

You’ll find them either while you’re  participating or just listening (try not to look like you’re eavesdropping).  This is another great way to find song title gems; someone always says something that’ll cry to be part of a song!

Other Songs

These are also a great source for song titles; try to pick out words in the lines of the songs other than the actual titles themselves.

Books

They are a great resource – this should come easy to you if like to read novels especially, because the words tend to be more colorful.

Finally, make a list on a writing pad or database on your computer (I use a text file) every time you come up with a song title; this way, once you have a fairly long list, you can pick and choose a song title with ease.

The trick to training yourself to pick out song titles is to be in a dormant songwriting mode and be a good listener.  For the first few times, don’t be afraid to shake someone’s hand, have a conversation with them, and in the back of your mind think; c’mon dude, I know you’re about to say something I can use as a song title!  You’ll find one.

While watching TV or movies, sit there waiting for the darn title to pop out!  It gets easier with practice.

After receiving a confidential informant’s report that“She Was” by Mark Chesnutt was one of the greatest all-time Country Music tear-jerkers, I was left with no choice but to investigate further to see if it could benefit our readers:

My findings will be based partly on facts and a lot of objectivity and subjectivity, and those songs found in violation will be subject to the full extent of songwriting law!

As a free song reference, I can click virtually anywhere and audition either the promotional video or hear the audio file. For this song, I simply played the song on acoustic guitar from memory to really hear and appreciate it in its simple form.

=================================================================
“She Was”
=================================================================
Writers:

Jimmy Melton
Neal Coty

She started her new life ten dollars in debt
That’s all it took to get started back then
A trip to the courthouse across that state line
No one could stop her
She’d made up her mind
He was eighteen,and she wasn’t

But she said she was
And never thought twice
And came back home as my daddy’s wife
She just shook her head when her mama said:
“Are you sure he’s the one?”
And she was

He took a job and farmed on the side
He made the ends meet,but she kept’em tied
Changes were comin’ to their little world
She said “What would you like?
“A boy or a girl?
And he said,”Are you?”

And she said she was
And never thought twice
‘Bout takin’ the next step in building their lives
Soon there were three and she tried to be
Everything to us
And she was

Those precious moments turned into years
In what seemed like the blink of an eye
I held her hand as I leaned down to ask her
“Momma,are you ready to say goodbye?”

And she said she was
But she thought twice
Holdin’ my hand as she let go her life
Daddy always said a woman like her
Would be hard to give up
And she was (She was)

If there ever was a picture of love

She was

===========

To conduct my investigation, first I’ll run the song through the song checklist.
I will then point out good techniques used as well as possible flaws in the song’s construction.

Most importantly, at the conclusion I’ll list all the cool techniques we can all apply to improve our songwriting.

=============
1. Song Title
=============
The song title was effectively used in this song. It provided a way to help color the end of each chorus differently.

E.g.,

End of 1st Chorus

—She just shook her head when her mama said:
—”Are you sure he’s the one?”
—And she was

End of 2nd Chorus

—Soon there were three and she tried to be
—Everything to us
—And she was

End of 3rd Chorus

—Daddy always said a woman like her
—Would be hard to give up
—And she was (She was)

End of song

—If there ever was a picture of love
—She was

*************
If you read the above you’ll see how this well-written song makes sense with just the last few lines of each section.
This is a common pro technique used to bring the song into clear focus. If you’re writing a “story” song and you plan on changing the chorus lyrics throughout your song, you can
start a song by writing the last few lines containing the song title/hook and make it the end of your first chorus. Then proceed to the 2nd and 3rd chorus,and do the same while moving the story forward.
**************

The song title also gives us interesting possibilities in that it used a personal pronoun (She) followed by a past tense verb (Was).

—(Personal pronouns) I, you, she, he, it, we, they

I can immediately think of a few potential titles with this
method:

I Knew……………I might use it for an (R&B) song
You Lost………….” ” ” (Country) ”
She Tried…………” ” ” (Country)
He Prayed…………” ” ” (Inspirational)
It Hurts………….” ” ” (Pop, R&B)
We Listened……….” ” ” (Rock)
They Lived………..” ” ” (Rock)

I wrote the “genres” so you can see my personal idea of the type of song which popped into my head based on the titles.  Obviously, everyone would have a different opinion on what type of song to write based on the titles because all of us have different perspectives and influences!
—————————————————————–

=============
2. Song Form
=============
The song form used in this one is:
verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus

This classic song form is virtually foolproof when it comes to attracting the masses because it’s the one most people are familiar with in popular music, regardless of the genre.

The writers definitely chose the correct song form to drive home the song’s message with each verse and chorus. In each section the singer tells the story in logical progression:

1. Before he was born, his mother assured her own mother his father was “the right one” before marrying him.

2. His parents struggled but were successful in build a quality life around their three children.

3. Time passed ever-so-quickly, his mother passed away, and his father had always told him “A woman like her would be hard to give up” to which he affirmed “She was!”
—————————————————————–

===============
3. Hook/Chorus
===============
The melody in the chorus shows contrast by having generally higher notes and right off the bat, the phrasing of the first two lines in the chorus are shorter than any other phrasings in the song:

—But she said she was
—And never thought twice

The contrast makes the first two lines of each chorus stick out like a sore thumb that’s been healed!

Notice also how the lyrics in each chorus change after the first two lines until the hook “She was.”
—————————————————————–

==========================
4. The Verses/Pre-choruses
==========================
Notice how the verse immediately grabs you with the totally original line, “She started her new life ten dollars in debt.”

The verse contains an uncommon amount of bars; 10 instead of the usual 8 to 16! The last two bars contain the lyrics, “He was eighteen,and she wasn’t.” This is an excellent way to get to the chorus quickly. You simply add a line after the 8th bar, and just leave it out there suspended (as if it were dangling) with
or without a rhyme to create anticipation into the chorus.
—————————————————————–

==============
5. The Bridge
==============
The bridge takes you into a totally new dimension because it’s much higher in pitch than any other section, then it drops back down in pitch before the final chorus. The result? After the final chorus lines, “And she said she was, But she thought twice,  Holdin’ my hand as she let go her life” the song busts out with more intensity than ever with the help of the following simple technique: You can use this technique at any point in a song and create surprise and momentum by lowering the intensity of musical and vocal delivery,then by intensifying at a point you feel it will give the song the most impact. Experiment!
—————————————————————–

=================
6. Point of View
=================
The writers successfully used “third person narrative” which is custom-made for story songs.
—————————————————————–

===========
7. Rewrite
===========
The song was obviously rewritten and polished. There are no wasted words.
—————————————————————–

Verdict
=======

=================================================================
Lessons Learned
=================================================================

Here are techniques and cool tips we’ve learned from this song to improve our songwriting:
—————————

1. You can structure the idea of your song more effectively and keep the story progressing logically by writing the last 2 to 3 lines of any section (verse, chorus, etc.) before writing any other part of the song.

2. If you’re writing a story song and you would like to change the lines of each chorus, use the above method and remember to use the title consistently in those lines.

3. We found a cool way to develop song titles; Use a personal pronoun = (I, you, she, he, it, we, they), followed by a past tense verb.

I.e.,”She Was” – “We Listened” – “They Lived”

4. We were reminded the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus not only still works well in modern music, it’s the easiest way to write a song that appeals to listeners.

5. At the beginning of a chorus, to add contrast and make your song more interesting, create the first two lines using shorter phrases while singing that part with generally higher notes than in the verse or prechorus.

6. Spend time creating an awesome opening line or lines; the rest of your song will be much clearer and more importantly, your listener will be hooked immediately.

7. Experiment by using 6, 10, and 14 bars on the first verse instead of the usual 8, 12, and 16!

8. If you add a line for 2 bars at the end of an 8 or 12 bar verse without rhyming it, you can draw focus to that line, and it’ll add anticipation and intensity to the chorus.

9. If you want to emphasize a certain part of a song, sing and play the part immediately before it, with much less intensity.
—————————————————————–

Enjoy!

In this article, let’s explore a simple method to improve your first verse lines. Remember, your first two lines are the ones that keep the listener interested enough to hear more. You really want the first two lines to directly relate, or at least hint at the song’s title.  Many times, when you give your first verse some clarity the rest of the song follows suit and it makes for easier, more effective songwriting.

————————————–

Let’s say the song title is “Don’t Get Carried Away,” and the first four lines in the first verse are:

I’ve been looking at you all night
And I think you know
My intentions can’t be
The answer to your dreams

Not a very clear first four lines! It doesn’t do anything for me, that’s for sure. There’s a lack of focus, and really, the song can take off aimlessly in any direction right now.  So let’s focus!

First, I’ll ask myself what I want the song to be about. Taking the song title, “Don’t Get Carried Away,” I’m thinking maybe this can be a pop or country song. Before I begin, I need to summarize the song’s idea in one sentence. Here are some possibilities:

1. I just met this woman, we’ve hit it off, but she’s not looking for a one-night stand and she wants to retain her respectability at any cost, so she’s telling me to cool it!

2. I’m not ready to commit to a long-term relationship yet, and you need to slow down with all this marriage and babies talk before you scare me off!

Number 2 sounds cool but I’m thinking I’ll save it for another song which means I’ll use number 1 as the song’s idea. Let’s review the first 4 lines:

I’ve been looking at you all night
And I think you know
My intentions can’t be
The answer to your dreams

————————————–

“I’ve been looking at you all night” sounds plain and limp. Let’s give that line some life and hopefully everything else will fall into place a little better.

My eyes have been locked into yours all night

Wow, much better!

So what do I want to say in the rest of the first verse?  I want to say I know she’s interested in me, too.

My eyes have been locked into yours all night
Now tell me it isn’t so
Your smile has found me more than once or twice
Enough to tell me all I need to know

Much more interesting and powerful, and quite possibly the start of a solid country tune, written right here in real-time!

————————————–

In summary, it’s wise to map out a story line for the entire song, then to break down the story in sections if you have to. Now, I do agree there are times when excellent melodies and lines naturally appear out of thin air!  But if you want to consistently write good songs, get in the habit of mapping out and knowing what you’re trying to say either on paper or in your head before you write it!

Focus on your first verse, make it strong and memorable, and be clear about where you’re going with the song as it relates to the song’s idea. Your songwriting will usually become effortless thereafter!

Lyrics © 2008 SongwriterAdvisor.com All Rights Reserved

Without getting too technical (I might confuse myself) I can tell you our minds filter all the stimulation we absorb through our five senses, and if you’re a songwriter, with proper training and knowledge, you can subconsciously harness all that power running through your mind’s filter and eventually allow song ideas to spring into your head! 

“How do I do that?” you ask.   The answer is less complicated than you probably think.  This is what you have to do, step-by-step:

1.  Learn all the songwriting basics necessary to write songs.  Check out this free beginner songwriting guide, this free step-by-step songwriting guide, or consider a more complete but lengthier songwriting guide such as Six Steps to Songwriting Success, Revised Edition (Due out 10-02-2008): The Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Marketing Hit Songswritten by Jason Blume.

The point here is to learn all the necessary songwriting basics so you have strong knowledge of all the sections used in songwriting. These include; intro, verse, prechorus, chorus, bridge, instrumental, raps, and spoken word parts. You need to train yourself to automatically recognize the different sections that make up songs and how they are used. This takes studying songs and actually writing your own songs (although it’s helpful, you don’t even have to know how to play an instrument to learn songwriting basics).

2. Listen to your favorite songs and pick out the most interesting parts such as the song hook, parts of a verse, a certain rap line, etc.  Now, what you’re looking for is a short catchy line that stands out as being the most memorable part of the song.  As mentioned in Part 1, these are also song areas for you to study and analyze: 

1. a great original song title
2. a catchy melody (usually a short musical phrase)
3. an interesting lyric
4. an infectious rhythm
5. a pleasing harmony
6. any other song component

For example, in Leona Lewis’ smash hit single “Bleeding Love” the part that stands out most to me is, “I keep bleeding I keep, keep bleeding love.”  This is a very short phrase that keeps repeating as the song’s hook.  It contains interesting lyrics and a catchy melody, the most common example as it relates to this exercise.  A great original song title is also there to boot!  This short phrase could have definitely been an idea that just popped into a songwriter’s head!  This sort of thing happens all the time to hit songwriters and you can do it, too. 

3.  Once you know all the songwriting basics and you’re able to recognize different parts of songs, the next step is to really dive deep into writing your own original songs.  You may have already started to compose your tunes by now anyway, but I’m talking about continually and consistently trying to write songs.  You will eventually reach that “zone” where song ideas spring out like water from a faucet!  Many pro songwriters swear they become so consumed by songwriting in phases (usually a few weeks) several times a year because the ideas just don’t stop!    

The trick is to know all the songwriting basics, to know what to look for in songs, and to become really active in your songwriting by continually trying to compose songs. 

The more songs you write, the more experience and knowledge you gain, and before you know it, you will reach that “effortless zone” those pro songwriters seem to reach all the time.  For some songwriters, reaching “songwriting mode,” a condition created by yourself whereby you effortlessly come up with great song ideas, can take a few weeks to several months to a few years.  It depends on how hard you really want to work at your songwriting craft.     

 Be patient-with experience and practice, there’s no doubt you will eventually get to a point where great song ideas stream into your head.  Just don’t try to force the ideas into your head-this will create too much stress, and you’ll actually regress instead of progress.  I know-’cause I’ve been there!

Sting recalls how he woke up in the middle of the night with the line, “Every breath you take, every move you make dancing in his head, so he sat down at the piano and wrote the million-seller “Every Breath You Take” in 30 minutes.  Countless other songwriters talk about a short phrase or melody suddenly and unexpectedly taking over their brains and hit songs literally “writing themselves” with little effort!

So how does this happen?  It certainly doesn’t happen by accident to just anybody who has no interest in writing a song.  It happens to songwriters who put themselves in what I call “Songwriting Mode,” which is the ability to train your brain to subconsciously create any of the following:

1. a great original song title
2. a catchy melody (usually a short musical phrase)
3. an interesting lyric
4. an infectious rhythm
5. a pleasing harmony
6. any other song component; and
to instantaneously translate that idea or ideas into the making of a great song by allowing your mind to literally take off in different musical directions!  Usually, musical ideas from being in “songwriting mode” come in short phrases or spurts, and they can be any part or section of the song (i.e., the last line of a verse, the middle of a chorus, etc.)

On Thursday, August 14, 2008, Part 2 of this series will begin to disclose how to condition your mind to reach the stage of being in “songwriting mode.”

Next time you write a song try this: 

1.  Take your song worksheet and underneath all of your noun, verb, and other words entries, and leave some space on the bottom for lyric phrases.

2.  Take your title, and start asking, “Who, what, where, when, why, and how?” and use the bottom of your worksheet to enter the following method: For example: If my song title is, “I’ve Known All Along,” first I need to clarify in my mind what I’m trying to say with the song title – this is the song idea or theme. The song could be about (a) someone catching the other cheating, (b) someone saying they never doubted themselves, (c) someone saying they were sure the other would fall in love with them, etc.

For this example, I’ll pick (c) as my song idea to illustrate this method.

Now I’ll start asking questions, and I’ll write ideas, not necessarily lines for the song in finished form, just basic thoughts that come to my head:

Remember the song idea for “I’ve Known All Along” was (c) someone saying they were sure the other would fall in love with them.

With this as your starting point you should have enough ideas to begin putting your lyrics together by starting out with powerful opening lines in your first verse and chorus.
——————–
For example, in this song, my first line in the first verse could be:

I can believe it’s come to this………<< taken from “I’m not surprised” entry in, “What?”

——————–
The first few lines in the chorus might look like this:

I’ve known all along…………………………………………………<<song title
I’ve known all along…………………………………………………<<song title
Your eyes have always told me………………<from “the way your eyes……” in Why? 
With you I could never go wrong……………< unrelated to this exercise

The last line “With you I could never go wrong” was a line naturally sparked by the other lines as a result of this method.  Now, this is by no means a masterpiece of a line but it’s certainly a great starting point.  And that’s exactly what this method is about, sparking ideas and creating a starting point!

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

Experienced songwriters usually come up with attention-grabbing opening lines out of instinct, but even their well runs dry every now and then when they’re looking for an opening line to give their listeners that  ”wow” factor.

There are a few ways or methods to create great opening lines and one of the best and the first one we’ll explore is to simply take your song’s title or theme, come up with words (verbs, nouns, adverbs, etc.) related to the theme, and construct phrases that relate to the song title or theme.  To learn how to come up with a word list or refresh your memory, visit:  SongwriterAdvisor.com

Let’s take a look at some powerful opening lines in some recently-charted songs as an example:

Bleeding Love, sung by Leona Lewis

Closed off from love I didn’t need the pain

Notice how the first words “closed off from love” relate to the title “Bleeding Love.” This is a common technique used by focused songwriters where they use wordplay to either directly or indirectly (subliminally) associate words and phrases with the song title and/or theme.  In this case the words ”closed off ” indirectly relate to the song title because the singer essentially states she intentionally closed her emotional wounds and put those feelings behind her so she could continue living. 

The following country song by Brad Paisley, “I’m Still A Guy” gives a great example of an opening line directly relating to the song title or theme, but it takes him just a little more than one line to accomplish this:

I’m Still A Guy, co-written and sung by Brad Paisley

When you see a deer you see Bambi
And I see antlers up on the wall

The opening lines here directly relate to the song title as Paisley drives the point quickly across that he sees the world differently than a female—she sees a cute animal as opposed to how he sees a prize associated with hunting a sought-after animal.

The next time you hear your favorite music try to listen for the first line of the song and see if it relates directly or indirectly to the song title or theme:  You’ll be surprised–although this is an often-overlooked songwriting principle, you’ll find that the majority of successful songs do follow it!  There are many songs out there with weak, forgettable opening lines.  Why not make your songs that much stronger by developing memorable ones? 

Using this technique gives you a far better chance that the listener will remember the first line and it’ll add more memorability to your song. Just as important, record industry people expect opening lines to be captivating, and when they are not, you’ve got to have something else special going on for the song such as a killer beat, or they’ll merely skip to the next song.