I’ve written songs since I was young and still I think it’s a challenge to write good quality and authentic lyrics. Writing lyrics and music are two different things. When you create music you got something to lean on. You already got a vocabulary of chords, scales, riffs, licks, arpeggios, triads, etc. You can put those in a certain order, shake them around a little bit, tear ‘m apart, add your own personal touch and voila music is in the air. I know that is easier said that done, but you have something to begin with. Writing lyrics is a little bit more difficult because you have to start from the bottom up, so were gonna help you out a bit.

Pick up your guitar from the stand. Grab a pencil & paper and let’s create a piece of art. You’ll be amazed what you can do after a little practice.

My dad always says: “The fans are already out there, you just have to come up with something.”

Here are some tips to get you started:

- Where do I start?
Do I start with lyrics, music or both simultaneously? There is no best way to do it. I always try different ways to be inspired. They all give a totally different feeling to the song.

Sometimes I think it’s great to start with the lyrics first. If you an important story to tell you will have more freedom and you don’t have to adjust it to the music.

If you start with the music first you can let your imagination run wild and experiment with all different chords, chord changes and rhythms. After that you fit the lyrics to the music.

And last but not least you can sing lyrics you come up with while you are strumming chord changes at the same time and fit them together. I think they are all great ways to write a song. There is no rule for it.

- Start with a working title
Choose something you wanna write about. Start with a working title. Maybe you want to change the title while the song develops or after you finished it. Write about something that has happened to you or somebody close. Write about something great, sad, cool, authentic, dramatic, uplifting. Maybe you are upset or happy about something in life. Write about that. Maybe you walk outside and create a story around a man who passes by. Where does he go? What does his life look like? What will become of him? Maybe you overheard a good line from somebody and use that.

- Ask yourself questions
When you’ve got a working title start asking yourself questions about the subject or person you want to tell about. What does the title say? What does it do? Where does he go? What does she want to accomplish? Why does he do those things? Why does she feel that way? Why doesn’t he do it any other way? How does she do it ? By asking questions you automatically create a story line. Try to put a message in your lyrics. Don’t give a way the whole story in the first verse. Build up some tension. Develop the story gradually. A good lyric is a lyric people can understand or relate to.

- Study your hero’s
What music do you listen to? Who are your favorite artists or bands. Study their music and lyrics. How do they set up a mood? What does their song structure look like? Analyze their chord progressions. What do they write about? What kind of songwriting style do they use? Where is the hook?(see below) How do they play and sing it? Loud, soft, emotional, rough, cool, honest, sharp, sarcastic, happy. Study every detail so you can learn from it and become a better songwriter.

- Song structure
Nine out of ten songs use a standard song structure. A song structure contains some or all of the following elements: Intro, verse, pre chorus, chorus, bridge, outro.

Here are some examples of song structures:

-Intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro.
-Intro, verse, pre chorus, chorus, verse, pre chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus.
-Intro, verse, pre chorus, chorus, pre chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus.
-Verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus.

If you wanna be really original try something totally different. Screw to song structure. It’s fun to break the rules once in a while. It can turn out really cool, but be careful you need some sort of structure or people will find it difficult to keep listening.

- Chord progressions
Use standard chord progressions to get you started if you need some help.
I-IV-V (C-F-G)
I-vi-ii-V (C-Am-Em-G)
I-IV-I-V (C-F-C-G)
I-iii-IV-V (C-Em-F-G)

- Inspiration
Don’t wait for inspiration to come while you watch TV, you can wait a long time. Just sit down and start writing. Inspiration will come while you work on it. When you are stuck do something else for a few minutes. Take a walk outside, drink a cup of coffee or have a chat with someone. Your mind will be refreshed.
Now get back to the writing table.

- Experiment
Begin with a major or minor chord depending on what kind of mood you want it to have. Just strum a few chords and find out what you like. Go crazy on your strings or play nice and easy. Try to be original by breaking the rules a bit. Use unexpected chord changes. Create your own chords and shapes. Experiment and let your ears be the judge of it. Anything is possible.

- Record and write it down
Don’t trust your memory. Record every melody you come up with. The same goes for lyrics. If a great line pops into your head write it down. You can forget in a second while you think of something else. Make sure you’ve got your brilliant ideas save and secure.

- Create a hook
If you want to write a hit song you need a hook. A hook is a repetitive catchy melody, phrase, lick or riff in the song that is appealing to the listener.

- Writing the melody
You also need a melody to the lyrics. Well let’s assume you already written a nice chord progression.
You just sing what ever melody pops into your head while you strum those chords. Listen carefully so that the melody matches to the chords. Try different variations. Make it sound original and natural at the same time.

- When is it good enough
It’s good enough when you are sincerely happy about it. If you told everything you wanted to tell and you found the right melody with it that really excites you, you’ve done a good job. It’s the only right way to go about it.

- Practice
Songwriting is a skill you have to learn. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work out the first time. Practice, learn, challenge yourself, take a break, try again, write in different locations, feel, explore, be persistent, try and try again. You’ll be a winner!

“Nothing pleases me more than to go into a room
and come out with a piece of music.” – Paul McCartney

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The only problem was that we didn’t have enough time to write and rehearse a new song. But I also couldn’t live with it, not having that extra rock song. It just didn’t feel good to leave it at this.

So I said to our bass player “I’m gonna write us a song today, record the demo with drums, guitars and vocals and send it to each of you by tomorrow morning”. By that way we could rehearsal it the same evening and play it at the gig in the same week.

O gosh, did i regret my promise after a few hours. I wrote like my life depended on it. It certainly felt that way. My stress level was enormous, but I learned a great deal out of it. The thing is….because you are limited in your time, you need to make decisions quickly. You are not going to sit around thinking a hundred times over a melody or that one word, “Is it deep enough?”, “Can’t I put it some other way?”, “Doesn’t this riff sound to familiar?”, “Don’t I have to make it more complicated, sophisticated?”. Nope: you don’t have the time!

Instead what you get is a great honest rock song to the bone.

Sometimes it takes me a week to write a song, still wondering if it is good enough. I think the longer it takes, the further you get away from the core of the song. That doesn’t mean you can’t write a good song if it takes you at least a few days, but it’s worth a try to get it done in one day or in a few hours. You will see that when you push yourself to the edge, magic will happen. Maybe you will doubt your ideas at first, but just go with it. Just keep it simple. Go with your first gut feeling.

When I finished the song, I knew there was something good about it, but I still had my doubts. The next day i listened to it again with some fresh ears and I was sure this was it. It felt great! I still needed the approval of my band members. I sent them an MP3 of the demo and hoped for a quick response.

The bass player called me soon afterwards and told me I did a great job. He was really enthusiastic and could already hear the bass parts in his head. The drummer replied the next day and was also very pleased with the song. The more we played the song live in the studio with the band, the more we made it rock like hell. That same week we played the song at the festival and it all made sense. All the songs fell into place. It was awesome!

So here are my suggestions, which I learned over this highly stressful but euforic experience.

-Keep it Simple
Don’t think twice about the melody that pops into your head. Okay, maybe once or twice, but keep it urgent. Don’t take too long. Your first idea is probably the best. Don’t hesitate, just do it!

-Keep your eye on the ball
Don’t let yourself be distracted by people around you or electronic devices (like internet, phones, etc.) Keep the flow going. If you feel trapped or stuck somewhere in the song, just step away for five minutes, do something else and come back quickly. You only need a few minutes to refresh your mind or try it from another angle, but keep going.

-Create in different ways
A great way to create a song is to write the guitar parts first and then create the vocal melody with just a bunch of nonsense lyrics. Just to keep the flow going. For example: “I was crazy as hell when I stepped down the hall, I was eating a shell as I broke down the wall.” When the song is finished you write the real lyrics and try to match them a little with the sound of the nonsense lyrics. Not necessarily, but maybe the nonsense lyrics just sounded good with the vibe of the song. I always try different variations of writing: first lyrics and then chords, chords and lyrics simultaneously or chords and then lyrics. But I found this one to be very inspiring. It enhances the workflow and above all it’s a really fun way of creating.

-It’s a demo not a studiorecording
Again, keep it simple! A simple drum groove or loop is enough. Don’t get caught up in complicated drum fills when you know your drummer makes up his own stuff. Don’t waste your precious time on reverbs, delays and other neat plugins in your sequencer. You are an hour behind schedule before you know it. A really simple bass part is also enough or maybe no bass at all. Your bass player will do a better job. As for the vocals, no effects here either. Maybe just a little reverb, but stop goofing around. Finish the song.

-Choose an easy song structure
The structure of a song doesn’t have to be so difficult, especially when you’re running out of time. A really great structure that works really fast is:

• Intro
• Verse ( 4 sentences )
• Prechorus ( short, like two sentences )
• Chorus
• Verse ( short, last two sentences of the first verse )
• Prechorus ( short, like two sentences )
• Chorus
• Bridge ( short, 1 or 2 sentences )
• Chorus
• Outro ( maybe )

Or

• Intro
• 2 Verses
• Chorus
• 1 Verse
• Chorus
• Bridge
• Chorus

Repeat the same verse, prechorus and chorus the second time (maybe just a little tweaking) and work your way through a powerful but melodic bridge.

-Often the strength and origanality of the song lies in the simplicity not in the complexity.
I always tend to write too many lyrics, because i think I will run short whenever I start writing the melody. From this experience I learned that less is more!

-Don’t try this at home
Don’t do what I did. It’s not good for your health or at least don’t do it too often. Learn from it, I have. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t do everything the last minute so you get in trouble. Just pretend you only have a few hours to write the song. You will feel a little stress, but your life won’t depend on it. :-)

Now go and write in peace!

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