Writing Songs By Working Out the Chords, then Layering Ideas

Here’s a step-by-step guide for writing a song that starts with creating a short, strong chord progression.

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Guitarist singer-songwriterIt’s a favourite question that songwriters like to ask each other: Do you write lyrics first, chords first, or melody first? The fact is that it’s almost never exclusively one or the other. Even chords-first songwriters will have bits of lyric and melody pop into their minds as they start to pull progressions together. That’s a product of having a creative mind.

And because even chords-first songwriters are going to have melodic and lyric ideas as they work, they’ll create their songs by layering ideas.

To layer ideas simply means to move from one element to another, usually quickly, as you write. Little by little, as you temporarily run out of chord ideas, you find your mind creating melodies and words. Once that well has been tapped, you move back to creating a few more phrases of chord progressions, and on it goes.

So it’s possible to identify yourself as a chords-first songwriter, but work on any or all elements more-or-less at the same time.

And if that way of writing appeals to you, here’s a 4-step process that should get you well on the way to writing a song that concentrates on chords as a first step:

  1. Create a chord layer. This doesn’t need to be long, involved or complicated. In fact, ideas will begin to flow if you choose to work out something with two or three strong chords, and then play them over and over, in different ways, rhythms and patterns.
  2. Create melody and lyric ideas, and layer them together with the chords. Having a song topic in place is good, but it’s quite possible to have lyric ideas pop into your mind which then guide you toward a topic. Those melodic ideas will often come from the words you choose, as you’ll want to allow the natural pulse of the text help to shape the tune. One of the best ways to create lyrics is to build word lists. There are lots of ways to do this, but one reliable way is to build one list with words and phrases that are narrative and observational in nature (“she said she didn’t love me..”), and then another that uses more emotion-laden ideas (“I need you so much..”). Those can help to form the verse and chorus of your song.
  3. Move back to expanding on the chord layer. At this point, now that your lyrics are starting to identify as being verse or chorus, you’ll want to get your chord progressions similarly organized. Verse chords can wander a bit, but chorus progressions tend to be short, strong and repetitive.
  4. Creating song sections. Pull melodic, lyric and chord ideas into bits that describe situations (as verses do), with others being more emotional, such as you usually find in a chorus. Get your verse moving smoothly to the chorus. And if it doesn’t, consider adding a pre-chorus. If you feel, after the second go through of the chorus, that the song needs more, especially in the lyrics, you may want to add a bridge section.

And that’s the bare-bones of it. It’s definitely not the only way to work, but will help you if you’re a bit new to the songwriting game.

Here are a few articles that can help you, if you’re wanting to learn more about creating word lists, and figuring out more about how to get song sections working:

Above all, remember: songwriting is supposed to be fun. Part of the fun, however, is getting a song that really works, that really tells your story your way. Temporary frustrations can be part of the process, but if you find yourself getting bogged down and negative, put the song away and take a break. You’ll find that sometimes a short diversion is all you need to have great musical ideas flowing once again.

Good luck!

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Gary Ewer

Written by Gary Ewer. Follow on Twitter“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook Bundle looks at songwriting from every angle, and has been used by thousands of songwriters. How to use chords, write melodies, and craft winning lyrics.  (And you’ll receive a FREE copy of “Creative Chord Progressions”)

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