How songwriting works
It's only natural that you should wonder...
Music shouldn't be a mystery.
Music is the stuff of life, but somehow we treat it as this mystical thing that emerges from the ether. We talk about talent - which does exist and is important - far more than we talk about the hard work and technique that songwriters put into our craft.
In this post I'm going to share what I've learned about songwriting during my time at Berklee, because it's only natural that you should wonder how it works.
What is songwriting?
Simply put, songwriting is the creation of a musical idea that did not previously exist in the world. This can cover a broad swath of genres, which means that a party banger and an intricate, soft guitar ballad the bares the artist’s soul are both products of a similar process.
What is that process?
I would break song writing down into five elements that influence each other as they are combined in ways that adhere to certain best practices.
Those elements are:
Lyrics (optional)
Form
Melody
Chord structure
Groove
I’m a singer first, and a singer’s way into music is most often the lyrics and melody, so today, I’m going to talk about lyrics and touch a bit on form. I’ll come back around to each of these elements in future posts, explaining them as I go.
I’m also going to talk about the myth of inspiration and how we go searching for it rather than waiting for it to strike.
Housekeeping
My wrist is bothering me a little and I’m saving it for music, so I'm using voice recognition to write this. Please forgive any stray homophones.
Lyrics: when and how to rhyme
One trap new songwriters often fall into is assuming that everything needs to rhyme perfectly. (An example of a perfect rhyme would be “safe” and “waif.”)
New songwriters also often assume that rhyme schemes have to be very stable. Many times, this means using what we call an ABAB rhyme scheme.
Here's an example of that:
I'm shining. (A)
You're dancing. (B)
I'm pining. (A)
You’re prancing. (B)
If you want to convey a sense of finality and great stability, this kind of rhyme scheme is quite useful. But when it is your only tool, it can become tedious.1
This is where we get into imperfect rhymes. (I learned all about these in my “Lyric Writing From the Title” class at Berklee.)
Here's an example of how an ABAB rhyme scheme can work with more imperfect rhymes. (This one is from the song "Holding me Whole” that I posted a demo of the other day.)
I keep on fighting sleep (A)
On the couch in the house where I learn to survive (B)
Silver framed stories (A)
From someone else's life (B)
“Sleep” and “stories” share a long “e” sound but have different consonants at the end. This is called an imperfect rhyme. (There are several kinds of imperfect rhymes, but for the sake of an introductory post, this level of fidelity will do.)
Imperfect rhymes convey more instability than perfect rhymes, which gives the songwriter a chance to create a sense of uncertainty. Moving away from an ABAB rhyme scheme can also achieve this.
Here's another example, the chorus from “Crying,” which I also posted the other day:
I don't need one more lecture (A)
One more lesson (A)
One more game (X)
Cuz I’m losing my grip now (B)
Always thought I'd go down (B) fighting (C)
But I'm going down crying (C)
In this case, "lecture" and “lesson” share a short '“e” sound preceded by the letter L but have different consonants after that point, which makes them imperfect.
"Game” rhymes with nothing.
The phrases "grip now" and "go down” share a vowel sound but have different consonants which makes them imperfect. Additionally, because the words “go down” appear in the middle of a phrase, this is known as an internal rhyme. (Internal rhymes are inherently more unstable than rhymes that land on the end of a phrase.)
Finally, “fighting” and “crying” share the “aɪ” diphthong but have different consonants which also makes them imperfect.
When you contrast this with the verses, you see an alternation between sense of certainty in a sense of uncertainty.
I twist in my sheets (A)
Perform in my dreams (A)
Searching for a glimmer of approval in your eyes (B)
Never mind (B)
This has a very stable rhyme scheme but uses imperfect rhymes, creating some uncertainty while largely remaining a statement of fact.
The bridge has no rhymes at all.
Crying
Washing you away
Crying
Cuz I don’t need
I don’t need no…2
Finally this brings us to…
Form: what to say and when to say it
In my type of songwriting, an ideal song revolves around its chorus, with each revolution providing the listener with additional perspective on that repeated portion of the lyrics.
In “Crying,” the aggregate effect of having a verse with great certainty, a chorus that moves away from certainty, and a bridge that moves further away still conveys a great deal of doubt on the part of the character. That makes sense for a song about moving away from a tyrannical and perfectionist force that hurts the character but still holds great sway over them.
A recurring theme…
I’ll be coming back to touch on this topic from time to time. Please leave a comment or reply via email if you’re curious about one of the elements I mention or if you have any questions generally.
Interestingly, these perfect rhyme structures are very common in musical theater. (Although some book writers and lyricists are moving away from that, myself included.)
The word “need” here is not a rhyme because a word cannot rhyme with itself.