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8 Ways To Write A Song From Scratch

How to write a song from scratch

Update 5/5/2020: Since writing, I have used each of these at least once, and plan to write about which ones were easy/hard to do, which led to good songs, etc.

For the sake of this tool, we’ll assume songs are made of 3 basic elements (lyrics “L”, rhythm “R”, and chords “C” (assume melody comes from chord progression, that it’s not a separate element)).

Given those assumptions, here are 8 ways to create a song. Each element is influenced by the one before it, so they should meld. For example, if you start with lyrics, then come up with rhythm, this would suggest your lyrics should determine what the rhythm should be. Then, you’d use your rhythm to find a fitting chord progression.

  1. L->R->C (a.k.a. “Lyrics first, use lyrics to find a rhythm, then use rhythm to find chords)
  2. L->R+C (a.k.a. “Lyrics first, and use lyrics to find the rhythm and to find the chords)
  3. R->L->C
  4. R->C->L
  5. R->L+C
  6. C->L->R
  7. C->R+L
  8. C->R->L

Here are some methods for starting with one element if you have neither of the other two:

Starting with lyrics first (you have no rhythm or chords):

  • Blank page free-flow. Just write your thoughts without editing as you go.
  • Say what you see or once saw
  • Say what you feel or want
  • Say what you think
  • Say what you are doing/did/will do

Starting with rhythm first:

  • Drum loop
  • Tap your fingers/hands on some surface

Starting with chords first:

  • Play 1 note and make chords from the feeling
  • Play a chord from the next tone or few that you hear in your environment

Here are methods to go from each element to the other:

Consider two elements are connected by a “bridge” of sorts, represented as “->”. Here are some methods for building each bridge that connects L to R, R to C, etc…

L->R (how to use your lyrics to find a rhythm)

  • Consider a rule of thumb: “rhythm = reaction”. If the lyrics don’t lead you to react a certain way, write more powerful lyrics until you feel moved. That movement is the song’s rhythm.
  • Chant the words until a few different rhythms surface.
  • Air drum along with the words.

L->C

  • Follow sentiment of the lyrics

R->L

  • Gibberish syllable match
  • Calculate a “beats per sentence or idea” that feels good, e.g. if you have a rhythm in 4/4 time at 120 BPM, you can probably line up more syllables to the beat than you could at 75 BPM.

R->C

  • Random loop gtr/piano chords

C->L

  • Follow sentiment of the chords

C->R

  • Again, rhythm = reaction (no reaction = weak chord progression)

So how would it look?

Just link together one method for creating each element. Here are 8 potential combinations and the order of them:

  1. Lyrics->Rhythm->Chords: Blank page flow–>Rhythm=reaction–>Random loop gtr/piano chords
  2. L->R+C: Say what you see–>Rhythm=reaction + Follow sentiment of lyrics
  3. R->L->C: Drum loop–>Gibberish syllable match–>Follow sentiment of lyrics
  4. R->C->L: Body tap–>Random loop gtr/piano chords–>Follow sentiment of chords
  5. R->L+C: Drum loop–>Calculate beats per sentence + Random loop gtr/piano chords
  6. C->L->R: Play 1 note and make chords from the feeling–>Follow sentiment of the chords–>Rhythm=reaction
  7. C->R+L: Play a chord from the next tone you hear in your environment–>Rhythm=reaction + Follow sentiment of the chords
  8. C->R->L: Play a chord from the next tone you hear in your environment–>Rhythm=reaction–>Gibberish syllable match

Reminder to future self: share my results after using these!

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