The rules I write here are guidelines. The more of them you use in your songs, the more likely you'll write a potential hit. Songwriters who also perform songs have more freedom though. Their fans will listen to their songs because they like them as performers. They can get away with longer solos, less general lyrics and more unusual song structures.
Characteristics of a Hit Song
Intro
The Intro (also called Introduction) is a very short instrumental section at the beginning of the song. Why "very short"? Because today's listeners get bored fast. That's why the singer will have to start singing very soon after the beginning of the song. The average Intro is 10-15 seconds. Shorter is fine, longer isn't fine. There are a few songs that have a longer Intro but they are almost always written by the artists themselves. If you write AND perform your songs, you always have a little more leeway. Writing a good intro is one of the most important aspects in learning how to write music for hits.
What's the purpose of the Intro?
✓ It sets the tone of the song: is it a happy or a sad song? what's the mood of the performer like?
✓ It sets the tempo of the song: your listeners should immediately know if it's a ballad, a mid-tempo or an up-tempo song.
Tempo
There are three main types of songs on the charts. Each kind has a different tempo.
• A song is up-tempo if it's more than 120 beats per minute (bpm).
• A song is mid-tempo if it's between 90 and 120 bpm.
• A song is a ballad if it's less than 90 bpm.
• A song is up-tempo if it's more than 120 beats per minute (bpm).
• A song is mid-tempo if it's between 90 and 120 bpm.
• A song is a ballad if it's less than 90 bpm.
Most songs at the top of the charts are up-tempo. The second most common type is mid-tempo and ballads don't become hits that often. Most songwriters write many more ballads than up-tempo songs but it shouldn't be the case. Ballads can me more satisfying to write but an up-tempo song has a much bigger chance of becoming a hit. That's why it's worth learning how to write music for up-tempo songs as well.
Melodic Structure
Learning how to write music is the first step. But you should also know how to keep the listeners interested for about 4 minutes. Some songwriters tend to write very long Verses. But to maintain the listeners' interest, you should get to the Chorus quite quickly to give them a pay-off for sticking with you. You can either write a shorter Verse (4-6 lines) or insert a Pre-Chorus that beautifully connects the Verse and the Chorus and gradually intensifies emotion. The Pre-Chorus should be about 2-4 measures). More and more hit songs use this trick.
Solos, Intros, Outros
Long solos (anywhere in the song) were fashionable 10-15 years ago. But not anymore. Listeners like to hear the singer sing as much as possible. So avoid long solos.
Length of Songs
Your song shouldn't be longer than 3-4.5 minutes. If it is, radios will not want to play it. They make money from commercials and if your song is too long, it uses valuable advertising time and DJ's won't be motivated to play it.
Repeat and Repeat
Although your song should be unique, there should also be plenty of repetition in it. Both lyrically and musically. This makes your song memorable and the listeners will want to listen to it over and over again.
To include repetition, you can use "motifs".
▪ Motifs are short repeated musical phrases. They can be rhythmic, melodic, chord progression patterns or all of these together. Motifs can be a couple of notes or several measures long.
Usually a Verse is about eight measures long. You need to use some repetition in these eight measures because if you don't, it'll be difficult for the listener to remember your song. That's why you'll want to write the Verse using motifs. It's useful for both parties: your listener will remember and enjoy your song more and it'll be easier to write a song since you only have to create motifs then repeat them.
The motifs don't have to stay exactly the same though. Especially if you repeated the motif twice. It would be boring to hear exactly the same pattern a third time in a section.
Contrast In Music
Contrast is the most important characteristic music, melodies, rhythm or any other aspect in a song can have. Contrast makes the listeners feel like they are on an emotional roller coaster ride. And that's our goal.
The different sections in your songs should contrast (i.e. Verses, Pre-Choruses, Choruses and the Bridge). You can (and usually should) also include smaller contrasting parts within the sections.
How to Write Music that Creates Contrast BETWEEN Sections
Use one, two or all three. Just make sure that all sections are easily distinguishable.
✓ Melodic contrast: e.g. the Chorus should be higher than the Verse and Pre-Chorus.
✓ Harmonic contrast: vary the chord progressions between song sections. Begin each section with a different chord to make it more interesting.
✓ Rhythmic contrast: vary the rhythm between the different sections of the song.
How to Write Music that Creates Contrast WITHIN Sections
✓ Melodic contrast: when you repeat a motif, make a little change in it - add or leave out a couple of notes from the beginning or end of the motif or change a couple of notes in it.✓ Harmonic contrast: vary the chord progressions while repeating the same melody.
✓ Rhythmic contrast: vary the rhythm a little within the sections.
How to Write Music to Lyrics
The combination of music and lyrics together is called prosody. It's the art of putting them together so they sound good and natural to your listeners. Being aware of its rules and techniques is an essential part of learning how to part music.
How To Write Music to Lyrics
Read the lyrics out loud. As if you were saying it to a friend. Notice your natural intonation and the stresses, i.e. "the music of your lyrics". Then start singing the lyrics in a conversational style, as if you were saying it to somebody. Put the higher-lower tones to the places when they naturally occurred in your speech but exaggerate them. There you go, now you have a basic melody for your lyrics. At this point, all you need to do is make some changes because now it probably sounds quite predictable.
• Stress the hook even more - give it higher notes
• Make some parts faster or slower
• Include short breaks (you can do this even in the middle of the line if it makes sense)
• Start a line later or earlier
• Add some words to a line
What Problems Can Come Up During This Process?
▪ You stress a word in the wrong place or have too many syllables in a motif which makes it difficult or impossible to understand the lyrics. It's called "word warping". E.g. instead of "INteresting" you stress it on the second syllable and it sounds like "inTRESting". In some cases a stress change might even mean something completely different. What's the solution? Words and syllables that are more important than others should get a higher or longer note (or both). You can also put important words and syllables on strong beats, e.g. if it's a song in a 4/4 time (which is the most common), the first and the third beats are strong, the second and fourth beats are weaker.
▪ You place musical breaks between the phrases where it isn't necessary or natural. It might even change the meaning. What's the solution? When you're not sure if it sounds good or makes sense, read the lyrics out loud including the pause. If it makes sense that way, it's okay. If it doesn't, place the pause somewhere else. There is a saying: "when in doubt, read it out loud".
▪ The rhythm of the motifs do not go with the rhymes in the lyrics. What can you do? Change one or the other until they match :)
How to Write Music
How to Write Music for Verses and Choruses
Verse lyrics explain the scene therefore they are usually more conversational, more limited in range. Choruses summarize the emotion the song is about so they are more intense, exaggerated with interval jumps. The different sections of music should be clearly defined.
How to Write Music for Pre-Choruses
The goal of a Pre-Chorus is to connect the Verse & Chorus and gradually intensify the emotion before the fulfillment that the Chorus gives you starts. There are some different ways to do this. Many successful songs contain a rising musical phrase, some even a scale. Or you can make the music faster than in the Verse.
How to Write Music for the Bridge
The Bridge is the most emotionally intense part of songs. This is where you summarize the way you feel and maybe offer a punchline. You should express its importance musically too. Make sure that the Bridge contrasts the other parts of the song in pitch, dynamics, pace or all of these. You can also surprise your listeners if you complement a dynamic Chorus with a slow, soft Bridge.
How to Create Repetition
We've talked about repetition and its importance. But to master how to write music, you must know how to achieve the perfect balance of new and repetition:
In her book Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting
Robin Frederick mentions the "Vacation Rule": "Do it, do it again, go away, then come back" that's often used in Verses.
What it means is that, for example, you use a motif (short musical phrase) in the first line, repeat it in the second, use a new melody in the third and go back to the first motif in the fourth line. Of course, you don't have to stick to these four lines all the time. You might have more lines and you can use a different pattern of repetition. But it's a basic guideline that's worth considering. Listeners know and like this kind of structure. It makes them feel that although it's a new song they already know it. That's what most hit songs do.
Mood
These are the two most important ways you can express mood through music:
✓ harmony and chord progressions (happy: major chords, ascending bass lines - sad: minor chords, descending bass lines)
✓ tempo (happy: usually up-tempo or mid-tempo - sad: can be fast or slow)
More on advice on Writing Music First
You might also consider music writing online. Nowadays there are great opportunities to collaborate through the internet, or write music notation, beats and backing tracks online.
If you'd like to study how to write music in even more detail, there are two books I recommend. The first one is Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting by Robin Frederick. There are several "shortcuts" in her book and they include several pieces of advice on how to write music. If you consider some of your favorite songs, you'll see how right Robin is about how to write music for hit songs.The other book I suggest getting is Frustrated Songwriter's Handbook
by Karl Coryat. You don't need to be frustrated to benefit from this book of course :) What you'll read is several techniques and games to inspire your music writing and help to come up with melodies you didn't think you could write. It also helps you with lyrics.
Chords that sound good together
Chord Substitutions
Verse lyrics explain the scene therefore they are usually more conversational, more limited in range. Choruses summarize the emotion the song is about so they are more intense, exaggerated with interval jumps. The different sections of music should be clearly defined.
How to Write Music for Pre-Choruses
The goal of a Pre-Chorus is to connect the Verse & Chorus and gradually intensify the emotion before the fulfillment that the Chorus gives you starts. There are some different ways to do this. Many successful songs contain a rising musical phrase, some even a scale. Or you can make the music faster than in the Verse.
How to Write Music for the Bridge
The Bridge is the most emotionally intense part of songs. This is where you summarize the way you feel and maybe offer a punchline. You should express its importance musically too. Make sure that the Bridge contrasts the other parts of the song in pitch, dynamics, pace or all of these. You can also surprise your listeners if you complement a dynamic Chorus with a slow, soft Bridge.
How to Create Repetition
We've talked about repetition and its importance. But to master how to write music, you must know how to achieve the perfect balance of new and repetition:
In her book Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting
Robin Frederick mentions the "Vacation Rule": "Do it, do it again, go away, then come back" that's often used in Verses.What it means is that, for example, you use a motif (short musical phrase) in the first line, repeat it in the second, use a new melody in the third and go back to the first motif in the fourth line. Of course, you don't have to stick to these four lines all the time. You might have more lines and you can use a different pattern of repetition. But it's a basic guideline that's worth considering. Listeners know and like this kind of structure. It makes them feel that although it's a new song they already know it. That's what most hit songs do.
Mood
These are the two most important ways you can express mood through music:
✓ harmony and chord progressions (happy: major chords, ascending bass lines - sad: minor chords, descending bass lines)
✓ tempo (happy: usually up-tempo or mid-tempo - sad: can be fast or slow)
More on advice on Writing Music First
You might also consider music writing online. Nowadays there are great opportunities to collaborate through the internet, or write music notation, beats and backing tracks online.
If you'd like to study how to write music in even more detail, there are two books I recommend. The first one is Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting by Robin Frederick. There are several "shortcuts" in her book and they include several pieces of advice on how to write music. If you consider some of your favorite songs, you'll see how right Robin is about how to write music for hit songs.The other book I suggest getting is Frustrated Songwriter's Handbook by Karl Coryat. You don't need to be frustrated to benefit from this book of course :) What you'll read is several techniques and games to inspire your music writing and help to come up with melodies you didn't think you could write. It also helps you with lyrics.Chords that sound good together
Chord Substitutions
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