How to Write Songs Like a Pro - Part 2

In "Part 1" of this three-part series we learned pro songwriting tips for the lyrical aspect of songwriting. In this article we'll explore the music part of writing songs using the same references many pros use, so you can develop musical ideas with ease.

If you're a songwriter or aspiring songwriter who wants to know what resources to use to learn songwriting quickly and effectively, by the end of this article, you will have all the information you need to have a clear advantage over the average songwriter!

Remember, you don't have to read music or play an instrument to write quality songs but you definitely have an advantage if you know how to play either piano/keyboard or guitar, because you can work out chord structures and melodies for your songs on your instruments.

So here we go:

1. Remember, there are two main parts to songwriting; writing lyrics, and writing music. "Part 2" is about the music part of songwriting which includes melody, harmony, and rhythm.

2. Get your hands on "Writing Music For Hit Songs," by Jai Josefs, the absolute best and only book you'll ever need to easily learn the basics of music theory and how to construct the musical part of songs. The book is ridiculously cheap on Amazon.com, and this one together with "The Craft Of Lyric Writing," by Sheila Davis will set you back a measly US15.00 to 18.00 or so.

Once you have Josefs' book, apply one chapter at a time to the songwriting principles you learned with "The Craft Of Lyric Writing" and quickly hear your songwriting come alive as you learn techniques from real hit song examples! For this training book, you DO need to play or at least have an instrument such as a piano or keyboard to follow along.

In Josefs' book, you'll learn how to harmonize with chords in major and minor keys through a foolproof natural music formula in an easy-to-understand format, you'll learn how to effectively give your music contrast, how to build tension and release, and how to develop melodical ideas just to name a few.

3. Continue writing your own lyrics and melodies as suggested in "Part 1," and start experimenting with and incorporating some of the chord ideas as well as other principles learned in Josefs' book such as using chord inversions and pedal points to create bass motion in order to give your songs whatever particular underlying flavor you desire.

4. Pick out a favorite song and find the chord progression used either by buying sheet music or by visiting one of many websites which provide free chords and tabs for educational purposes such as Ultimate-Guitar.com. With your song in hand it's time to try to determine in which key the songs is written. Without actual sheet music to see the key signature this can be difficult but here's a useful tip; to find the key listen for the chord that sounds as if it has completely resolved and is at rest in the song. This chord will usually (not always) be found at the end of the chorus if it's a verse-chorus type song, or the end of the verse in a verse-verse-verse type song.

5. Once you determine the key use the following chord formula built on the tonic note of the key:

I - IIm - IIIm - IV - V - VIm - VIImb5 (e.g., in the key of G, the tonic note would be G, and the basic chord formula would be):

G - Am - Bm - C - D - Em - F#mb5

6. Play these chords in succession and hear how they move up the scale. Notice how they sound similar to the single note scale in the same key, i.e., G, A, B, C, D, E, F#

Using the above formula you now have seven chords you can use in any key to harmonize your songs!

Indeed many successful songs have been created using two or more chords contained in this formula, so in part 3 of this series I'll show you how to expand upon this concept with a formula for many additional chords you can use as a starting point in your songs in any key.

Orlando Gutierrez is a former Warner/Chappell Staff songwriter who dedicates most of his time to his website, http://www.songwriteradvisor.com, in order to provide innovative songwriting tips and techniques to give songwriters an edge over the competition in an ever-changing music industry. Visit the website, look at the free 7-step songwriting blueprint, and sign up for your free monthly newsletter "Tune Sleuth" today at: http://www.songwriteradvisor.com

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