3 Things To Remember In Songwriting

In a songwriting workshop for kids that I once helped organize for an NGO some years back, Insoy Niñal lectured about how he viewed songwriting. Briefly, he explained that he sees musical notes as petals hovering over him and that all he needs to do is pluck one piece at a time and carefully place them melodically in an imaginary music sheet.

I wouldn’t have imagined viewing it that way. If it had been me delivering his topic, I wouldn’t have pulled it off and would’ve bored the kids to death. His creative description apparently made sense to them. While most of us do not subscribe to the pop music culture, subliminally we are held by its claws but we just don’t want to admit it. Insoy simply embraced it.

My definition of a song is that it’s a medium of communicating musically and creatively to a level where a majority can understand what I am trying to convey. I attempt to take an opportunity to translate my ideas into a musical form in the simplest way possible.

There are 3 basic things I keep in mind when writing a song: (1) theme; (2) song structure; (3) and length of the song.

Themes

This is an essential component to songwriting. Love, hate, and all the in-betweens (hope and misunderstandings) are common and most often mushy. But if the notes and words are played right, I'm positive anyone can pull it off.

A perfect example is Paul McCartney’s “Silly Love Songs” where he practically used the three-word-phrase on the chorus. Ely Buendia plant in words efficiently that I consider him as one of the best songwriters in the 90’s.

The local songwriters that I look up to today are Insoy Niñal (Missing Filemon), Cattleya Espina (Cattski), Franco Reyes (Frank!), Orven Enoveso (Sheila and the Insects), Gabby Alipe (Urbandub), Clenn Suico (Mano-mano), and Jude Gitamondoc. I admire the way they weave the words and music together.

Song Structure

Pop songs very often follow a standard song structure. Although this isn’t necessarily a standard rule, it is important because it helps you convey a story in a way that everybody can understand. The basic elements are the following:

• Intro. Unlike before, I now try to keep the introduction short because it’s important that the listener can distinguish the song in less than 10 seconds. It is also important to play hooky notes in this part.

• Refrain and Chorus. Usually this is where you hear repetitive words and phrases because it’s most often the song's focal point - where the summary of the story is. However, some songs have choruses that don’t follow this rule.

• Stanza. Conveying a message may require a "storyboard". The lines and words of a stanza should be fashioned in a way that it’s easy to grasp. A simple poetry structure such as rhymes can help too but it's not necessary.

• Bridge. Most pop songs, especially ballads include a bridge and there are so many techniques in creating one. One common technique is adding one chord more into a stanza’s chord progression. What I do also is use related chords in the chord progression.

Dissect your favorite song and evaluate it with the most popular songs today. You’ll find out that they follow the same essentials – intro, stanza 1, chorus, stanza 2, chorus, instrumental, bridge (optional), and chorus. Some songs end with a fading coda.

Length of the Song

Radio stations and other broadcast media normally allow 3-4 minutes of airplay per song. If you are aiming to write a hit song, arrange it to fit in this time frame. The reason is simply because radio stations or other commercial broadcast formats need extra airtime for commercials.

Yes, there is always a business component in songwriting (unless you’re only doing it for your own consumption).

If a song is destined for the charts but runs a playtime of more than the allowable time frame, the producers usually cut a radio edit version. Don’t be surprised if they do that. It’s actually a good sign.

So there it is. I've shared my approach to songwriting. What's yours? By the way, I'm not a schooled songwriter or musician. I'm writing this based from my own experience.