Look for a place which suits your needs. If you need interaction, go to a crowded place. If you need silence, take a drive or sit by the lake. Spend some time using all of your sensory abilities. Look to see the colors around you, listen to the sounds you hear, feel the table in front of you, and smell the multitude of aromas. The ideas you come up with don’t necessarily have to be serious or intricate. Especially when it comes to pop songs, short, sweet, and upbeat thoughts are especially welcome.
Carry a small 2X4 inch journal in your pocket when you travel. This way you will have a way to keep your ideas contained together, and always have something to write an idea down on. Put stars around, or underline words which weigh on you heavily. These might be words you want to focus on when you later write your song.
Each of these important words should center on one topic. For example, “gravel, breeze, going home, rough road, time, open space” would center around the concept of “taking your own path in life. " Begin to connect and number the words in the order you want them in your song. Using the previous example, “1. open space, 2. breeze, 3. rough road, 4. going home. " You need some open space so you go on a car ride. During the car ride you experience the breeze of the outside air. However, you begin to feel how rough the road is, so you decide to make your way back home. It is important that the topic you choose is relatable to everyone. Since this will be a pop song, it is going to be popular to a wide range of audiences. For example, topics like sadness or longing might be more relatable to a general audience than depression.
For example, you might notice the way a bird’s feathers flutter in the wind. You can then use this detail as a metaphor for the way your life is going, i. e. up and down. Rather than just explicitly saying “up and down” you use a metaphor that explains your thinking. Paint a picture with these metaphors. Do not string a whole bunch of them together randomly. For instance, if you are using the bird metaphor, stick with the bird. Talk about the way it dives, eats, sleeps, breathes, etc. That vivid imagery will capture the imaginations of your song listeners.
The basic structure of a pop song goes: verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, chorus, interlude, chorus. There are two sets of verses where you can really get into telling your story. The first verse will introduce your listener to the story. The second verse can either repeat the same sentiment of the first verse, or change the direction of your story. The chorus has to be the same every time you sing it in order for the listener to latch on to the song. This part of the song should clearly represent the main idea you are driving at. If your song is about going home, tell the listener you are going home, either manifestly (I’m going home) or latently (I’m going back to the place where it began). Remember, some part of the chorus will likely become the title of your song.
Above each word, write full, half, or quarter notes. This will let you know how long you want to sing each word. Sad songs have a lot more full notes, while happy songs are generally full of quarter, and sometimes even eighth notes. The chorus, of either a sad or happy pop song, will have a consistent rhythm throughout the song. When it comes to verses, sad songs have a more freewheeling style. They can go slower or faster, and change up in between. Happy songs should have both consistent chorus lines and verses respectively throughout.
One of the best examples of a riff is “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. The entry to this song immediately gets the audience hooked. Note that the riff does not necessarily have to be the same as the melody or rhythm. The hook can be used solely at the beginning to draw the audience in, or it can be used throughout and remain in the background. A song like “Satisfaction” uses the riff throughout, while a song like “Train, Train” by Blackfoot only uses a harmonica riff at the very beginning.
One way to find inspiration for a melody is to listen to other pop songs. You might find a melody someone else used, and create a variation on it. After you have figured out a melody for the first line of a verse, apply it to the second as well. Change the melody for the third line, and then come back to the original melody for the fourth. This is a common pattern in pop songs which creates a level of repetition that a general audience likes (1, 1, 2, 1). Remember that melodies will change when you transition from verses to chorus lines. Pop songs have strong chorus melodies which allow the singer to belt out and become emotional (either happy or sad). Have the peak notes of your song fall within the chorus, such as extreme high notes and/or long notes.
You can use chord progressions from other songs, just not lyrics or melodies. However, feel free to add or change one of the notes to suit your song best. If you repeat a chord progression, change the scale you play it in. This creates some level of variation between the verse, pre-chorus, and chorus. For example, “Firework” has a steady low chord progression for the first verse. The pre-chorus ranges from low to high, and the chorus is a steady high chorus progression. Once you have figured out what chords you would like, you can go back and attach it to the rhythm and melody. You may want to add/delete words in your lyrics as join together the rhythm, melody, and chords.
For example, you can build on notes in chorus lines. The first time you sing the chorus, sing notes relatively short. The second time, sing them longer, stretching them out. You can then go straight into a bridge which allows you to sing the same notes for as long as you want. Mix it up. A lot of pop songs might start an interlude with long, belted notes and then transition into a piano or guitar solo. The options are nearly endless. Reel the interlude back in so that you can end the song. Remember, you want distinguished lines between the different sections.
You can also end your song on an instrumental, however, this is usually an artistic license allotted to bands which already have names for themselves. For example, the ending to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird” is over five minutes worth of instrumentals. However, you can play your basic riff a couple of times at the end of your song, just begging your audience to repeat and play again.
Type a word into Google and add “rhymes with” next to it. A list of words will pop up and help you decide on which word best fits. Depending on the particular word choices you may have to go back and change some of the melody/rhythm. This is a back and forth, give and take process.
Other friends or family might be able to lend their voices to your effort, and harmonize with your melody. You might also want to ask around for anybody that has an “in” into the music business. Someone who has already recorded an album, or who has worked with a record company, might be able to get your song some radio air time.
Pop songs, like other songs, are never perfect the first go around. Rerecord the song until it is exactly right. Note how you feel during the song. The essence of a good pop song is if you can feel the emotions you are trying to convey.
For example, if your song is about depression, but you never explicitly say it in the song, your title should reflect it.
