Tag Archives: song structure

My Latest Songwriting Assignment – July 9th 2012 – Like The Wanted ‘Glad You Came’

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Ok, so here it is! My self-imposed songwriting assignment for the week! I was driving today and thinking about what I was going to throw at myself this week.
What I thought was, “I want to base my next song off of a ‘random’ song on the airplay charts.” So I decided that I was going to go to http://www.bdsradio.com and pick the #5 song on the Hot AC chart. BDSRadio.com is a site that lists the latest charts for airplay. It is pretty handy to see which songs are making it on the air.
So I went online and looked up the Hot AC chart and picked #5….which happened to be a song by The Wanted called, “Glad You Came.”  The song is a pop, dance song and is very catchy and has done very well to break the band in the US. It is now going to be the basis for my songwriting assignment.
So what does this mean?  I am going to use the same rhyme scheme, tempo and basic song structure for my song. Of course my song will have different words, melody and chords, and probably will sound nothing like, “Glad You Came,” but the skeleton of the song will be the same. It will give me a framework to use for my song. So here are the parameters I will be using….
Rhyme Scheme:
Chorus:
A
A
A
A
B
B (Title Line)
Verse Section 1:
A
A
A
A
Verse Section 2:
X
A
X
A
X
B
B
B (title line)
 Tempo: 127 beats per minute
Song Structure: 
Chorus – sparse instruments
8 bar musical hook
Verse section 1
Verse Section 2
Chorus
8 bar music hook
Verse section 1
Verse Section 2
Chorus
8 bar music hook
Chorus – sparse instruments to end….
Watch for my progress and final song here on this blog. Be sure to follow my blog to get emails when I have new posts. I will be posting songwriting tips, how to’s and giving you a glimpse into my songwriting process in the hopes that it helps you grow as a writer.
~~ Chad

Songwriting Exercise: Songwriting Assignment

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If I sit and wait for the inspiration bug to bite me, I am usually waiting a long time. That means I am not writing very often, and for me that is not good, because I am not practicing the craft at that point. I am not growing. So how do I start to attract the bug instead of waiting for it? One way I find works for me is to give myself detailed songwriting assignments. These assignments are basically a list of parameters that I need to fit my song into. I make structural decisions before I even start writing the song. I think I picked this habit up from doing songwriting assignments for Berklee College of Music. Each week we would have certain concepts we were learning about, and we would have to use them on purpose.  Now my personal song assignments end up being very similar.

So this week I am giving myself and assignment that I will share here. I will be working on it  this week and I will post a demo of the song when I get it done. If you want, you can try the assignment for yourself and post YOUR results here too. Would be great to see what you come up with!

My Assignment This week: Write a Song with These Parameters

*notice how I try to contrast parameters in each section

Topic: Will be inspired by what the chords make me feel like

Structure: Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus/Bridge/Chorus

Verse: 6 lines – rhyme scheme AABCCB

Chorus: 5 lines – T – - – T (T is title line, – is line not the title) – Rhyme Scheme ABABA

Bridge: 4 lines Rhyme scheme XXAA

Verse: C minor or C Aeolian mode – 1 chord per 2 measures  1:2

Chorus: Ab Lydian mode – 1 chord per 1 measure 1:1

Bridge: Bb Mixolydian Mode – decide harmonic rhythm later

Verse: Melody starts after the downbeat

Chorus: Melody starts before the downbeat

Bridge: – Melody starts on the downbeat

Verse: Mostly 8th note patterns in melody

Chorus: Half Note based melody

Bridge: Quarter note based melody

So it looks like alot, and it may be for someone not used to making these decisions before writing songs, but it is not quite as complex as you may think. So give it a shot. I am going to be working on my song this week and will post the results on my blog.

If you have any questions on this, please ask, I will do my best to answer each one.

~~ Chad

 

Song Starter: Common, Useful Verse Rhyme Schemes

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When we write songs, we do not have to reinvent the wheel. We can start with structures and techniques that work and make them our own.

There are a few common Verse Rhyme Schemes that are great jumping off points for your writing. Most verses are around 4 to 6 lines. Analyze hit songs you like and I am pretty sure you will notice some patterns. Here are some that show up quite a bit….feel free to use them to work on your own songs! Matching letters mean that the lines rhyme with each other. ‘X’ means a line that doesn’t rhyme.

4 Line Verses:(each letter represents a lyric line)

ABAB – AABB – AAXA – AAAA – XAXA – AXAX – XXAA

6 Line Verses:

AABCCB – AABBCC – ABABAB – XAXAXA – AAABBB – XXAXXA – XAAXBB

There are other combos that can work….but hopefully these give you some rhyme scheme ideas to start using in your writing. Also remember to analyze your favorite songs and borrow the rhyme schemes. ~~ Chad

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