Writing a Song is Storytelling:
Knowing the Right Questions to Ask

When writing a song, one of the most difficult tasks for beginning songwriters is to stay focused.

The old saying, " Keep the main thing the main thing", is very helpful.

This lesson will help you build some boundaries for keeping your song on track.

Eventually, writing a song with a definite purpose towards your main theme becomes second nature.

Remember the exercise you did back in Finding a Hook?
Goal #1: Picking a Topic? Keep referring to it... it helps you stay on track.

(If you haven't yet read this article you may want to start there. Click here to go to Beginner Songwriting , Finding a Great Hook .)

When we talk with our friends, we can add sentences, exclamations, hand gestures, facial expressions and all sorts of run-on information to get our point made.

Songwriting does not allow you the same freedoms. When writing a song there are two basic goals that will help you keep focused.

Remember your writing lessons from elementary school... they still apply when writing a song.

It is true, that songs are NOT ALWAYS STORIES. The songwriter's intention could be surreal or ambiguous. Even just stream-of-consciousness moments set to music.

Today's culture has certainly seen a rebirth of 1960's flavored songs...spacey, floaty, nebulous, daydreaming, etc...

But, in order for a song to connect with the listener, there MUST be some point of contact that establishes some of the 5 w's.

It WILL be about Someone, Something, Someplace, Sometime, Somewhere, Somehow... like it or not. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to determine

WHO your hook or theme title is for.

In order to make my points, I like to refer to popular songs from the past that I think you can easily find online.

So, on a different note, when Janet Jackson sang, "What have you done for me lately?"... she clearly wasn't singing to "Hey Mr. Postman".

She may have pets, I don't know. But she certainly wasn't talking to the cat, the maid, her Mother or sister. It was none other than a man.

We also hear she isn't too pleased with his behavior.

IF YOU HEARD NOTHING BUT THE HOOK, it answers the following questions:

a) WHO - The woman singing to a man

b) WHAT - Mad at him over his behavior, or lack of

c) WHEN - Right here & now... LATELY!

I'll bet if you listen to the rest of the song, you'll find out the WHERE and the WHY.

Trust me, you've got plenty of time to learn how to write with implication or innuendo.

But, If you learn to craft your thoughts clearly and simply now, you will have a strong foundation for writing a song, however you express yourself.

Since you are on this website, you obviously are a music lover. Songs mean something to you. They speak to your mind and heart.

In your opinion, What makes a good song? What topics seem to reach you...Love, conflict, deceit, revenge, broken hearts... anything and everything ?????

STOP AND THINK....................

Why do you like some songs more than others?

Usually, it's BECAUSE YOU CAN RELATE.

Whether it is content or the genre, you find something you can resonate with and relate to.

So, I would suggest to you that an INVISIBLE STORYTELLING CONTRACT has taken place. Someone else wrote it. You signed it.

They created a story, you let down your defenses and joined in.

Now, you sing it every time you hear it. It is lodged in your brain, your heart and ultimately... your wallet.

Wallet??? ................... Yes, wallet.

That's how the business works, you hear it enough, you decide it's ok, you begin to sing along, you like it, you $$$ it.

That's the music business in a nutshell.

This is not a bad thing. You would be wise to keep in mind that if your song material is so private, weird or esoteric that nobody else will care about it... you may be the only one who ever hears it. Unless you have a cat.

Nothing wrong with that.

Remember that you are writing TO someone, rather than just to yourself.

I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT YOU NOT BE TRUE TO YOURSELF.

AFTER ALL, WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR VIBE!

Ultimately, every great songwriter seems to reach a place where they quit trying to write what other people said they needed to, for this artist, for this album, for this trend, etc. And They Are Writing WHAT MOVES THEM.

But these are pros that have 100's, even 1000's of songs under their belt. They know how to connect with a listener.

I have just seen far too many songs that are unclear and unable to be received because the listener gets left out of the picture. As a wise man once said, "It takes 2 to Tango!" Let the listener in.

A good song or story takes you by the hand and TAKES YOU SOMEWHERE.

This SOMEWHERE is created by you and given to us, the audience. We want to follow along and feel safe while we are going, as if we've been there before.

This is where You, the songwriter, must draw me into your story and set me up for the punch line which is...

THE HOOK!

Your Clever Message (part 1) combined with the Perfect Rhythmic Feel (part 2).

Together they create the perfect vibe to hook me, just like a fish biting the bait.

And just like the fish's bait, a little surprise should be part of the package.

Before you know it, you will be writing a song that would make any fisherman proud.