how to write a song, song structure, songwriting tips, how to write a hit song, song lyrics, vocal techniques, singing tips, lyric writing, song intro tips and a lot more.

1] NEW - IDEAS FOR THE BRIDGE OF A SONG   by Art Rock / MyCd.ca

The Bridge of a song, which is also referred to as the "Middle Eight" section of the song, can serve as a break

in the momentum or direction of the song. The Bridge usually happens after the second Chorus in a Song.

The Bridge can be instrumental only or with vocals.

Here are some ideas for the Bridge of your song.

1] Use a different chord progession than the rest of the song. If you used the the standard I,IV,V [1,4,5] chord

progression, you could incorporate some of the II,III,VI, [2,3 or 6] chords, [ eg. in the key of C, if you were

using the C,F and G chords in your song change to, or add some of, the other chords Dm, Em, Am.

2] Drop the Tempo down or go halftime to make it appear that the song has slowed right down. This usually

works best with a softer insrumentation and softer Vocals that are in a higher range than the rest of the song.

3] Organ or Synth pad. If it is a rock song with guitar, bass, drums standing out for the verse and chorus,

change to a swelling organ or synth pad for the bridge, following the basic riff or melody of the song.

4] A lead guitar break is probably the most popular on rock songs especially in the harder rock and metal genres.

5] A Synthesizer or Keyboard solo, or combined with a counterpointing guitar solo. Deep Purple is probably the

 most famous for this.

6] A Complete Change to the Rhythm and melody of the song. Black Sabbath are big on this. It sounds like

they are playing a completely different song but they make the transition into it and back perfectly.

7] Singing the words of the Chorus but in a different manner. If the music or the melody of the Chorus goes up,

you go down, and vice versa, or change the speed, or change the lyrics slightly or sing it higher or lower,

louder or softer.

8] Make the bridge harder, louder, faster than the rest of the song. Make it more powerful than what has

transpired musically so far in the song.

9] Use the bridge to make a summary of all that has been presented in the words of the song.

10] A Realization. If your lyrics in the verse and chorus talked about a problem, the Bridge could reveal

the solution to the problem.

11] Make a Statement around the topic of the song, a point that has not been brought up yet. Or

something that ties down the story of the song.

12] Music and Vocals straight upward. The guitarwork goes straight up the neck, the keyboard

straight to the right up the keypad, the singer follows the music upward to a climatical plateau,

a powerful peak then drop back in to the chorus.

by Art Rock / MyCd.ca

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NEW- 2] SONG OUTRO IDEAS / SONG ENDING IDEAS

How do you end a song you ask. Here are some popular styles of endings or Outros as they are called.

1] The Fade Out ending has been around since the beginning of recording. The volume level at end of the song

slowly falls down to zero. There is a fade out ending option on many recorders and recording software. If you

don't have that you can easily pull the master fader down on the final mixdown to your wave file or CD or whatever

you are mixing down to.

 A variation is to pull down the music faster than the vocals while the Vocalist holds the last note.

2] A sudden stop style ending. Usually on a chord with all instruments hitting the final beat. If it is the last

strike of the chord, a large pause before hitting that last chord can give some anticpation to an ending and

finalization.

3] The one or two bar and hard end is another variation on the sudden stop ending. One way is to hit the last

chord, then pause, then hit it three more times. On some songs you will hear them hitting it many more times

 than that.

Another variation is to pause then play the the next chord above or below, one to three times, then end back

on the same chord the chorus would normally end on.

4] An all out instrumental free for all style ending is a very popular style of ending. The drummer doing lots of

rolls and pounding on the cymbals, the other instruments playing solo lead style fast and crazy. Lots of fast

riffs and trills, lots of power chords. All the instruments playing full blast.

5] A double Chorus ending, or even a triple Chorus. If you sang the lyrics in the Chorus four times on each

Chorus throughout the song you do it eight times at the end, maybe even twelve if the chorus lines were

short enough that you won't sound like you are over doing it . Then end it sudden stop or with a fade away

ending may sound better.

That gives you quite a few ways to end your song.

                                                 by Art Rock / MyCD.ca

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 3] SONG STRUCTURE- in layman's terms      by Art Rock MyCD.ca

There are several different styles of song forms or song structures that are the most popular used in Songwriting

 today. The majority of  songs written today, especially Pop  and Rock songs follow a song structure that evolved

 from the Rondo form, which has been around for hundreds of years. They revolve around  three different basic

ideas or variations on a theme. They are the Verse, the Chorus and the Bridge. There are also other parts to the

 song structure such as the  Intro, the Ending (Outro, Coda), the Pre-Chorus, Lead Break  (instrumental solo) and

then there are other less used components.

The Verse, Chorus, Bridge is the meat of the song. The Verse and Chorus are the most  prominent as they are

 repeated the most.

The Verse is where the story  unfolds, the narrative, the basic topic or idea of the song is introduced. It could be

 a description of a  problem, a feeling, an observation or it could be a  question about any topic or something in

 life. The Verse lays the groundwork for  your story. The Chorus is usually the memorable part of the song that

 most  people would sing along to. It normally has fewer words  than the verse, that often repeat. If the Verse

 was the question, the Chorus  would be the answer.

 Often the Chorus would have back up singers or use a vocal harmonizer to make it stand out. The Bridge,

sometimes called the middle  eight, is a sort of  musical interlude in the song, to break it up, and to keep it

 moving. Usually there will be a change in the chords used  or the tempo or the rhythmic beat.

 Some times the bridge will be an instrumental or lead break. It will usually lead into the third Chorus or a third

 Verse. Now lets get to  the actual song  structures. The Verse is normally labeled as "A", The Chorus "B" and the

 Bridge "C". The three most popular song forms used now a days would probably  be:

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 A B A C A B, (which is Verse, Chorus, Verse, Bridge , Verse, Chorus) (Yes this is the famous ABACAB that Genesis named a song after.)

A B A B C A B, (which is Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge , Verse, Chorus)

A B A B C B, (which is Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge , Chorus)

The Intro is where the song starts. It could be an instrumental riff, a lyric line, humming, chord comping or just the

 music of the verse  with no singing.

The Ending or Outro or Coda is where you end the song. It could be a fade out ending or abrupt end on a different

 chord, a little closing riff, a held vocal  note or whatever fits.

The Pre-Chorus is optional. It is a tie between the Verse and Chorus. It could be a build up to make the Chorus sound

 bigger, or perhaps  the music of the Verse and Chorus seem too far apart that you feel you need a transitional piece

 leading into the Chorus, to tie the two together.

If you are writing a Progressive Rock song you may want to use the Pre-Chorus as a way to extend the song, to make

 it more intricate.

The Lead Break or Instrumental Break is also optional. It could be in place of the Bridge or in addition to the Bridge.

 Sometimes it is  played in front of the  Bridge, sometimes after the Bridge, sometimes after the Chorus as a lead into

 the final verse. It could be a guitar  solo or any instrument solo, could be  multiple instruments playing an alternate

 or extended version of the Verse riff or Chorus riff.

 Sometimes it is a completely different instrument or sound that  has not been used anywhere else in the song.

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Putting it all together Here is an example utilizing all of the components: Using "I" for Intro, "O" for Outro,

 "P" for Pre-Chorus and "S"  for Solo. This  time we will mark the Verses.

 I A P B A P B C S A B O (which is Intro, Verse 1, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Verse 2, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Bridge , Solo,

 Verse 3, Chorus, Outro

As you can see, by utilizing Pre-Choruses and Lead Breaks will make the song a lot longer. Sometimes that could

 be a disadvantage if it  takes the song over the four minute mark, which is generally where you want to be to get

 more plays on the streaming services. The  Streaming services prefer songs to be less  than four minutes long.

If you are writing a Prog Rock song it is expected to be longer, and they usually get less air play anyways.

 Remember that these song writing methods are just guide lines, and rules were made to be  broken, especially

 in Music. However you adjust the formula make sure that it sounds like it fits. You don't have to worry, the

Song  Nazi's were all slayed by the Progressive Rock Bands in the late 1960's, early 1970's. 

 by Art Rock MyCD.ca

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4] SONG TOPIC IDEAS

Are you having a hard time coming up with a topic for your song?

Try starting off by picking a subject and think if you would want to praise, criticize or condemn it?

Here are some examples:

Love- falling in love, breaking up, love is a waste of time

Work- want a job, don't need a job, I quit

Life- life is good, life sucks, life goes on no matter what

War- this fight is right, this war is wrong, this war has to stop

Happiness- I'm so happy, I'm so sad, who needs happiness

Anger- I'm so angry, I shouldn't be so angry, anger is a waste of time

Determination - I am going to do it, I just can't do, trying is a waste of time

Moving on - I will go on, I can't go on, Who cares if I go on

Things are changing- I will change, I won't change, Nobody should have to change

Growing old- I will be young forever, my days are almost over, Who cares how old you are

Suspicion- I am watching you, I'm not watching you, Who cares what you do

Money- If I had money, I don't need money, Money doesn't bring you happiness

Family- My family is there for me, my family turned their back on me, who needs family

Religion- I am a believer, I don't believe, who needs religion

Sinner - you're a sinner, I forgive your sins, everybody is a sinner

Acceptance- I want to belong, I don't belong, you don't need to be accepted

Revenge- I will get even, I forgive what you did, revenge is a waste of time

Partying- we're going to party, the party is over, this party sucks

Regret- I wish that I did that, why don't I regret that, regret is overated

Obsession- You belong to me, I don't own you, stop obsessing what you can't have

Hopefully at least one of these ideas will work for you.

by Art Rock/ MyCD

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5] SINGLE NOTE BASS LINES  

   The term single note bassline, can have various connotations, here we are referring to the one in which the same

 single bass note is played throughout most, if not all of the song. Normally you would play the tonic note, which is

 the first note of the scale or key, or you would play the root note of the chord, which may be the same. Some players

 will change to the dominant note , which is the 5th note of the key, scale or chord. It is a good idea to listen to the

 bassline on some of your favourite songs, in the style of music that you will be writing your songs in.

Usually you will hear when they use a single note bassline, it is played on every quarter note, although you will hear

 it sometimes played on the half, eighth or sixteenth notes as well. Some times you will hear quarter notes on the

 verse, changing to eighth notes on the chorus and vice-versa. Sometimes you will hear the same note played but an

 octave higher or lower. The alternating octaves can give you a little more a colourfull sound. Single note basslines

can be very powerfull sounding as they give the song a very solid groove and it gives lots of room for the guitar,

 keyboard or other instruments to improvise. They will have a larger pallet of notes they can use as there will be less

 of a chance of playiong a dissonant sounding note.

You can also make it more active by leaving notes out. For instance, if you don't play every fourth note, you will hear

 a definite change in the groove. You can do the same with one of the other notes as well. Usually you wouldn't want

 to leave out first note. It always sounds best to have the downbeat, first note, play on the bass and drums together

 on every first beat of a measure or bar. This gives a tighter and more solid sounding groove.

by Art Rock / MyCd.ca
  

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6] WALKING BASS LINES 

     Walking Bass Lines are very similar to the single note bassline but with extra notes. Many times it will be just the

 first and fifth note of the key or scale.  Sometimes the first, third and fifth notes and sometimes the seventh note.

A simple and good sounding technique is to play the root note on every quarter  beat, then when the chord changes,

 play the note, just below the root note of the next chord, on the beat right before the change and then play the root

 note of  the chord in sync with the guitar on the first beat of the chord change. This leads the momentum of the

 music in the direction of the chord change, which gives  a nice flowing motion to the song.

Another approach would be to take a more rhythmically active role and play a melodically sounding riff on the

bass, that would sound like the part a guitar should be playing. It always sounds the best to start on the tonic

or root note. You could do a melodic riff ending on a note. Then repeat it but this time end on the next note

 just above or below the  note you used to end on the last time. You could alternate every other line.

 A variation of this would be to play the riff three times, ending on the same note, then change the last note

 on the fourth time. Another variation is to end the riff on the same note, the first two times, end on a different

 note the third time, then on the fourth time you end it back  on the note used on the first two bars. Try

experimenting different ways and see what sounds the best to you, for the current song you are working on.

It's always good to listen to music in the same genre to hear how they are  approaching  the bass part.

by Art Rock / MyCd.ca

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7] SING IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT       by Art Rock MyCD.ca

One thing that makes a good song stand out from the rest is emotion in the vocals. If you want your song to shine,

sing it like you mean it.  Put some  emotion in your vocals. Try to avoid singing the entire song in one vocal level.

Change it up. Try starting the song off with a  softer vocal, then gradually build it up to the chorus. At the chorus

 try letting go. Experiment. Try going up or down in pitch with your  voice on different words. Try holding the end of

 different words in each vocal line, or try cutting them off short. Try different mixes of  both on different words.

Try to substitute some emotional type words  or phrases like crying, dying, lying, hurting, yearning, killing,  missing

you, wanting you, loving you, seeing you. Then emphasize those words. Try holding the  note in the middle of the

 word.  Cry-yyyyyy-ing. Raise the pitch of your voice in the middle of a word like crying, to a border line whine like

 you are  crying while you sing it. Try going overboard, over the edge. Don't hold back. Push it way too far, record it,

 then listen to the demo.

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 Too many times as artists we feel uncomfortable even embarrassed when we push the vocals too far. If you take

 a  look at many of the  top hit songs over the years, you will find a lot of them had odd, even goofy sounding

parts in the vocals. Many times that goofy part is  what sticks in the listeners minds. Have you  ever seen a friend

 or someone  singing along to a song being played, and then when they get  to the goofy part, they really

 emphasize it as though  they were waiting just to sing that word or part? Their face lights up, it seems to lift  their

 spirits, to arouse an  emotional reaction in them. You will never see someone  emphasize a word in the center of

 a verse that is the  same  volume or pitch as everything else. Sometimes it is good to go over the edge of your

 comfort level, to get your song  to stand out  from the rest in people's minds. You will be considered to be a

 better  singer for it. A home studio, with  nobody else at home, is  the  ideal environment to experiment and let

 it go, loud and over the top. That could be your  answer to the question, how to write a hit song,

 Try listening to  some of your favourite songs and pay close attention to how they end each verse. Do they go

 down  in pitch at the end  of the first and third verse, and up in  pitch at the end of the second and fourth verse?

 Are the  first, second and fourth verses the same, and every third verse changes? Does every verse have a little

  different twist  at the end or near the end of it? Are the first two verses  sung the same, and the last two sung

 harder and  or higher? These are all techniques and singing tips used on many hit songs and top  album songs,

 by top singers over the  years.

Now listen to your song again. Is it changing or is it pretty well  all the same? Try varying it  to some of the

 different  ways, or all of the different ways listed above. See what fits. Try putting a new spin of your own on it.

 There is no reason in the world that you, YES YOU, could set a new trend in vocal delivery. One that others will

 follow  and talk about  many years from now.

 Always remember the golden rule in singing vocals on a recording. SING IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT !

                                by  Art Rock / MyCD

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8] SONG INTRO IDEAS -      by Art Rock MyCD.ca

 One of the easiest and simplest intros is to play the same music as the verse. Sometimes artists will start with just

 one of the instruments,  such as the drums.  Then the bass guitar starts, then the guitar and then any other

 instruments in the band. Then they break into the first  verse. Easy to do and sets the song up  nice. It flows right

in smooth and easy. Over the years artists from many different styles of music  have used a spacey synthesizer

sound for the intro. Songs  like "Fly Like an Eagle" by the Steve Miller Band, "Lunatic Fringe" by Tom  Cochrane and

 Red Rider to "In The Light" by Led Zeppelin. Another method, the one chord intro, is a very effective way to get your

 song  remembered in the minds of the listener. As soon as you hear that opening chord on the piano  you instantly

 recognize it as "Benny and  the Jets" by Elton John. To pull this off try going through a chord book and try different

 chords, especially the less common ones, that  people do not usually hear. Try slow strumming it, then try playing it

 fast and hard. On a piano or keyboard try playing the chord one  note at a time, then try comping it. Try playing them

 different ways, and experiment to find something that is unique sounding and fits  in to your song.

 Another method for an intro to a song is to start with a solo vocal line. A perfect example is the Who's "The Real Me" .

 "Can you see the  real me can you, can you" followed by a powerful instrumentation that blows people away. They go

 from a vocal only to the full power of  the band. This sudden change from  soft to hard makes listeners jump out of

 their chairs onto their feet. Another method of intros that  is frequently used is to start the song with the chorus. This

  is very effective if you are a new unknown artist or band, with a very strong  chorus. It will keep the listeners from

 changing the channel on the radio or  get up  and leave when you start playing live. Many listeners  unfairly label an

 unknown act as garbage. This is a stigma every new band has to accept and get over. In this situation a strong

 chorus  will pull them in as soon as you start your song. Another approach to an intro is to use some type of

 gimmicky sound   effect. When you  hear the guitar string bending you know it's "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath.

 When you hear the harmonica playing you know it's "The  Wizard" by Black Sabbath. When you hear the

helicopter you know that is "The Happiest Days of our Lives" by Pink Floyd. The above  methods will give you lots

 of ideas on different types of song intros. Try to come up with something unique, different that hasn't been

 done before.

 Think outside the box.  Be a trend setter, not a follower. You are the only one who is limiting yourself.

            article by Art Rock / MyCD.ca 

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9] WHAT IS A MEASURE, WHAT IS A BAR IN MUSIC-        by Art Rock - MyCD

They are the same as far as time or length goes. The term "measure" is usually referring to the distance or

space between the bars on the music staff. To make it easier to visualize what a bar or measure is, tap your

foot as though you are listening to a song. Tap your foot at about one second per tap or a little faster.

Four foot taps, or beats, as they would normally be called, would equal one measure or bar. When writing this

on a blank, lined manuscript page, you would draw a bar, a vertical line at the end of every four foot taps

or beats. When you hear the term an eight bar verse, that means you would be tapping your foot 32 times.

[ 8 X 4]. If it were a 16 bar verse, you would be tapping your foot 64 times. [16 x 4]

by Art Rocks MyCD

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 10] HOW IS TEMPO, BPM CALCULATED

Going back to out toe tapping method, where you tap your foot like you are listening to a song. If you were

tapping your foot every 3/4 of one second, [0.75 sec] that would be 80 taps per minute, or 80 beats per

minute [BPM], as it is normally called, the number of beats per minute, which is what the letters "BPM"

stand for. We calculated this by taking 60 seconds in a minute, divided by 0.75 seconds per tap, equals 80.

Therefore it would be 80 BPM. If the beats were 1 second apart it would be 60 BPM.

[ 60 seconds divided by 1 second = 60 ]

                           by Art Rock MyCD

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NEW - 11] HOW DO YOU FIGURE OUT HOW LONG THE SONG WILL BE?

If we had an 8 bar verse, that was 8 bars or measures, of 4 beats each, and the beats were 0.75 seconds

per beat, which we used to calculate our 80 BPM, [60 SECONDS DIVIDED BY .75 = 80]. This 32 beat long

verse, would be 32 X .75 sec = 24 seconds long.

So if we did an ABACAB song form, [Verse, Chorus, Verse, Bridge, Verse, Chorus], and we made each verse,

chorus and the bridge, the same 8 bars, 24 seconds long each, we would have a song that is 6 x 24 seconds

which is equal to 144 seconds or 2 min 24 sec long. If we did a 3 chorus, ABABCAB song format,

[ V1, Ch1, V2, Ch2, bridge, V3, Ch3 ] we would have a song that is 2 min 48 sec long. [7 X 24 sec= 168 sec]

Now a days that would be fine. Shorter songs are favoured by many playlist curators, as the attention span

of listeners is shorter now in the days of everything quicker. But if you want your song to be more of a

work of art, or just a little more complex, you may want an intro, maybe a pre-chorus, maybe a lead guitar

or instrumental break, maybe an outro/ ending. If you did half the length of the verse, 4 bars instead of

8, which would be 12 seconds long, on the intro, each pre-chorus and the ending, with no lead break,

our ABACAB song would be 3 min 12 sec [144 sec + intro 12 sec + pre-chorus +12s, +12s + outro/ending

+12 seconds = 192 seconds = 3 min 12 sec ].

The 3 verse song, ABABCAB, would be 3 min 48 sec [168 sec + intro 12s, + pre +12s, +12s, +12s, + outro/

ending + 12s = 228 seconds] If you want more words to tell your story and double the verse lines by

doubling the bars, you would add 24 seconds to each verse. If you made the chorus the same length, you

would add 24 seconds to each chorus as well, and 12 more seconds to the bridge and intro. Now your song

is getting long, maybe too long, over 6 minutes. So, if you want to shorten your song length, you could

sing 1 verse per bar, if you were doing 1 verse per 2 bars. Thereby the time length of the verse stays the

same, even though you doubled the lines. However you will sacrifice breathing space in the vocals, and

will have to sing faster, which will substantially change the vibe of the song, maybe better, maybe not.

Or you could increase the tempo. If we go from 80 BPM TO 120 BPM [60 seconds divided by 120 BPM =

0.5 seconds per beat X 32 beats = 16 seconds for each verse instead of 24, or 32 sec [16 sec x 2 ] for

a double verse. So our ABACAB with double the verse, and if we doubled everything, the chorus, intro,

pre-chorus and ending would give us a song that is 4 min 16 sec. [ 3 verse, 2 chorus, 1 bridge = 6 X 32sec

= 192 sec, + 1 intro, 2 pre-chorus & 1 ending = 4 X 16 = 64 sec = 256 sec = 4 min 16 sec]. Although, the

song is going to be a lot faster.

That is how you calculate it. You have to decide if you want a shorter song, what are you going to cut.

If you are doing a progressive rock song you have no worries. They usually are always much longer songs.

by Art Rock MyCD

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