We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

How Do You Write A Good Song?

from CREATIVE JUICES by Lorraine Bowen

/

about

I thought it a hilarious idea to write a song about how to write a song!
Here it is and I'll probably get criticised for making it such a 1970s type structure but there you go... the classic song structure is a good starting point and one that people recognise.
But as I say at the end... ALL RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN - so learn the classic structure and then go off in a tangent to do what you want.... after all - these days I mostly start with the CHORUS first!

lyrics

HOW DO YOU WRITE A GOOD SONG by Lorraine Bowen

How do you write a good song?
How do you write a good pop song?
Well the first thing you need is an introduction
Ba ba ba ba
Something that grabs the attention...
Ba ba ba ba

Then it's verse one
You set the scene, you keep it low, you tell the story
Then verse two
more of the same, whatever style or category

If your melody’s good and your lyrics are fine
Create a link, create a line
Going up with suspension, giving it tension
Exciting you right up the spine to

THE CHORUS, The CHORUS
Give it some welly, sing from your belly
The chorus, the chorus
and you’re on to a very good pop song

We're into verse three
Keep it short, don’t bother with a fourth cos that's boring
Add some brass, some harmony
Keep the audience from yawning

And before you can wink, you’ve got a shorter link
You know what's coming up soon, you can tell by the tune
We're leading up, leading up, leading up, leading up to…



THE CHORUS, the CHORUS again
Get your lighters out, sing along
The CHORUS, the CHORUS
Oh that's how you write a good song
Oh that's how you write a good pop song

Then suddenly out of the blue
comes a random section called the middle 8
The middle 8, the bridge (whatever)
The chords have gone weird and you have to be clever
To get the song back into shape
A solo gets us out of this scrape! Go!

SOLO

The CHORUS with a key change
But make sure you write it within your range
The CHORUS. Finish around 3 minutes
And that’s how you write a good song
Yes that’s how you write a good pop song

And all rules are made to be broken …

credits

from CREATIVE JUICES, track released March 16, 2023
8. How Do You Write a Good Song?
Music, Lyrics, vocals, electronic production: Lorraine Bowen


Production – Thales Matos (in Florida, USA)
Chorus teenagers – B Starz Academy (in Hove, UK)
Male Chorus – Matt Grief
Mixing/Mastering: Wayne McIntyre

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Lorraine Bowen image

Lorraine Bowen London, UK

Lorraine Bowen is a quirky fabulous songwriter with SEVEN albums up her sleeve! Her music is highly original has lovely melodies for all to sing along with!

Lorraine's Bandcamp is an alternative to Spotify streaming. Lorraine loves BANDCAMP! The audio is much better and each sale counts for about 10,000 Spotify streams.
Many thanks for the support! ... more

contact / help

Contact Lorraine Bowen

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Lorraine Bowen, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring interviews with LA music scene pillar Kamasi Washington, and new London-based duo Mrcy.

listen now