by Robin Frederick (author of “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting”)

Question: If I listen to a particular song I like, I feel inspired to write a song but when I sit down and try, I end up writing the melody I have just listened to. Do you have any tips?

Answer: Melodies can easily get stuck in our brains. A hit Pop/Rock or Country song melody is very catchy; that’s a large part of the reason it’s a hit. But you’re right; this can be a problem for songwriters. Try this exercise to send your melody in a completely new direction:

1) Start by changing the pitches of the notes in the hit song melody. Just sing or play a note that is higher or lower than the original. Your melody will start to sound slightly different from the original. Play with a lot of different pitch choices. If the hit song melody has an ascending melody line, try one that moves downward. If the hit song melody skips over a few notes you can try staying on the same note without moving at all. Doing this part of the exercise will help you start thinking about note pitch as a separate element you can play with.

2) Now, try changing the lengths of the lines (or “phrases”). A “phrase” is a melodic thought with a natural beginning and end. (Lyric lines often begin and end at the same time as a melodic phrase.) Chop a phrase into two shorter phrases by adding a pause in the middle. Don’t worry about interrupting the flow of the lyric; a pause can often ADD interest to a lyric phrase. You can also add a couple of notes and words to the end of a phrase to extend it.

3) After you play with pitch and phrase length, start exploring the timing of the notes: hold a short note longer, then speed up the notes that follow, or divide a long note into several short ones.

By now, your melody should sound VERY different from the original. Remember, this is just an exercise. You are using the hit song to start training your brain to think about melody in a new way, by identifying the three main elements of a song melody–pitch, phrase length, and rhythm. When you start playing with these, you can shape your melody into anything you want! Practice this exercise to get into the habit of thinking about the different components of melody. It will help you move past those melodic ideas that “just occur to you” but may sound dated or familiar.

Based on “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting” by Robin Frederick. Available at Amazon.com. Copyright 2009 Robin Frederick. All rights reserved.

Robin Frederick (author, “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting”)

    Every successful song has a theme. It’s the emotional message at the very heart of the song. The majority of hit songs are built around love relationship themes: I love you. You don’t love me. Your love saved me. You cheated and I’m jealous. I don’t love you anymore. We’re soulmates. You take me for granted. I miss you. 

    These are a few of the themes that songwriters visit over and over again. For instance, many songs has been written on the theme, “I’m grateful that I have your love.” Because listeners have heard this theme so often, they tend to tune it out, especially if the lyric uses the same images and phrases they’ve heard before.  So, if you want to write about this idea, you’ll need to find a way to bring it to life, make it compelling, intriguing, fresh, and exciting. 

    A great example of a recent hit song based on this theme is Alicia Keys’ “Like You’ll Never See Me Again.” In this lyric, Keys explains how she avoids taking love for granted, and urges her lover to do the same, by remembering that life itself is fleeting, sometimes separations cannot be avoided. “Kiss me like you’ll never see me again” ” ‘Cause Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed.” 

    Her message is serious: I’m grateful that I have your love in this moment because I know we might not be here tomorrow. There’s a feeling of urgency, of mortality. Mortality isn’t an idea we usually associate with love relationships, so it gives the song’s theme a powerful, unique emotional slant. Listeners are likely to be intrigued, perhaps stop and consider their own relationships. This is exactly what you, as a songwriter, want them to do! 

DO IT NOW: 

1. Choose a theme you’d like to write about. Maybe it’s something you learned from a love relationship, or something you’ve observed about life, or something you believe or feel. 

2. Personalize your theme. Use “I” or “my” in the phrase. If your theme is “Love lasts forever,” try changing it to “My love for you will last forever.” When you make it something that has happened to YOU, the theme starts to suggest situations you can use to get your point across.

3. Now explain what you mean. Make a list of different ways you could make someone understand what you feel. Try writing sentences that start with: 

“It’s as if I…” 

“It feels like…”

“In other words…”

    Imagine that you still haven’t reached the other person with your message. Try harder to explain what you mean. Use examples, images, be as persuasive as you can! Write down everything that comes to you. Don’t think about rhyming or line lengths, just write down all your ideas. Take a break, then come back and write even more. It’s important that you communicate what you feel and persuade the other person that they should feel as you do. Try starting some of your sentences with:

“Let me explain…”

“Look at it this way…”

“Imagine that…”

“This is what I mean…”

“It’s like…”

You can drop these starting phrases later on or just keep them in your head as you write.  

    Now take a look at everything you wrote.   Is there a sentence or phrase that offers a new insight into your theme, a fresh way to look at it? Do you feel that you persuaded the other person of your point? If not, keep writing. 

    When you feel you’ve expressed your idea effectively, try using some of this material as the basis of a verse and chorus lyric. Look for the line that you think explains your idea in the most powerful way and put that line into your chorus. You might even consider making it the title of your song. Then, work up a verse lyric that supports your chorus and leads the listener toward it. 

    This is the kind of lyric that has the potential to catch the ears of an audience and make them listen to you because YOU have something to say that they haven’t heard before. Everyone is interested in a new way of thinking about emotions, life, or love. If you’ve got an insight, a little twist, a fresh approach, something surprising to say, there’s an audience that will want to hear you!

Based on “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting” by Robin Frederick

Copyright 2009 Robin Frederick. All rights reserved.