What I do, is I start with the chorus and work my way around it. I hear a melody in my head. Sometimes, I am inspired by words I see everyday. Here, I work around these phrases.
Here's an example: I was at church one day, looking for a random prayer request to take home and pray for that person. I picked up one that said "Never gonna give you up. Never gonna let you down". Something went off in my head and before you knew it, I had this:
Take my life and let it be
All for you and for your praise
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down!
I know
This road is full of trials but
When I fall, I will get back up, 'cause I'm
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down!
The phrases in bold were my starters. As you can see, I worked myself around these phrases. Now, the verses and bridge are a bit tricky. But, have the chorus done before you start these sections. The prelude to the chorus is optional, but quite a few composers are known to use it.
The verses are the hardest to write. The mistake that most newbies make, is that sometimes, the verses have nothing to do with the chorus. A song is a story in some way, the chorus is the main meat of the story. So be sure your verses relate to the chorus
The bridge, as its name implies, ties the song back to the chorus. Sometimes, composers actually end with the bridge, to make a "cliffhanger" feeling. But for now, tie the bridge back to the chorus. When making the melody to the bridge, make sure that the last note of the bridge is the V of the I, or the fifth chord. The fifth chord resolves to the one chord, which is at the begining of the chorus.
So in summary
1. Start with the chorus
2. Work around the chorus
3. Make sure the verses relate to the chorus
4. Make sure the bridge ties back to the chorus
Well, that's basically it for songwriting. Happy writing!
If you have any questions, send me a personal message.
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