How to Write a Song in 6 Steps: Even if You’re Not a Musician
I’m completely dumbfounded by composers such as Beethoven and Mozart who wrote complex music involving multiple instruments WITHOUT modern technology. Frankly, I have no idea how they did it. However, with all the easily-accessible tools we have today, you really don’t need to be a musical genius (or even a musician!) to write a song that you love.
Here’s what you need:
- Something to write or type with
- MuseScore 3 (free!) or another music notation software
That’s it!
Step One: Set Your Compass
If you already have an idea of what you want, this step will be super quick. Basically, you’ll just do a mind dump to pin down what you want this song to be about and how you want it to feel. Be as detailed or not detailed as you want.
I suppose you could probably also skip this step if you want whatever turns up to be a surprise.
Step Two: Lyrics (optional)
You don’t have to start with lyrics if you don’t want to, but it’s generally loads easier to write music to fit lyrics than lyrics to fit music.
To get started, I suggest freewriting on your chosen topic. Here are some prompts:
- Mind dump about everything that topic reminds you of
- Write a (true, fictional, or even semi-fictional) short story
- Brainstorm new metaphors to describe a certain feeling
- Write what you feel. Then figure out how to show it instead of telling it.
Remember, it’s important not to worry about whether what you write is any good (or rhymes), but instead focus on just writing a lot. You might set a word count goal to get to before you can stop writing. When you’re just exploring thoughts for the sake of quantity rather than quality, you’ll be less critical and more relaxed, and therefore more likely explore an unusual path that will lead to an idea you love.
Besides, lyrics feel totally different on the page than they do in a song, so don’t stress about whether they feel melodious or have a rhythm.
After you’ve written enough that you actually like some of what you wrote, figure out the order and structure that you want those pieces to go in. But you don’t have to worry about making it perfect yet! You’ll probably end up making tweaks based on your melody.
Part Three: Instrumentation
Looking back at your lyrics/topic and how you want the song to feel, consider how the music can support the message and write down your thoughts. Some questions to consider:
- How do you want it to feel? Simple and bare? Starting out simple and then building to a powerful climax? Starting out strong with something fun and/or powerful? Do you want the music to contrast with your lyrics to soften or dramatacize the tone?
- What instruments could help create the feeling you want?
- Are there places where you may want the volume (dynamics), tempo, and/or key to change?
- What range do you want it to have?
- Are there any places where certain sounds could help illustrate your lyrics?
- Is there anything else that you just really want in the song?
Step Four: Developing a Melody
Now that you know what your song is about, have lyrics (if desired), and know how you want it to feel, it’s time to develop a melody!
Keep in mind you probably won’t like the first thing you come up with. Alternatively, you may find that it sounds very similar to a favorite tune. But don’t worry, it’s not a problem. You’re getting the creative juices flowing. Just keep making up different things until you get the vibe that you want. Then adjust parts as needed or desired until you have something unique that you love.
With lyrics it’s fairly easy to just pick a line and start humming. Note that unless you’re recording yourself, it’s easiest to work with just one or two lines at a time, rather than trying to come up with the tune for the whole song all at once. That way you won’t risk forgetting the really awesome parts!
If you don’t have lyrics, you can make up a tune without them. However, if you’d like, you could choose a phrase of any length to use as a filler while you play with different styles.
For example, when I’m in the car, I frequently make up different melodies using the phrase, “I’m driving”. Sounds silly, and it is, but it’s loads of fun and great practice! Over time you’ll notice you can come up with stuff you like much faster. I highly recommend it!
After you’ve got something you like, you’ll want to record it so you don’t forget it. You can do this with a voice recorder or app, or skip straight to sheet music if you know how.
Step Five: Writing Sheet Music
I can’t pick out notes by ear, so I need to identify them before I can write them down. Two ways you could do this are with a digital piano that shows the notes on a music staff, or just by clicking around on different notes in a music notation software.
Personally, I suggest MuseScore 3. When I first tried MuseScore several years ago, I found it super frustrating. However, it’s since become much more user-friendly. I’m totally in love with it now! It’s completely free and has an awesome playback ability so you don’t have to imagine how your piece sounds. When you first install it, it will offer to give you a tutorial, which I recommend. It’s really not complicated to use, it just isn’t always super intuitive.
In case anyone runs into this, I had trouble figuring out how to get an even number of measures on each line, but it turned out to be as simple as clicking the last measure you want in the line and then hitting the enter key on your keyboard.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by any of the vocabulary, there are a lot of great music glossaries available with a quick internet search.
Step Six: Fleshing it Out & Polishing it Up
After you’ve put your melody into MuseScore, you can play back the whole thing or specific parts at a time. This allows you to hear what sounds good as you hum different harmonies and rhythms to flesh out your song. Add whatever else you’d like and edit to your heart’s content. Before you know it you’ll be listening to your finished song! You can then export your sheet music to PDF and/or the audio to MP3 to use and share as you please! Have fun!
