Learning Center
Pop Songwriting
Some people feel that songwriting cannot be taught. However, we here at Intune Music School believe that this skill of writing songs can be developed in everyone, because there are many accomplished writers who may not even have any musical background to start with! All it takes is some hard work and dedication to music!
For those who are interested in pop songwriting, here are some main points to take note of:
- Chords and Chord Progressions
- Melody and Lyrics
- Music Arrangement and Playing Patterns
- Dynamics and Feel
There are major and minor chords, and even augmented or diminished chords that songwriters can use to create the music for their songs. There are also various chord progressions that achieve various moods in a song, sometimes positive and inspiring, and sometimes sad. To find out more about the basics of chords and chord progressions, check out the online lesson on Pop Keyboard Sing and Play!
Melody and Lyrics are two of the most important components of a song, apart from the chords and progressions used. Most of the time, people who write songs will start writing a new melody, and then put lyrics to this melody composed. However, it is also possible to have a new set of lyrics first, and then put an original melody to the lyrics. It all depends on the songwriter, and which method he or she prefers when writing songs.
Once the writer has finished composing the melody and lyrics for a song, he or she would have to do a demo for the song, so as to be able to pitch the song to record companies or recording artistes! This will be when the music arrangement for the song will come into play. Music arrangement refers to the kind of musical style that the song has, and is affected by the drum beat, instrument sounds used, as well as the instrument layering that goes on in the song!
Some songwriters may start off a new song composition with the chords and chord progressions, and work on the music arrangement before filling in the melody and lyrics for the song! They do this because it helps them to get the overall feel of the song, since they have a clear idea of how the music sounds like!
Finally, the dynamics of the song are vital in order to create the desired effects required by the song composer! In songwriting, dynamics and feel are extremely important, especially since many musicians need to feel their songs and music and visualize their songs in their minds and hearts!
These 4 points are only the basic points for Pop Songwriting, and serve as a summary guide to the complete set of skills one would learn when one undergoes a Pop Songwriting Programme.
Learn Other Lesson
- Pop Singing or Pop Vocals
- Pop Keyboard Sing and Play
- Music Arrangement (coming soon...)