6 Ways To Become A Better Songwriter
Becoming a better songwriter is something virtually all artists aspire to be. If you're serious about your craft, you'll always be looking for ways to enhance your songwriting, whether it's writing better choruses or making your music flow better from verse to verse. In this article, we'll present ways you can become a better songwriter.
1 - Study Your Idols & Other Artists.
If your learning is limited only to your catalog, you miss out on a whole lot of gems that have been left over by some of your biggest idols or musical greats. Take some time to make a list of your biggest inspirations and spend a portion of your day listening to their discography. This can be a couple of albums or everything they've made.
We advise that you first listen to one of their latest tracks, and compare their flow, lyric structure, and writing ability to some of their first songs. You'll notice that many artists didn't start with the rhythm and ability they now possess. When comparing songs, write down the tracks you're comparing and make notes on what things you notice. Are their hooks shorter and more gripping? Do their sentences flow smoother or worse than before?
Developing an ear for certain parts of a song is a great way to bring your learning into your production environment. One artist, I noticed a big difference in was Drake. Back in the day, his music was primarily him singing and creating great melodies, whereas he now focusses on incredible punchlines and flows that weave in and out of the instrumental. What can you learn from your favorite artists?
2 - Rethink Structure/production
When you think back throughout the music industry (even to last year), what is it you notice about some of the biggest hit songs? One thing I've noticed, and this spans decades, is that some of the biggest songs challenged the status quo when it came to either the structure of the lyrics and the production of the song.
Here are a few examples:
Travis Scott - Highest In The Room
Travis is renowned for having some of the dopest adlibs in the Hip-Hop scene, something many artists have attempted to copy over the years since he helped popularize them. It's his subtle additions to his songs, however, that have helped cement Travis' name into people's minds as soon as they hear it. What "Highest In The Room" achieved was having a beautiful form of track production. The faded vibe it gives off, as well as the hard-hitting 808's and superbly-strummed guitar melody, takes you to another world. In addition, Travis' lyrics on the song are often-times hard to understand, which may be, in part, his idea of producing a body of work that encourages you to think and enjoy without too much contemplation. Give it a listen here.
Ariana Grande - Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored
The first time I heard Break Up With Your Boyfriend was from my girlfriend, so you can imagine how crazy I went 😂 - All jokes aside, one of the geniuses of this track is the songwriting. Ariana gets into the hook of the track by about 00:40, and immediately shows her songwriting ability. The rhyming of certain aspects like "Cause I'm borrrred", with "you can hit it in the morning...... like it's yourrrrs". This subtle weaving in and out of rhythmic wording becomes incredibly catchy before the chorus even finishes. To top it all off, towards the end of the chorus, she says "I know it ain't right, but I don't care" - Then creates a soulful harmony when she says "yeaaahhhh" which hooks the audience further before going into her second verse. Have a listen here.
James Arthur - You Deserve Better
James Arthur is famed for winning the UK talent show: Britains Got Talent. After disappearing for a few years, James shocked the world with his new track, "You Deserve Better", featuring an amazing melody, combined with incredible instrumentation and songwriting. At 2:40 leading up to his final chorus, there's an amazing harmony formed as he hums. This layering of the humming adds a ton of depth to the track. It's important to remember that songwriting isn't only about the spoken words, but about the small elements (adlibs included) that give a listener a unique experience. Listen to the track here.
Dutch Melrose - Because It Mattered
Independent artist Dutch Melrose has risen through the ranks over the past year. From having only a handful of streams a few years ago to amassing over 100,000 per month as of this article. He's undoubtedly one of the industry's gems when it comes to songwriting. This is made evident in his track, "Stay AWhile". At 0:20, Dutch gets straight into proving his rapping (as well as lyrical) ability to hook listeners, and then, as fast as the verse began, he slows things down as he builds up to the chorus of the track. This rollercoaster of flows stays true to his style across his catalog. It's clear that he wants to show his audience that he isn't a one-style type of artist, but in fact, someone who can adapt to anything that's thrown at him.
at 1:07, we hear a sort of warped sound effect that adds cadence Dutch is trying to achieve. As if the start of the chorus wasn't mesmerizing enough, notice the elegant usage of adlibs between words at 1:12.
3. Co-write Songs
One way to really push the boat out and help you enhance your songwriting skills it to pair up with someone else. Two of the reasons this works so well is because A) You can get influenced by your co-writers verse and B) You can learn from their songwriting process.
Challenge yourself to listen to collaborations and notice elements that both artists bring to a track. Sometimes a collaborator may slow things down, speed things up, or even make their verse really melodic. Identify changes in tonality and let this flourish in your own songwriting processes.
4. Free-write And Sing
This is a slightly unconventional tip, but one that I'm sure many artists have used over the years to spur songwriting inspiration. Even Michael Jackson would start writing songs by humming melodies and beatboxing them. He'd then sound out words and keep layering verses, even if it wasn't his final product.
Sing or rap whatever it is that comes to mind, even if you're saying nonsense. The idea is to find a melody or hook that you think works, so that you can then build on it. Think of this technique as building the foundations of a house. Once you get the melody down, you can then begin building the supports and adding everything else to help create the final product.
5. Do Less
A while ago, a good friend of mine from Croatia sent me a snippet of a book about Pablo Picasso. A wealthy individual had commissioned him to paint something for him, and let Pablo do what he needed to do. He provided a room and whatever else he needed.
At one point, he looked out into his garden and noticed Picasso sitting on the grass doing nothing. As you can imagine, the man must've felt as though Picasso was simply wasting his time and being lazy.
My question to you, the reader, is: do you think Picasso was being lazy? - The reality is, Picasso was taking time to think. In order to be creative, you have to put away all of the sensory pleasures that keep us distracted and on high-alert like cell phones, laptops, music, and other things. This is one reason why some of the greatest minds like Einstein and Tesla talk about the importance of solitude. Not "loud" solitude or solitude where you're walking, talking, or listening to music, but simply being alone. Whether by yourself or in nature.
In order to think clearly and come up with beautiful ideas, we must disconnect from time-to-time. Try it. Simply sit with yourself, and imagine something, anything.
6. Get Better Sleep & Stay Hydrated
Please do not overlook this tip. In order to function at our peak form, we must be getting good quality sleep and be hydrated. Our brain alone is made up of over 70% water. The crazy part is that the brain also consumes the most calories of any other organ in the body, so if you're sleepy or not hydrated, how do you expect yourself to write the best songs you've ever written? Here's an image outlining how much of our body is made up of water:
As for sleep, the latest research found by Sleep expert Matthew Walker is that "sleep" isn't something we can simply skip out on now, and then make up for later. Poor sleep can result in: A poorer immune system; poorer organ function, spiked cortisol levels (stress hormone), lethargy, mood swings, and even more (the list goes on forever!). Matthew Walker suggests that we get at least 7-8 hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep every night.
Some Sleep Tips:
- Avoid screens or unnatural light for at least 30 minutes to one hour before bed.
- Only lay in bed when you feel tired, as staying awake in bed makes your brain associate being awake with your bed = thus you staying awake.
- If you're not tired whilst laying in bed, do some push-ups or walk around your house until you feel a little exhausted.
- Don't take alcohol or marijuana to get to sleep, these things produce a "sedative" like sleep, not real, deep-wave sleep.
- Cut out caffeine at-least 10 hours before you plan to sleep. So around midday for most people.
- Drink a full cup of water as soon as you wake up to help hydrate the body immediately.