Writing music is messy. People often think it's this magical, lightning-strike moment where a melody descends from the heavens, but honestly? It’s mostly just sitting in a chair and refusing to get up until something doesn't suck. If you want to know how to write a good song, you have to stop waiting for inspiration to find you. You have to hunt it down with a net.
Most beginners trip up because they try to be profound. They want to write the next "Yesterday" or "Humble" on their first go. That's a mistake. Real songwriting is about observation. It’s about that weird way your neighbor waters his plants at 2:00 AM or the specific hollow sound of a subway station. It is granular.
Great songs aren't made of vague emotions like "sadness" or "love." They are built from the specific debris of a life lived.
The Myth of the "Perfect" First Draft
Stop trying to edit while you create. It’s like trying to sweep the floor while people are still dancing on it. When you’re figuring out how to write a good song, your first priority is just finishing. Anything. A bad song finished is infinitely more valuable than a "masterpiece" that only exists as a voice memo on your phone.
Professional songwriters, the ones in Nashville or LA who churn out hits, have a saying: "Dare to be stupid." They’ll throw out the cheesiest, dumbest lines just to keep the momentum going. Why? Because you can’t fix a blank page. You can fix a line about a "blue sky," even if it’s a cliché, by changing it later to something like "a sky the color of a faded bruise."
Start with the Title
Try this: write down ten titles. Don't write music. Don't hum. Just write ten phrases that sound like they could be a song.
"The Last Gas Station in Ohio."
"Phone Screen Ghost."
"Sunday Morning Apology."
Once you have a title, you have a destination. You’re not just wandering around the fretboard anymore. You are writing toward a specific idea. This is how the pros do it. It’s a trick to bypass the "I don't know what to write about" phase.
Melodic Math vs. Pure Feeling
Melody is where the soul is, but it also has some "math" to it. Most popular songs rely on the balance of tension and release. If your melody stays in the same three notes for the whole song, people get bored. Their brains stop paying attention. You need to leap.
Think about the interval of a "perfect fifth." It’s stable. It feels like coming home. Now think about a "minor second." It’s itchy. It’s uncomfortable. Knowing how to write a good song involves using that itchiness in the verse to make the chorus feel like a relief.
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Max Martin, arguably the most successful songwriter of the last thirty years, uses a concept called "melodic math." He looks for balance. If the verse has a lot of words and a fast rhythm, the chorus should probably have long, sustained notes. Contrast is everything. If everything is loud, nothing is loud.
The Hook is Your Boss
The hook isn't just the chorus. It’s the "earworm" factor. It could be a guitar riff, a specific drum fill, or a vocal "ooh." If someone can't hum your song after hearing it once, you haven't written a hook yet. You've just written a poem with background noise.
Why Structure Isn't a Cage
Some people hate the idea of Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus. They think it’s "too commercial."
Look.
Structure is a map. It’s there so the listener doesn't get lost. You can go off-road, sure, but you better be a really good driver. For most of us, the standard structure works because it mirrors how humans process information. We like familiarity, then we like a little surprise, then we want to go back to what we know.
- The Verse: This is the "Once upon a time." It’s the details. The setting.
- The Pre-Chorus: The "But then..." This builds the energy. It’s the ramp.
- The Chorus: The "The Moral of the Story." This is the big emotional payoff.
- The Bridge: The "On the other hand." This is a new perspective or a shift in tone.
Vulnerability is Your Only Currency
You can have the best production in the world, but if you aren't saying something real, no one cares. People don't listen to songs to hear how cool you are. They listen to hear how much you are like them.
When you’re learning how to write a good song, look for the things you’re slightly embarrassed to say out loud. That’s usually where the "gold" is. If a lyric makes you feel a little bit naked, keep it. That’s the line that will make a stranger in another country feel less alone.
Take a look at Phoebe Bridgers or Kendrick Lamar. They aren't hiding. They are putting the specific, sometimes ugly, details of their psyche on display. That’s why people are obsessed with them. It’s not just the beats; it’s the truth.
Kill Your Darlings
This is the hardest part. Sometimes you write a line that is objectively brilliant. It’s poetic. It’s clever. But it doesn't fit the song.
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Cut it.
If it doesn't serve the central theme of the song, it’s a distraction. Save it for another day. A good song is a cohesive unit, not a collection of your favorite sentences.
The Tools of the Trade (That Aren't Instruments)
You don't need a $5,000 Gibson to write a hit. Bill Withers wrote "Ain't No Sunshine" while working at a factory making toilet seats for 747s. He was 31.
What you actually need:
- A Rhyme Dictionary: Use RhymeZone or a physical copy. Don't guess.
- A Thesaurus: "Sad" is boring. "Melancholy," "gutted," or "wistful" are better.
- A Voice Memo App: Ideas are slippery. If you don't record that melody while you’re in the shower, it’s gone forever.
- Object Writing: A technique popularized by Pat Pattison at Berklee College of Music. Pick an object (like a "rusty key") and write about it using all five senses for ten minutes every morning.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Don't over-rhyme. "Cat" and "Hat" is fine for Dr. Seuss, but in a song, it can sound juvenile. Try "slant rhymes" (also called near-rhymes). "Orange" and "Storage." "Heart" and "Dark." They feel more modern and less predictable.
Avoid "clumping." This is when you put too many ideas into one song. If you’re writing about a breakup, don't also try to talk about your political views and your childhood dog. Pick one lane and drive fast.
Also, watch your "prosody." This is the relationship between the lyrics and the music. If you’re writing a sad lyric about a funeral, don't put it over a bright, bouncy major chord progression unless you’re being intentionally ironic. The music should feel like what the words are saying.
Refinement: The "Next Day" Test
Once you finish a draft, walk away. Don't listen to it for 24 hours. When you come back with "fresh ears," you’ll immediately hear the parts that are dragging. You’ll notice the lyrics that don't make sense.
Songwriting is rewriting.
Most "famous" songs went through ten versions before they hit the studio. Leonard Cohen famously took years to finish "Hallelujah," writing dozens of verses before narrowing it down to the ones we know. Don't be afraid to throw half of it away.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
If you’re stuck right now, do these three things:
- Change your environment. If you always write in your bedroom, go to a park. If you always use a guitar, sit at a piano. Even if you don't know how to play piano, the different interface will force your brain to make different choices.
- Limit your choices. Tell yourself you can only use three chords. Or you can only use words with one syllable. Sometimes, total freedom is the enemy of creativity. Constraints force you to be clever.
- Rewrite a favorite. Take a song you love, keep the melody, but write entirely new lyrics for it. This is "scaffolding." It helps you feel the "shape" of a good song without the pressure of inventing everything from scratch.
The secret to how to write a good song is simply that there is no secret. There is only the work. You write a lot of bad songs to get to the good ones. You stay curious. You keep your ears open. And most importantly, you finish what you start.
Now, go grab a pen and a notebook. Write the first line about the most interesting thing you saw today. Don't worry if it's "good." Just make it real.