Not knowing where to start when writing your own songs can be frustrating. The one thing to remember is that there are virtually no rules. A lot of famous artists would not have made it to where they are without coming up with their own unique style and way of writing songs, and many stick with the same format and structure throughout their whole career! So, finding a process that suits you as a musician is a good place to start.

So, where DO you start? It might sound obvious but like most things, start with what you know. Here are some tips to help you utilise your respective instrument when writing your first song.

GUITARISTS

• Begin with a few chords that you can play confidently. You can always alter and add to chords afterwards
• Use scales you have learned to create a melody that sounds great to you when it’s played over your chords.
• If you like rock music, try playing the chords as power chords
• If you have any guitar pedals, try creating an interesting guitar tone or add an effect on to your sound to make it unique

DRUMMERS

• Start with a beat that you understand and can play well. You can always add to or change it later.
• Change the tempo of your beat to see whether you prefer the song played slower or faster.
• Try to incorporate rudiments into your beats and fills, for example flams, paradiddles or rolls.
• Think about dynamics. Maybe your chorus would benefit from your verse being quieter.

BASSISTS

• Take a few notes that work well together and play them in a simple sequence
• Now, within the correct scale, add passing notes to make the transitions between each important note more interesting
• Change the rhythms to see if you can make it groove even better
• Experiment with different octaves, some notes might sound better higher or lower in certain parts of your song

PIANISTS

• Use a key that you find easy to play in. You can always learn how to play your song in a different key afterwards.
• Find 4 chords that work well together and try inverting them to make them playable with the left hand only
• Using scales, arpeggios and broken chords, try to come up with a lead melody that your right hand can play
• Experiment with playing in different octaves. If your song has a quiet section, try playing an octave higher

SINGERS

• If you’re writing lyrics, start with a topic you are passionate about and write down words related to that topic
• Highlight words that rhyme or sound the same and use shorter words to fill out your lyrics when needed
• Make sure the key of the song suits your range and you can hit the highest and lowest notes in the song confidently
• Try singing different parts of the song in both your chest and head voice to see what is most comfortable for you

I believe that having a strong understanding of music theory can dramatically speed up the songwriting process. Everyone thinks differently but the best music in my opinion has light and shade. Experiment with highs and lows, loud and soft, simple and complicated, and my top tip… pure silence in a song can have the biggest impact of all.

The very idea of ‘singing in harmony’ is something that many singers find daunting and challenging. Unlike other instruments, we can’t see what our voice is doing, so picking out and holding a harmony comes with that extra challenge. Let’s have a look at some things that’ll help you out when experimenting with vocal harmony, or part singing in a vocal group…

VISUALISATION
Because our voice is so perceptual to us, visualisation techniques can be really helpful when working with pitch in general. Spend some time with your own voice and focus on how each note in your range feels to you (not just sounds). Can you feel where the note resonates in your body? Even the idea of that feeling/placement can really help you land notes in the right place, so can you create an imaginary place the notes are landing?

LISTEN TO THE STYLE OF THE HARMONY
This might sound pretty obvious, but there’s more to listening than just, well, listening! There are many different types of harmony singing, each with their own rewards and challenges. You could be trying for an ‘Expanded Lead Vocal’ Harmony, which means you are singing a vocal line that sits above or below the lead vocal, and matches it rhythmically. You could be singing ‘Backing Vocals’, which are their own separate part to the lead vocals, adding their own texture to the song. A variation on that is the The ‘Pre-emptive Melody Backing Vocal’, made very famous by The Beatles: the backing vocalists actually sing the lyrics (but with a different melody, or a harmony) before the lead vocalist (the song ‘Help’ is a great example of this). Or you might be doing the most challenging of them all, ‘Choral’ Harmony; most typically associated with choirs. You will still find this is commercial music, especially with the likes of vocal A Cappella group The Pentatonix.

BE LOUD AND WRONG (aka; confident!)
Our voice is hugely influenced by our emotions and mindset. If you go at a vocal line convinced you’re going to get it wrong, then guess what, you will! Similarly if you sing it correctly, but quietly and unconvincingly, your voice will still get the message that you don’t really know what you are doing, which makes the margin for error much, much bigger. Especially when first learning or experimenting with harmonies, sing boldly and confidently. If it does go wrong, at least you’ll know about it, and can work on correcting it.

PRACTISE MAKES PROGRESS
As with anything, if you want to improve, you’ve got to put the time in. There are many ways you can practice harmonies – you could practice with your teacher; pick a duet or a song with harmony lines and try singing the part that’s not the lead whilst your teacher sings the lead vocal. Similarly, you could do this practice with your favourite singers; stick on your favourite songs, and see if you can pick out a harmony line to sing over the top instead of singing the lead. Or if you’re working on a particular song, record yourself, and then sing along with yourself experimenting with harmonies. At the end of the day, singing in harmony should be fun and exciting, not a chore. Have fun in whatever way you decide to explore harmony singing, and allow yourself to experiment and make mistakes along the way, it’s all part of the process.