How to Write Original Songs You LOVE

Songwriting For Guitar, Piano, or With Just Your Voice

Imagine that it is a Thursday evening and you walk a few blocks to the pizza shop. While walking, you hear a tune that you have never heard before pop into your head. You continue developing this tune for a few more minutes. By the time you get to the pizza shop you found that you have composed an entire song in your head. Then on the way back from the pizza shop, you figure out the chords and music for your song. Then you get home, take out your guitar and start playing your new song.

This may sound far off. But this could be you.

Believe it or not, you can learn to write songs with ease. And you can learn to write songs that you LOVE.

It does not have to be difficult to write a song, yet most people stop themselves from even trying by convincing themselves that they could never write good songs. Or they may have tried to write a song and hated the way it sounded. So they gave up.

In this article, you will learn how to approach writing a song will learn a practical exercise that you can use to create a new song today.

If you want to write a song using just your voice, you will use a slightly different approach than writing a song on guitar or piano. In this article we will discuss the different writing strategies separately

Write a Song With Just Your Voice

What you will need:

  • A tape recorder or recording app on your phone
  • Temporarily remove any self-criticism – you must write bad songs and learn how to improve before you can create good songs
  • Patience

You do not need ANY musical training to write a basic song with your voice.  You could write the lyrics first or the melody. Or you could write both together.

There are many ways to write a song, and after you get the hang of writing good songs, you will have inspiration from time to time. However, to consistently write songs you LOVE, it is important to have a repeatable strategy.

Here is one great strategy. Find a place to sit with a notebook (or laptop). Determine theme for your song: a love song, a song for a deceased loved one, a breakup song, a happy song, a sad song, etc. Then determine a basic tempo: slow, medium, fast. Then determine a basic structure for the song (i.e. verse, Chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus).
Every song has different parts. The verse starts the story and creates the backdrop for the song. The chorus is the repeated, memorable part of the song. Many songs have a “bridge,” which is when the music changes a little from the verse and chorus.

It’s best to start with just a simple melody and some simple words. You can hum a tune with or without lyrics and record yourself into your phone or tape recorder so you don’t forget.

Key Tip: When listening to the recording do not judge yourself or whether the song is good or bad. If you judge your song and/or your sound, there is a 99% chance that you will not like what you hear on the recording no matter how good or bad it actually is. When listening to recordings of yourself, simply listen to it as if you are a 3rd party listening to some other person’s song. You can give yourself constructive feedback, but resist the temptation to simply delete the recording or say it is bad.

Key Tip #2: Start with a simple melody. Then spend the time to actually finish the song. You will feel really good just to finish a song.


Write a Song With Guitar or Piano

What you will need:

  • An instrument (piano, guitar, or your voice)
  • Basic understanding of chords: C G Am F (if playing the original song on piano or guitar)
    • If you do not know these chords, read How to Play Basic Chords
  • Patience

This is a simple strategy to write a song on guitar or piano. First, play the chords C G Am F. Play eight beats of each chord.

C x 8   G  x8   Am x 8   F x 8    Repeat
C x 8   G  x8   Am x 8   F x 8    
End on C chord.

Next record yourself playing these chords into a phone or tape recorder.
Next play your recording. While your recording is playing, you will create your own melody using only single notes. Create your own melody using only the notes c, d, & e.   You can play the notes in any order and with any rhythm along with the recording of the C G Am F chords.

After doing this  a few times, see if you can come up with a melody that you can remember. Then record the melody on your phone or recorder.

Below is an example of a melody you might write.

When playing c, d, and e in any order along with the recording of the chords, you will discover that it can be relatively easy to create a new melody.

Songwriting can be fun and fulfilling when you approach it with the right mindset and expectations.

If you are struggling to write a song or understand any part of this article, contact Josh Ross at Josh@jropro.com.  Feel free to send a recording of the song you created or any questions you may have.

To learn more about how to sing, play piano, or to play guitar, find a music teacher near you who specializes in teaching students to master this art. You will benefit greatly from guitar, piano, or voice lessons from a master instructor.

About the author: Josh Ross is a professional musician and the founder of the J-RO School of Music in Troy, MI. For the past decade, he has empowered his students to reach their musical dreams and to experience incredible fulfillment through music.

Josh Ross – Founder J-RO School of Music
Piano, Voice, & Guitar Lessons in Troy, MI