How to Write Your Own Song: Discover The Common Mistakes Songwriters Make

Hello readers, in this article am going to be writing about songwriting techniques and common mistakes songwriters make when writing their own lyrics or when singing.
Song writing generally is a branch of music, and music is known to be a kind of sound that is pleasant to the ears, this means, any sound that is not pleasant to the ears is noise.
The major problem some musicians face is not been able to write their own songs, they buy song lyrics. Now you must know that you are not a complete singer if you can't write and sing you own songs.
Song writing, requires a specific kind of technique which am going to show you now.

Here are the simple steps to take when writing you own songs

1. Give the Song a Title: Yes! that is you first step, title! A journey cannot start without a destination, you must first know what your song would be talking about, e.g. The title maybe about your "child-hood life".

2. Give the Song a genre: Your next question to yourself would be "what would be the song genre?" is it going to be blues, R&B, Hip-Hop type etc. Another thing that might decide the genre of the song is your voice type, is it a bass type, tenor, soprano, etc.

3. Use the last word of the title to give the rhyme: Every good singer must know how to rhyme, lack of rhyming in music makes the song uninteresting. Now using an example of the title of our song "My Child-hood life" let's try and give our song a rhyme.

Song title: My Childhood life
Genre: Blues

Chorus:
"This is the story of my child hood life"
"How I was maltreated by my father's wife"
"How I was chased around the house with a knife" etc, etc.

The rhymes should be in a good timing order, e.g. 4/4, this means another 4 rhyme words after the first 4 rhyme words (life, wife, knife, strife/Pain, rain, no gain, struck my brain). A song cannot be 1/1, 3/3 or 5/5 it cannot rhyme. It should either be 2/2 or 4/4, but 4/4 is highly recommended by me.

4. Use the title to make the chorus: After naming the song title, and genre, your next step is using the title as the chorus, think of the most interesting words in the  story. The chorus determines the power of the song.

5. Think about the Verse: Now your next question would be, How many verses will the song have? two or three? two verses with a rap? etc, etc. and start writing the verses based on your story in the song title.

6. Sing the song aloud: If you concentrate on just writing songs without singing it aloud, you will discover that you made a lot if mistake, try to sing the song aloud, if possible call somebody to listen to the song while you sing it, let them judge it.

7. Go for a beat: This is you last step: Get a Beat for your song and master it. You can go to a studio etc.
Singing and writing of songs are very simple if you can read carefully and master these simple techniques, if you don't follow these steps that is when you started making mistakes.

Some Challenges Singers meet

Hi everyone, in this article, am going to be talking about some challenges singers meet when writing their songs and when singing in public.


There are many challenges in singing, ranging from voice control, to song timing.

Some singers don't know how to control their voices when singing, for example, you discovered within yourself that you have a big voice (the bass type), in this case you should think within yourself and ask yourself some questions like "what kind of songs will be good for this my voice?" or "how can i control my voice in a particular type of song?". This are 2 good type of questions you should ask yourself before choosing a song type, OK! now that you asked yourself that question you should be able to know if you voice will fit for a Reggae, Blues, R&B, Hip hop or other genres of music.

Talking about the song timing, many singers make song timing mistakes when singing, when you listen carefully to some music, you hear things like rhymes (ex. meet, street, feet, teeth etc.) these make a song interesting, especially when using your songs to tell a story (ex. I wake up in the morning and stretched my feet, said a thank you prayers then brushed my teeth, little exercise then i went out the street, looking for new friends to meet.) makes sense? good. Your songs must have rhymes if you want them interesting. 

Another major challenge singers meet is TENSION, do you know what tension is? let me tell you. Tension is anxious feelings, ex. you go out in a public places like stages, churches and so on, suddenly you hear the presenter say "lets welcome to stage a great singer all the way from New york City, put you hands together for ..........." you then discover that you suddenly forgot the song you wanted to sing, because you were filling anxious, it happens many times even to me, but until i discovered some simple tricks that you can use to over come tension,

1. Try to Drink a lot of water before entering the stage to sing: this will make you voice smooth and also control tension.

2. Try and jog or do little press-up or any kind of exercise if you are filling too nervous: this will make you get confidence




3. Make sure you practise very well before entering a stage to sing: if you don't practise very well, you may forget the song, usually the beginning of the song, yes! many singers likely forget the starting of a song, thereby making them not to know where the song starts from, this is why some musician keep on saying some words like "yeah yeah yeah.... put your hands up 1000s of time" just to remember the starting of the music, don't let this happen to you.




Summary, read my previous posts to learn how to write your songs by your self, and also make sure you avoid making mistakes when singing.




Lastly: Do you have passion for singing? you can turn it to a business on line and make money


click here to read about me

Seven steps to learning a new song

It takes more flexibility to sing words and melody together, so after you have warmed

up and worked out, your voice should be ready for the more demanding task of singing

songs. This part of your practice routine is set aside to perfect notes and rhythms, study

lyrics, add stylistic interpretation and combine all these details into a technical and

musical whole.

Here are the 7 steps to learning a new song

1. Rhythm

It is important to learn the notes and rhythms of your songs first. Take the time to read through the song rhythmically, and clap, or say “tah,” on the written rhythms.

Use a metronome to maintain a steady beat, and don’t skip this step just because

you already know the song from a recording. Recording artists take liberties with

written notes and rhythms. You need to know the original written notes and rhythms

to see what the composer intended—then you can make it your own interpretation.

In some styles of music you can take a great deal of liberty with the rhythms, and in

other styles it is not appropriate.

2. Melody

After learning the rhythms, plunk out the melody on a keyboard. Learn the shape of

the tune and review any tricky intervals, without worrying about keeping a strict

rhythm. How does the melody lie in your voice? You should be able to sing through

the song without straining.

If the song feels too high or too low, experiment, singing it in different keys. Once you

have decided on a key, you need written music or a lead sheet in that key. Do not ask

an accompanist to transpose on sight during an audition or performance. Computer

programs can transpose tunes and produce charts that are easy to read. Band-in-a-

Box, for example, includes the accompaniment for many tunes and allows you to

transpose them easily. Finale and Overture require more skill, but can produce better,

more sophisticated charts.

Jazz standards and pop tunes are often transposed into a key that suits the singer’s

voice. Some musical theater pieces, such as songs by Cole Porter, have become jazz

standards and also can be transposed. Opera arias, however, are usually performed

in the key in which they were written. The same goes for classic musical theater repertoire

(e.g., Oklahoma, Carousel, The King and I) and other music of this genre, which

is generally intended for specific voice types.

3. Rhythm and melody without lyrics

Stand up, away from the piano or keyboard, and sing your song in rhythm on a favorable

vowel sound, but without the lyrics. Make the melody flow from note to note,

observe dynamic markings, and check tricky rhythms and intervals. Plan where you

will breathe, and work out your phrasing by marking (’) in your music. This basic

groundwork will save you time in the long run. If you’ve planned your phrasing well,

you won’t get stuck having to breath in the middle of a word or run out of air at the

end of phrases.

4. Add basic accompaniment

Sing the melody in rhythm on a favorable vowel with the accompaniment or basic

chord changes—don’t skip this step. Never take a song into an audition or performance

situation without first working with the accompaniment. It can change your

entire concept of the melody and throw you off balance in the pressure of a performance

situation. If you are working from a lead sheet, there are many ways a song

can be harmonized or played with a different rhythmic feel. It depends on your

accompanist and how well you describe the rhythmic feel and tempo you want.

5. Study the lyrics

Look up words you don’t understand, and look for underlying meaning in the text.

Can you relate to it enough to give a good interpretation? You don’t need to have lived

the story of a song to sing it, but you should be able to empathize enough with the

lyrics to give a meaningful interpretation. Think of yourself as an actor interpreting

dramatic text for an audience.

6. Listen to recordings

Listen to recordings by other artists and make observations that help you define your

concept of a song. Constantly imitating the sound of other singers is not vocally

healthy. However, you can learn a great deal from recordings by observing the phrasing,

tempo, rhythmic feel, and interpretation. How does the singer interpret the

melody, rhythm, and harmony? Is the key of the song higher or lower than the keyyou are singing? Notice the singer’s voice quality. Do you like it? Is the rhythmic feel

or groove in the accompaniment what you imagined it would be like? How is it different

from the printed music? What is the style the song (ballad, up-tempo, rock,

jazz, Latin, etc.)? Answering these questions when you listen will help you fine-tune

your concept of a song.

7. Interpret the song

Interpreting means adding your own personal expression to a song. It can be in the

way you deliver the lyrics, or if stylistically appropriate, changes to the melody or

rhythm. It also includes changes from specified dynamics, a different harmonization,

addition or subtraction of vibrato in your voice, and experimenting with different vocal

colors. Interpretation should come after you do the basic groundwork to learn a piece.

The best way to begin is to study the text. If you address the lyrics, the rest will come

with practice and experience. Understand what you are singing and try to express the

feelings and emotions of the lyrics to your audience. If you watch yourself in a mirror,

you will see that subtle expression in your eyes can enhance your communication of

a song. Singers can also learn to interpret by studying standard songs and transcribing

the actual melodies sung by great singers. Studying what great singers do with a

song can spark your own ideas

About Me

How to Avoid Getting Cracks in Your Voice When Singing

Singing can be a quite embarrassing time to have your voice crack. Luckily, this can be prevented by taking a few steps.Sometimes your voice cracks may be beyond your control. However, in some circumstances it is possible to prevent or fix this embarrassing situation. 

Here Are Some Steps to TAKE

1. Practice singing. If you have control over your voice, you may be able to keep it from cracking. If it's really very hard, hold your stomach and sing. You want your voice to be really deep!! Practice pitch control and see if you are able to hold said pitch without letting your voice crack.

2. Actively sing. If you try to sing well, and really think about what pitches you are hitting, you may build enough control to keep yourself from breaking the pitch.

3. Ask for help. If you take lessons from an instructor, ask them if they have any tips or tricks to help your voice. They have most likely experienced this themselves, or have seen many cases of this in their teaching experience.

4. Drink water before singing. Keeping your throat moist can help you have better control over what you sing. If the cracking is caused by a dry throat, this is an easy fix. Swallow a teaspoon of olive oil.

5. Try voice exercises that help you inflate and contract your vocal chords. These exercises if practiced regularly, can help you gain better control over your voice and prevent it from cracking.

6. Keep your diaphragm down at all times. If you are cracking notes, it means you're over blowing your notes which is not good

 

IS SINGING YOUR PROBLEM?

Many people everyday wants to be good singers, but are faced with many problems, some people keep asking, In order for me to be a good singer, what are some tips on how to start up, what are the Problems, challenges involved and how can I overcome all these problems, if you need tips on how to sing, how to write lyrics, and all other singing related tips and solutions, I am here to train you for a perfect music life.

This is my first post so if you are viewing now, my later posts will be along with e books and also free tips and solutions.

First of all, as a potential singer, you must have a good voice, ability to write your own music, ability to display in public, ability to overcome tension, off tune singing, and off timing, ability to sing high pitches and rhymes etc.

Here in this blog, you will be learning how to train you VOICE naturally too and overcome TENSION. Tension is one of the things that make some potential musicians not able to perform in public and singing in studios, you can sing, here i will help you to discover the ABILITY in YOU.

Today's Lession is 
Believe that YOU can Sing.

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