“Anytime I write something that’s trying to be too smart, it doesn’t work”
—Emeli Sandé
Most songs tend to be between three and five minutes long, so you only have a limited amount of time in which to create a lasting impression—whether the listener is a music publisher, an A&R rep, a record producer, or a potential record buyer.
If your song structure and lyrics are too complicated, the song could end up sounding clumsy and difficult to understand—and listeners may find it hard to grasp what you’re trying to communicate to them.
Don’t fall into the trap of believing that you have to make every line clever or tricky in order to demonstrate your talent and originality.
Just make sure your song form is clear, predictable and easy to follow. Keeping it simple will make it easier for people to remember the song.
Listeners have subconsciously come to expect to hear certain elements in today’s songs. That’s why the four tried and tested variations of the Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus form are used again and again by top writers.
Even an intense writer like Laura Nyro revealed that she had a love for basic song structure. “Although sometimes you’d never know it,” she admitted.
Don’t make your chord progressions so complicated that they don’t flow properly and end up wandering aimlessly. Having said that, you don’t have to make them too predictable. Throw in a few surprise chords from time to time to keep the song interesting.
Carefully analyze your songs to make sure you’re not putting too many messages into them. Remember, a song should contain only one story or one message told from a single point of view. Lyrically, you can avoid confusion by using the view- point character’s thoughts and perceptions to drive the song.
These days, many pop singles are ‘produced’ rather than ‘written’ in the traditional sense. They rely on stacks of instrumentation and vocals and clever studio techniques. But a great song is one that still works and has an emotional impact on an audience when it is stripped down to just one vocal and a single guitar or piano. Think Adele … a piano … and ‘Someone Like You’.
As Sting once remarked: “Songs have to be simple. It’s not like you have a huge canvas to paint on or a novel length to fill. You’ve got to tell the story in two verses, a chorus and a coda and that takes some skill.”
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