New writers sometimes strike gold and discover a songwriting ‘formula’ that really works for them. It could be the result of a particular chord progression—or the use of a specific climactic chord change or musical phrase—but it helps them to create a new kind of song that evokes the best response they’ve ever had from listeners. It’s a great feeling to find that you’ve finally made such an important breakthrough in your songwriting. Naturally, you will want to take advantage of this winning ‘formula’ to help you establish your own distinctive sound and style.
But be careful not to end up writing songs that are all built around the same few notes, chords and keys.
While each new song may sound great on its own, there is a danger that you could end up with a collection of songs that all sound alike—especially if you put them together on the same demo submission or a showcase album (or on your own website, YouTube channel or Sound cloud page).
So don’t keep using the same progressions again and again. Create a few surprises by inserting new chords into your basic ‘formula’. Or take the same chords and twist them around.
You may find that trying out the same chord progression in two or three different keys can lead to a completely new melody line. If you’re a guitarist, try playing your successful ‘formula’ on a piano (or vice versa). You may find it sparks a whole new set of ideas.
You can also make similarly-constructed songs sound different by varying the rhythm of your melodies. In other words, vary the note lengths from song to song (and within songs) to create contrast. Using a different combination of sustained notes, shorter notes and staccato notes will make your songs stand apart from each other.
And don’t open every song in the same way. If most of your tracks have a four-bar instrumental intro, try adding some variety by starting a song with the chorus in- stead.
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