The ability to keep coming up with catchy, memorable hooks is a valuable skill that will increase your chances of songwriting success. But don’t make the mistake of believing that writing an outstanding hook will automatically result in a great song. An average song with a great hook is still an average song.
A distinctive hook line is an important part of any song because it helps to communicate what you’re trying to say and makes it easier for the listener to remember what you’re saying. But any weaknesses elsewhere in the song can’t be fixed by adding an amazing lyrical hook, or an infectious instrumental or production hook. Music professionals will still judge your talent on the whole song.
You still need a well-structured verse that tells an interesting story and gives the song substance, plus an exciting pre-chorus that propels listeners into the chorus itself, and a contrasting bridge that gives your song an extra lift and an additional point of interest.
Many top writers start with a killer hook and then build all of the other sections around it—rather than trying to find a hook that will help make an existing song sound stronger.
If you’ve got a great chorus-based hook but you’re struggling to find a verse that lives up to the quality of the chorus, here’s a trick I’ve suggested to many of my songwriters over the years:
Take the chorus and hook that you’ve written for another incomplete song and use it as the basis of the VERSE for the song you’re trying to finish.
In other words, the chord progression and melody from the chorus of Song 2 becomes the verse for Song 1 (obviously you’ll need to put them in the same key and add new lyrics).
This simple solution could result in a very commercial song because it will have both a catchy verse and an easy-to-remember chorus!
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