A song is a musical composition that has lyrics and melodies. A song can also have a rhythmic beat or tempo, chord progressions and instrumentation, although these characteristics are not always present in all songs. A song can be written for a solo singer, a lead singer supported by backing singers or for an entire ensemble (including a string quartet, big band, choir or opera). Songs may have a memorable part that sticks in the mind of listeners; this is often called a hook.
Writing a song starts with inspiration. This could be from a personal experience, an event in the news, a movie or book, another song or piece of music, or something else entirely. Many accomplished Songwriters suggest that the first step is to try and find a concept that will inspire the other elements of the song, be it words for a title, an idea for a melody or chords, or a hook.
Once the inspiration is found, the songwriter may start experimenting with lyrics and melodies to see how they fit together. This is where the creativity comes in – there is no right or wrong way to do this and it is important to not be afraid of failure. Some of the most famous songs in the world began with just a few notes on an acoustic guitar, or even just an idea for the chorus or verse.
When deciding how to structure the song, the writer should keep in mind that they want to be able to easily follow and understand the song. It should flow well and segue smoothly from one section to the next. This will be easier to do if the sections are of similar lengths and if they contain a common theme. A final point to remember is that, while copyright law allows for quoting of certain works within analysis articles, it is generally not possible to include the full lyrics or music videos of copyrighted songs in article discussion (unless they are in the public domain).