I was in the studio with this guy a few days ago. he has a nice voice, always singing about popping champagne(smiles) ,and stuff. so while we were listening to the play list, he heard the track I have a dream,
he told me he really liked the song, and then he asked me "how would one write a song like this?"
MY RESPONSE (summary)
For me, I think when you are writing a song, you are either getting inspired by something to write the song, or you are out-rightly going ahead to develop lyrics based on a particular subject matter.in a creative way.
In the first instance, that is when you are inspired,It could be consciously or unconsciously. The song can come to you based on your Thoughts, your present situation, your relationship, tradition. or even forgotten memories, at times. Sometime the inspiration of the song might come from something you cant understand at that moment, but later will be unfolded.This kind of song usually tells a true story of a person or a person's feeling or a particular subject as the case may be.
When you are creating an idea from scratch, it often come as a result of our imagination and research, and as a result, a more fictitious song is usually the outcome.
Whichever way, when writing a song i discovered that there are some basic things that can be used as a guideline to pen down something meaningful.
1. FOCUS.
When writing a great song, its necessary to have the main topic of focus e.g Love, Freedom, heartbreak, Money etc. In the sample song, the part that says "I have a dream that i will rule my world, I have a dream that i will be a super star" and then it goes on to say in the rap "I am in tune with my mind, there's various secrets i now realize". This is referring to a greater understanding of the dream and a determination to attain that height which is the focus of the song. We can also focus on a particular subject, but use another thing to describe it. this is known as Metaphors.
2. GOOD WORDINGS
A good song should have the perfect language ,choice of words and expression to convey the desired message. Depending on the kind of song, it also nice for the song to make mention of things that relate to it(Directly or indirectly). For example Heartbreaks and headaches, women and party, oceans and feelings and so on. You also here the part that says"Addicted to winning, accept my prophecy, the voice of a leader sounds clearer than tunes from Orchestra". The words are arranged to match the theme of the song which is having a dream, realizing it, and materializing it, but it uses the tunes of orchestra(indirect) to emphasize determination.
3. MESSAGE
A great song should have some sort of meaning that one could definitely benefit from. It should also have a message that can last in the mind of the listener for a very long period of time. Most of the songs from people like Micheal Jackson, Phil collins, Lionel richie and so many others have stayed long enough to be recognized, and this people have been an inspiration to me personally
as far as my songwriting is concerned. So be whatever you want to be, Rule your world.
4. ARRANGEMENT
A great song should have a good arrangement to compliment the kind of message it intends to dish out. for example it could have a pre-chorus after each verse to emphasize something. or it could have an interlude to bring a new dimension of thought. whichever way, i believe a good arrangement can bring out the hidden beauty of a lyrics.
At the end of the day, its still subjective, and like i said, this is just a summary(sharing my 2cents), but i think it's a basic idea of songwriting that a lot of people don't have the time for this days(from my observation in the studio). Please do share your knowledge about writing a great song in the comment box, so we can all improve in our song writing.
The song "i have a dream"came from inspiration because it downed on me suddenly, and i just felt like it was arranged even before i started writing it down.
When writing a great song, its necessary to have the main topic of focus e.g Love, Freedom, heartbreak, Money etc. In the sample song, the part that says "I have a dream that i will rule my world, I have a dream that i will be a super star" and then it goes on to say in the rap "I am in tune with my mind, there's various secrets i now realize". This is referring to a greater understanding of the dream and a determination to attain that height which is the focus of the song. We can also focus on a particular subject, but use another thing to describe it. this is known as Metaphors.
2. GOOD WORDINGS
A good song should have the perfect language ,choice of words and expression to convey the desired message. Depending on the kind of song, it also nice for the song to make mention of things that relate to it(Directly or indirectly). For example Heartbreaks and headaches, women and party, oceans and feelings and so on. You also here the part that says"Addicted to winning, accept my prophecy, the voice of a leader sounds clearer than tunes from Orchestra". The words are arranged to match the theme of the song which is having a dream, realizing it, and materializing it, but it uses the tunes of orchestra(indirect) to emphasize determination.
3. MESSAGE
A great song should have some sort of meaning that one could definitely benefit from. It should also have a message that can last in the mind of the listener for a very long period of time. Most of the songs from people like Micheal Jackson, Phil collins, Lionel richie and so many others have stayed long enough to be recognized, and this people have been an inspiration to me personally
as far as my songwriting is concerned. So be whatever you want to be, Rule your world.
4. ARRANGEMENT
A great song should have a good arrangement to compliment the kind of message it intends to dish out. for example it could have a pre-chorus after each verse to emphasize something. or it could have an interlude to bring a new dimension of thought. whichever way, i believe a good arrangement can bring out the hidden beauty of a lyrics.
At the end of the day, its still subjective, and like i said, this is just a summary(sharing my 2cents), but i think it's a basic idea of songwriting that a lot of people don't have the time for this days(from my observation in the studio). Please do share your knowledge about writing a great song in the comment box, so we can all improve in our song writing.
The song "i have a dream"came from inspiration because it downed on me suddenly, and i just felt like it was arranged even before i started writing it down.
You can listen to I have a dream, and drop your feedback