How to Write a Song

Learn how to write a song with good lyrics

Author: Carlos

How to Write a Good Song Professionally

by Carlos

Published on: June 5, 2011

Categories: How to write a good song

Tags: how to write a good song, singorama

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Good songs don't just happen

Check out the best songwriting guide I’ve seen online.

Learning how to write a good song is not much different than learning how to write an article, a short story, or a poem.

I like to write from the outside in. That means when writing a song, I think about how I want the song to make me and my audience feel first.

I only think about how to write lyrics after that.

The next step in songwriting involves creating a concept. Then comes creating a skeleton for the song which outlines where the all the verses, choruses, bridges, intros/outros will go.

Finally comes the actual songwriting for those sections (usually I’ll write the verses last). At least that’s how I do it.

The makers of Singorama (the best course out for aspiring musicians) have actually put together a really comprehensive guide that explains songwriting in a lot more detail.

I actually want to do a uncensored review of both the Singorama Course and their songwriting guide…because each is a little different. I’ll be going over both the good and bad points so if you don’t want to hear that you may as well just skip over this.

First is the songwriting guide which overflows with guidance on how to write a song.

Check out Singorama’s Superior Songwriting guide here.

If you have no idea where to begin, this songwriting guide explains how to write a song step by step and I do recommend it. It has helped me to write a song for the first time and from then on practicing as I’ve been taught has lead me to continuous improvement.

The songwriting guide also provides you with help writing a song in any genre, which is important because you should always be open to trying new things musically.

However, one bad thing about the course is that it only focuses on songwriting. Since it’s only meant for aspiring songwriters, it leaves some important things out.

Songwriting, after all, is just one part of what aspiring musicians need to master.

Learning how to sing is just as important as learning how to write a good song.

If you’re looking for a more complete professional singing and songwriting course I recommend Singorama’s ORIGINAL Course. You can check it out here.

This course also teaches you how to write a good song. Audio Lesson #25 in this course, for example, gives some great tips on how to write a rock song, that work just as well in learning how to write a rap song.

However, most of the focus on this course is on signing tips and lessons that will make you sound like a true professional.

I mean, you can write the hottest song (maybe you already have) but if you can’t sing it or rap it properly then what good is it really?

For all my aspiring MC’s who think they will never be able to sing their own choruses, this course will prove you wrong by teaching you the importance of controlling your tone and pitch.

If you’re already a singer it will help extend your vocal range, master hitting those perfect notes, explain bad habits you should avoid, and give you tips on how to harmonize perfectly.

If you’re brand new to singing and songwriting, the course teaches you how to breathe properly, strengthen your voice, find your rhythm, stay in tune, how to connect your “two voices”, and more.

The one bad thing about the Singorama course is that it may be a little expensive for some beginners, but if you seriously want to learn how to sing better, then the price really isn’t that ridiculous.

You can learn more about both of these courses below.

Learn how to sing better with the Singorama course.

Learn how to write a good song with the Superior Songwriting Guide.

How to Record a Song on your Computer

by Carlos

Published on: May 25, 2011

Categories: How to record a song on a computer

Tags: recording music from home, recording songs on a computer

Comments: 1 Comment

See the program that finally taught me how to record a professional sounding song from home.

If you want to know how to record a song on your computer let me start by explaining some basic requirements.

(Note: There is certainly other equipment and more sophisticated audio interfaces and production tools you might want to use when setting up a home studio, these are the bare essentials only)

What you’ll need:

1) A computer (with the most memory you can afford, $400+)

2) A condenser microphone (with a pre-amp or at least phantom power, $70+)

3) Studio headphones ($25+)

4) Recording Software (ie. Pro Tools, Adobe Audition, Ableton Live, etc., Free+)

If you’ve read a little about me then you know I’ve been a long-time fan of music who started out with a simple goal – Learning how to write a song. After I finally started improving my songwriting abilities the next logical step was for me to learn how to record a song.

I started off many years ago by browsing search engines for the phrase, “how to record a song on your computer”, since I didn’t have the budget to pay for studio time.

Honestly though, since I was starting from scratch, most of the articles on websites and topics on the forums were confusing. I guess I needed someone to hold my hand from the beginning because I hadn’t even heard of words like compression, equalizing, stacking, etc., much less knew what they meant.

Learning how to record a song on your computer was starting to look impossible.

Thankfully I had the good fortune of landing an internship at a major radio station and got to talk with dj’s who explained things to me about recording vocals. For example, I learned that you always need to do multiple takes (even if you get your verse/chorus perfect the first time!) This is because you have to layer or stack your vocals and “ad lib tracks” to give a richer/fuller sound to your voice.

I also had a friend in J. River, an ASCAP artist with his own studio, who I spent a lot of time with as he and other artists laid down tracks and recorded their vocals. That type of first hand experience is priceless, but rare.

Now, even though Jordan (J. River) is a friend, back then, I understood his time was valuable and asking him to teach me how to record professional music at home was going to be a time-consuming request to ask…so there was only so much I actually learned from him (after all I tend to ask a lot of questions).

Then one day I discovered a program that seemed like exactly what I was looking for. It was written by a Warner Brothers recording artist and was straight to the point.

It not only made clear how to record a song on a computer, but it also explained how some recording equipment was completely unnecessary (thank God) and how if not used correctly could actually make your songs sound worse…

Click here to see the product I’m talking about.

Even though I already knew some basics of home recording, I liked that the Owen Critchley’s Easy Home Recording Blueprint explained how to mix and master vocals in a way that any singer or rapper could use.

Plus it was cheap…I didn’t even have to buy any equipment that I didn’t already have, so that was cool.

The one bad thing about the product was that it didn’t differentiate much between the various genres of music you can possibly record. I guess it’s up to you to play around a bit with your sound.

The best part was that it was a step-by-step outline for how to record a song on your computer, professionally. I mean you actually follow along with the guy step by step on video as he records a song.

Since then I’ve recorded plenty of songs and even wrote an e-book myself on the broader subject of learning how to rap, write, record and promote rap music. You can hear a an original sample track I purposely recorded with just a laptop and a $50 microphone on this YouTube video (forward to 2:45)

All in all, recording songs on a computer is easy but requires more information than anyone can fit into a single article and this is the best program I have found in all my years searching. I recommend you check it out and see what you think.

Click here to learn more about the Easy Home Recording Blueprint.

How to write a song from the start

by Carlos

Published on: May 21, 2011

Categories: How to write a song

Tags: help writing a song, sonwriting techniques, tips on how to write a song, writing songs

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Music is a beautiful thing. Have you ever listened to a song and imagined being the person who wrote it or performed it?

I know when I was younger I imagined signing up for a talent show at school and suddenly singing or rapping a song by one of my favorite artists (but in this daydream no one but me had ever heard the song before) leaving everyone totally shocked.

There was a problem, though. First I had to learn how to write a song…an original song. That meant I had to say things my favorite artists would say, before they said them. But how would I ever possibly be able to think what he/she thinks, or know what that person knows?

The first answer is experience.

Your favorite artists talk from experience. Experience usually comes with age but in some cases it comes with the obstacles one faces in life. And experience doesn’t just come… You can be old as hell and and have nothing useful or interesting to say.

You have to look inside yourself and reflect on what’s going on in your life and the lives of others around you. Pay attention to history, read, experiment with talking to new people…develop your own identity.

Which leads to the next thing, personality. Kanye West is an ass, a conceited, annoying and arrogant ass, but he’s also witty and occasionally makes good music. It is what it is…but that’s him. That’s his personality. Taylor Swift is a sweet independent girl who is introspective and mature for her age. That’s her personality. The list goes on…

Once you develop your personality (this can develop over time by the way) it will be the first step in developing your style. This all leads to you gaining confidence and being comfortable with your audience. As a matter of fact, you can’t know who your audience is without first knowing who YOU are. Developing your personality and your perspective on life is crucial, and is the part that often takes the longest to master.

And believe me it is also critical to know who your main audience is…because for one, they will be much like you, and two, that is who you will be writing your songs for (despite what anyone else might tell you).

How to write a song from the start

Let’s take it from the start. First you must allow time to grow as a person per the suggestions above. This will eventually allow you to discover ideas to write a song to. You won’t have to keep wondering what to write a song about because you will know who you are and if you’re a true artist at heart (you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t), that’s all that you’ll need for song concepts to just flow infinitely.

Think about what’s important to you, what do you want to tell the world about? Then stick with that until your song is complete.

It is also helpful to sometimes set aside some songs to write to. By this I mean it’s good to have about 6-8 songs on repeat that you just listen to and vibe to, depending on your mood. You don’t have to write to the same beat of those songs, but write to the mood of them…or at least let them get you in the mood or frame of mind to write the song you want to write.

Once you have some life experience, develop your unique perspective on life, and let your emotions come to the surface (sometimes with the help of other songs, books, etc.)…now you’re ready to write a song.

Learn how to rap with Rap Fundamentals, The Complete Guide to Writing, Recording and Promoting Rap Music.

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