There are many factors to writing a successful song. First, you need to focus on writing a good song. Once you’ve done that, you won’t be far from writing a hit.
Like most things in life, it takes persistence, patience, drive, knowledge, belief, and maybe a little luck.
Stop and think about your favorite songs. Really analyze them and find out what you like about those songs.
Different factors can come into play here. Maybe it’s the good beat, a lyric that hits you, a beautiful melody, something spiritual or patriotic, or maybe it’s even humorous.
If you include one of these elements in your composition, you are on the right track. If you combine two or more of these items, you might have a hit.
a good rhythm
Rhythm is important in music. I have to laugh and think of Jerry Van Dyke on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” years ago trying to play the banjo and singing, “I’ve got rhy-rhy-thm, I’ve got mah-mah-music….”
But unless you’re really funny like Jerry Van Dyke, your audience is unlikely to stick with you.
Your music not only needs to have a good beat, but it needs to fit the genre of music you’re trying to write. A Metallica beat on a George Strait-type song might not get you very far. A song with a good enough beat can be a hit even without melody and lyrics. Do you remember “Green Onions”?
Along with the rhythm is the tempo. Country music is easy to write (I didn’t say it’s easy to write well) because it’s about people’s everyday lives and experiences. Too often, though, people write slow songs for country music, when in reality the industry is starving for upbeat country stuff like “Country Roads” and “Rocky Top.” It’s much harder to write a good up-tempo country song than it is to write a tearjerker.
Popular music lyrics can range from broken relationships to political issues, and just about anything in between. The ones that tend to be the most popular are about situations that you and I may encounter in our daily lives; “Workin’ 9 to 5”, “I Just Call to Say I Love You”, “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “God Bless The USA” (wittily incorporating spiritual, political and patriotic viewpoints).
A beautiful or interesting melody can launch you into the ranks of successful songwriters without the need for lyrics. Going back in time to prove a point about beautiful melodies, you might consider songs like “Last Date” and “Sleepwalk.”
It’s very easy to find songs with great melodic lines in many hit TV show songs like “Peter Gunn”, “Hawaii 5-0”, along with many 60’s surf songs like “Wipe Out”.
Well-crafted humorous songs often find an audience, such as Ray Stevens’ “The Streak” and Jerry Reeds’ “She Got The Goldmine, I Got The Shaft.” If you have a flair for humor and music, you could make a fortune.
Spiritual and patriotic songs, if they’re done right and come out at the right time, are easy hits. Whenever the US gets involved in any kind of global conflict, songwriters express their thoughts.
Keep your ears and eyes open, and have a shoebox to put your song ideas in. Every time you think of a song idea or song title, write it down and put it in the box. It could be your first big hit or your next.
