i'm going to be frank: how do you write a song?!

i really getting annoyed trying to write a song, i just can't think of anyhting, i don't know how to fit it together and i don't know what chords/scales to use, what do i do?

please help everyone!!

I don't really think about how it all fits togethr to begin with. It usually starts with mumbling and strumming. If I'm getting a good feel for it I flesh out the melody over the basic chord pattern. Then I try to add a change of some sort...at the moment of conception I usually only try for a two-parter, though sometimes I'm lucky and more just happens to come out. When I've got that chord progression and (hopefully) dazzling melody to go along with it I strum and sing (just nonsense lyrics) it into my little tape recorder. From there it awaits me getting in the mood to write actual lyrics, change and refine melodies/chord progressions and or add new ones as well as decide on the structure of the song.

That's how most of mine come about but I have written songs in other ways as well (ususally when the whole thing pops fully formed in my head).

See the thread:

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=108389

for some insight

You're thinking about this way too much.

Don't worry about scales, modes, and all of that stuff. It's useful as a tool and a language, but I don't start writing a song thinking...hmmm what mode should this be in. Some do, but not me. Start with the melody, and then find chords that work under it. Be sure and have a good idea of what you're writing about, and then form verses and a bridge around that concice idea. I could go on and on, but really the answer is...you just "do it." I don't think any artist can really say where the ideas come from, they're just there - poof! Sometimes they're inspired from another melody or song, or sometimes they're out of a desire to write something out of the ordinary that you normally write, but most of the time - like blameshifter said - sometimes it just pops in there. If there were a science to it, and a precise method on how to write a song, everyone would do it.

Good luck.

Play G / / / C / / / D / / / D / / /

You've done it!

But seriously, learn a little bit about what chords

go together. Then experiment with changing from

chord to chord to chord until you find something

you like.

The example above is the famous I, IV, V pattern. That

is about 40% of all pop songs ever written.

There are many other "standard" progressions, but

you want to find your own things. So relax and play.

Good advice from Mr. Tasty. Just start writing what's in your head, then play it, listen to it, rewrite it. You didn't specify where you're getting stuck, so give more info, i.e., you've got lyrics , but can't get music to match, or vice-vera, you've got a lyrical or melodic idea, but no structure, you've got a good handle on chords and scales, but want to put them together with lyrics, you can write music but have never written words, whatever. Tell us where you're stuck. Cheers.

I'll be julia...

Having the music "riff" or melody before writting the lyrics is the best place to start . I'm assuming you play guitar, and hopefully you have all "A" through "G" basic open major and minor chords "wired" (knowing the I-IV-V progression would help, too).

Then, you're gonna want to come up with a "hook" (or technically: a chorus). As the name implies, it should be catchy (but not necessarily). The hook can be about anything or nothing. It can be monotone or melodic...whatever works for you.

From here, you can just try to elaborate on whatever the hook says/means in order to fill out the song (technically: write a few "verses"). You can throw in a "bridge" (a verse that is musically different and breaks up the flow of the rest of the music), but it's not absolutely necessary.

Your're obviously a beginner, so fake it at first, record it and then listen to it whenever it's convenient. The more you listen to it, the more you'll see where the song is weak (or strong). Either go back and fix this song or write a new one using what you learned from the previous. Have fun (and if the song sucks, don't let anybody else hear it)

I started out on an old Fostex X-15 multitracker (you should be able to find one for under $99), but you'll probably want to do this on your computer/re-writable CD.

Of course, eventually you're going to want to learn how to modulate between keys (using "5ths" as a pivot), but I recorded and learned allot of fun stuff before I learned the basic technicalities (theory) of music.