It’s an hour before your big show at Madison Square Garden. You’re in your limo on the way to the venue, listening to the radio, and the DJ announces that the next song has been number one on the charts for a record breaking period of time. The song begins to play, and suddenly you realize...it’s your song!

Maybe your goals are as ambitious as those described above, or maybe you just want to entertain your family and friends or simply express yourself musically. But whatever your reasons, you can learn to write a popular song. So if you have a guitar that’s been sitting in the closet or an old piano that’s been collecting dust, rummage around and pull that guitar out; dust off that keyboard—we’ll make a songwriter out of you yet.

The Structure of a Popular Song

Popular songs typically consists of three musical parts: the verse, the chorus, and the bridge. There is also frequently an intro that is distinct from the other three parts. Lyrically, every verse is different (though a verse, usually the first, will often be repeated at the end of a song), the chorus is always the same (or with minor variations), and the bridge, if repeated more than once, can be either the same or different. The verses alternate with the choruses, and the bridge is inserted, usually in the last half of the song, for musical variation. Sometimes there are two verses for every one chorus. A typical structure looks like this: intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus. There are no hard and fast rules about the structure of a popular song, but these three elements—verse, chorus, and bridge—are almost always present.

To illustrate these principles, let’s take a look at a very popular song indeed, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles. The song begins with a musical intro (the short melodic phrase repeated three times by the guitar). The first verse begins when the vocalist comes in ("Oh, yeah I tell you something..."). After the first verse comes the chorus ("I want to hold your hand..."). Then comes another verse and chorus, then, the bridge ("And when I touch you I feel happy..."). After the bridge is another verse ("Yeah you got that something...") and chorus. Then, there is another bridge, followed by the last verse and chorus. At the end they repeat the chorus several times; this is very common. Notice that each part is melodically distinct.

I’ve used the Beatles as an example, but the kind of structure seen in "I Want to Hold Your Hand" can be seen in every genre of popular music—rock, country, pop, rhythm and blues, easy listening, and even rap. So you know how to structure your song; now comes the hard part. But before we talk about writing a melody, let’s go over some key musical concepts first.

A Crash Course in Music Theory

I’m now going to talk a little about some of the technical aspects of music. If you don’t understand everything at first, don’t worry. Everything will become clearer as we move along.

There are twelve notes in music; they are (going up a half-step at a time) A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, and G# (# = sharp). After that G# comes A again, only one octave higher than the A we started on. There is a whole step (two half steps) from one note to another except from B to C and E to F, which are half steps (that is why there’s no B# and E#). This business of half steps and whole steps can be illustrated best on a piano keyboard: from one key to another (regardless of color) is a half step, and two half steps make a whole step. Now, remember the major scale? You probably learned it in school, when your teacher had you sing "do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do." Every note has a major scale, and we say that the major scale is in the "key" of the note on which it starts. So, for example, a major scale that begins on C is a C major scale. A major scale can be defined as follows: starting from the first note, "do" (which determines the key), go up a whole step to "re"; from "re" go up a whole step to "mi"; from "mi" go up a half step to "fa"; from "fa" go up a whole step to "so"; from "so" go up a whole step to "la"; from "la" go up a whole step to "ti"; and from "ti" go up a half step to "do." So that’s whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. Thus the C major scale (which has no sharps or flats) is C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. To play this scale on a piano, begin on C, and play the white keys until you reach C again. We can also assign the notes in a major scale numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1. For example, in C major, C = 1, D = 2, E = 3, F = 4, G = 5, A = 6, B = 7, and C = 1 (or 8, because it’s an octave higher than the C we started on). Now we can say that in any major scale there is a half step from 3 to 4 and from 7 to 1; except for those two instances, the interval between notes in the major scale is a whole step.

Now if you want to write a song in a major key, you have to use chords that harmonize with the scale. The result is that the 1, 4, and 5 chords are major chords; the 2, 3, and 6 chords are minor chords; and the 7 chord is diminished (this chord is rarely used in popular music and I will therefore not be mentioning it again). So in C major, these are the chords you have to work with: C major (the 1 chord), D minor (the 2 chord), E minor (the 3 chord), F major (the 4 chord), G major (the 5 chord), and A minor (the 6 chord). The 6 note in a major scale is called the relative minor; that is, a major scale, beginning on 6 and ending on 6, is a minor scale in the key of 6. So if you want to play a song in A minor, use the same chords as you would use for C major.

If you haven’t understood anything I’ve said, don’t worry. Here are some common keys, the chords you can use if you’re writing in that key, and the number that corresponds with the chord (something you’ll need later). Key of C major: C major (1), F major (4), G major (5), A minor (6), D minor (2), and E minor (3). Key of G major: G major (1), C major (4), D major (5), E minor (6), A minor (2), B minor (3). Key of A major: A major (1), D major (4), E major (5), F# minor (6), B minor (2), C# minor (3). Key of D major: D major (1), G major (4), A major (5), B minor (6), E minor (2), F# minor (3). If you don’t know how to make these chords on your instrument, you’ll need to get a chord chart—they’re easy to read and they don’t require any knowledge of theory!

One last thing before we move on: time signatures. Most popular songs are in 4/4 or 3/4. The bottom number tells you what note gets the beat (e.g., 4 = quarter note) and the top number tells you how many beats are in a measure. Don’t worry too much about the bottom number; just pay attention to the top number. In 4/4 there are four beats per measure; in 3/4 there are three. The first beat is emphasized more strongly than the other beats. So in 4/4 you would count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on. In 3/4 you’d count: 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, etc. "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat" is in 4/4 time. "Amazing Grace" is in 3/4.

Now that you’re thoroughly confused, let’s move on to writing the melody.

Writing the Melody

The easiest way to write a melody is to come up with the chord progression first and write the melody to fit that chord progression. There are a lot of songs out there that only use three chords: the 1 chord, the 4 chord, and the 5 chord. These three chords can be combined in innumerable ways. Here are a few things to keep in mind: the chord progression typically starts on the 1 chord and goes to the 5 chord before resolving back to the 1 chord; the 5 chord creates tension: it makes the listener want to return to the 1 chord. A typical chord progression might look like this: 1, 4, 1, 5. The chord progression for a blues song looks like this: 1, 4, 1, 5, 4, 1, 5. (Remember, you don’t have to stay on each chord in a progression for the same length of time.) Here’s the chord progression for "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" (the chord numbers are in parentheses): (1) Twinkle, twinkle, (4) little (1) star, (4) how I (1) wonder (5) what you (1) are.

In addition to the 1, 4, and 5 chords, you can also use the other chords in the key (2, 3, and 6, all of which are minor chords). Minor chords tend to sound sadder than major chords, and songs in minor keys (centered around the 6 chord) tend to have melancholy lyrics. You can also experiment with using chords that are not in the same key—a flat 7 major chord (a major chord a half step lower than the 7 note in the major scale) is a popular example. For instance, in the key of G major, an F major chord would be a flat 7 major chord.

The best way to come up with a chord progression is by trial and error. You can also use the chord progression from another song (as long as the melody is different). It might be easier for you to write the lyrics first and then write the chord progression. However you decide to do it, though, there should be one chord progression for the verse, one for the chorus, and another for the bridge. The chord progression for the verse establishes the key and therefore usually starts on the 1 chord. The chord progression for the chorus often begins on the 4 chord. The chord progression for the bridge often begins on the 6 chord (which, as you know, is minor). These are only generalizations. No chord progression is absolutely wrong.

Now that you have your chord progression, it’s time to write the melody. The piano is an ideal instrument for writing a melody—all the notes are laid out and organized for you. To make things easier, you might want to transpose your song to the key of C for the moment (which you can easily do, since you know the numbers that correspond to the chords). The reason for this is that, on a piano, the white keys are the C major scale. Have a friend play your chord progression or record it on a tape recorder and play it back. As your chord progression is being played over and over again, just start playing around on those white keys. There are some general rules I could give you for writing a melody—such as, if you skip notes on the scale, do it in thirds or fifths, and after a jump like that, switch directions—but these rules can be and are broken more than any other rules in music. A melody is very subjective. The ultimate test is whether it sounds good to you.

Another way to write a melody is to play your chord progression and hum or sing along, trying out ideas. If you already have lyrics, try singing them in whatever way comes to mind. The chord progression will often suggest a melody.

Writing the Lyrics

Some people like to write the lyrics first, and some prefer to write the lyrics after they have written the melody. If you write the lyrics first, you’ll need to write the melody to fit the lyrics, and if you write the melody first, you’ll need to write the lyrics to fit the melody. Both ways have their advantages, and as you gain experience in song writing, you’ll find the way that works best for you. But whether you write them first or last, there are a few things you’ll have to know.

The ballad stanza is the most popular lyrical form in English for songs and has been for a long time now. The ballad stanza consists of four lines, usually rhyming ABCB, but sometimes rhyming ABAB. Here’s an example from Bob Dylan’s "Blowing in the Wind": "How many roads must a man walk down / Before you can call him a man? / How many seas must the white dove sail / Before she sleeps in the sand." This sort of stanza is often used in the verses, and there are frequently two such stanzas per verse. It can also be used in the chorus and bridge.

There are several other forms that you can use: the couplet (two lines that rhyme); a ballad stanza followed by a couplet; two tercets (stanzas of three lines each); etc. Generally, the number of lines in a verse, chorus, or bridge is even. The lines can rhyme (or not rhyme) any way you want them to. The lines themselves should be more or less regular metrically. That is, the lines should have about the same number of syllables and the stresses should be in the same places (but you have a lot of freedom in determining what words will be stressed). The reason for metrical regularity is that you only have a certain amount of time to sing the line in, and every line will be sung to the same melody. The melody, however, is often varied slightly to accommodate the lyrics.

Remember, lyrically the verses are different, but the chorus is the same. The chorus repeats the same lyrics over and over again throughout the song. Obviously, your chorus needs to be strong to bear that much repeating. Often (though by no means always) the verses will tell a story while the chorus repeats the theme or the emphasizes some aspect of the story. The chorus will always be relevant to the verse that precedes it, and though the lyrics of the chorus never change, the meaning can change subtly throughout the song as the verses reveal more information. The chorus will sometimes change slightly (by a word or two), and this change often occurs in the last chorus, where the lyrical content of the song resolves itself—this technique is very popular in country music.

As with the melody, there are no hard and fast rules for writing the lyrics. You are the final judge as to whether the lyrics are "right" or not.

Putting It All Together

You’re finally done writing your first song. All that remains is to put it all together. This is where all your hard work pays off. You begin to play the chord progression and sing the first verse, then you burst into the chorus...you get goose bumps! Hopefully other people will, too. If not, don’t be discouraged. If you keep writing songs that you like, refining your craft with each new song you write, eventually other people will like them, too. And who knows? Maybe you’ll turn on the radio one day and hear a song that you wrote.