Hello Songwriters!

If you ever get stuck writing a song or find yourself never finishing songs, here's a song planner that might help you:

1. CHOOSE A LYRICAL THEME
Decide what your song is going to be about. Falling in love? Heartbreak? Overcoming challenge? Having a good
time? Write an outline that summarizes what the song is about.

2. BRAINSTORM
List as many ideas, concepts and phrases as possible around the lyrical theme that you've chosen. You'll have the lyrical theme, ideas for lyrics, song structure, and musical ideas laid out already. All you have to do now is fill in the gaps by writing and refining the lyrics.

3. RESEARCH (FIND NEW WAYS TO SAY YOUR IDEA)
"I love you" is overused. Search for quotes (google quotes) related to your ideas to find new ways to say them. Use them for inspiration or rephrase the quotes that you like.

4. PLAN YOUR SONG OUT
Start planning out what the different parts of your song will be about - verses, pre-choruses, chorus, bridge. At this point write single sentence descriptions

5. ENSURE YOUR SONG HAS A POINT
What is the point or your song? Check that your song has one main point it is trying to convey - not 0 or 10. The point of the song will typically appear in the chorus. Understand why your song exists and how it is going to move the listener.

6. MATCH THE SONG'S SOUND TO THE LYRICS
Start trying out musical ideas that fit your lyrics. Explore different moods, chord progressions, rhythms & melodies. Use prosody to determine the feel of the song. Match the musical theme to the lyrical theme.

7. WRITE THE SONG
You'll have the lyrical theme, ideas for lyrics, song structure, and musical ideas laid out already. All you have to do now is fill in the gaps by writing and refining the lyrics.

8. RE-WRITE THE SONG
Edit the lyrics/melody/arrangement to turn a good song into a great song. Make lyrics more concise and precise. Make sure lyrics works with the melody and implement prosody. Do as many rewrites as necessary.

Cheers!
John M