Most songs are not written - they are rewritten. The difference between amateur and professional writers is rarely the first draft. It is what happens next.
Finish a first draft
Get to the end before you start fixing. A complete draft - verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus - with weak lines is far more useful than a perfect first verse with nothing after it. Use placeholder lines if you need to.
Leave it, then come back
Put the song away for a day or two. Distance lets you hear it the way a listener will. Lines you loved may now sound clumsy; problems you could not see will be obvious.
The rewriting checklist
Work through the song asking:
- The idea. Can you state what the song is about in one sentence? Does every section serve it?
- The title. Is it in the strongest position? Is it repeated enough?
- The chorus. Is it simple, memorable and singable? Is it the emotional peak?
- The verses. Does each move the story forward? Is verse two as strong as verse one?
- Showing and telling. Are there specific images where there are now general statements?
- Rhyme. Are any lines there only for the rhyme?
- Prosody. Do stressed syllables land on strong beats? Do the important words get the musical emphasis?
- Melody. Does the chorus lift above the verse? Is there a compelling moment?
- Surprise. Is there at least one moment that defies expectation?
- Length. Can anything be cut?
Demo it
Record a simple demo - voice and piano or guitar is enough. Hearing the song sung back reveals problems you cannot see on paper: lines that are hard to sing, phrases that run out of breath, a chorus that does not lift.
Get feedback
Play it to people whose taste you trust - ideally including someone who is not a musician. Ask specific questions: what is the song about? What was the best moment? Where did you lose interest? Listen without defending.
Co-writing
Most hit songs now have several writers. Co-writing brings in skills and ideas you do not have, and it teaches you about your own habits.
- Come prepared with titles, ideas and fragments.
- Say yes, then edit. Shooting down ideas early kills sessions.
- Agree splits at the end of the session, in writing, while everyone remembers who did what. Equal splits among everyone in the room is a common convention; whatever you decide, write it down.
Know when to stop
A song can be rewritten forever. At some point, further changes stop making it better and start making it different. When you have been through the checklist, fixed the biggest problems, and changes have become sideways rather than forwards - the song is finished. Start the next one.
Do this now
- Take your most recent draft and work through the rewriting checklist line by line.
- Record a voice-and-instrument demo and listen back the next day.
- Play it to two people and ask what they think the song is about.
- Write a split sheet template you can use at the end of every co-write.