What do the greatest songs of all time have in common? Songs that we would probably all agree on as being the greatest whether “religious” or “secular”? If you look back through the biggest hits of the last thirty years or so, for instance, which songs would stand out and why?
Songs like Give Thanks (Smith), 10,000 Reasons (Myrin, Redman), and This Is Amazing Grace (Riddle, Farro, Wickham) on the Christian worship side, for starters. Or pop anthems you may or may not love, but which have impacted the world nonetheless, like Michael Jackson’s Beat It, Time after Time first recorded by Cindy Lauper and now an iconic song from the 1980’s, or Ice Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice), and R.E.M.’s Losing My Religion that have somehow outlasted the 1990’s and keep showing up in movies and on playlists the world over?
And what about songs from the 2000’s like Beyonce’s notable Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) and *NSYNC’s ubiquitous Bye Bye Bye, not to mention all the great country artists and songs that have impacted us for decades from artists like Garth Brooks, Tricia Yearwood, Carrie Underwood and so many more?
Obviously, this list is scant, arguable, and skewed by my perspective on things. But the real question is the one I led with: What do all of these “hit”songs have in common regardless of genre, style, and the artist who first recorded them?
It’s simple. They all started with a great idea.
I work with a lot of aspiring songwriters. These writers are usually very talented people. They’re above the norm, for sure, and each of them are pushing to breakthrough the glass ceiling they feel to go from average to amazing with their songs. Many of them understand form and structure. They have a decent grasp on what makes a good melody and how the basics of modern songwriting work.
But what is most often missing is the idea, that way-above-average thought that captures the imagination in a new way like no other song has done before, or at least in a fresh sensibility. Achy Breaky Heart (Billy Ray Cyrus) did that, sort of, in its day. It was a one-hit-wonder for Billy Ray, but it was just fun and funny enough that it captured its spot and won him a lot of attention. The novelty of describing a breaking heart with that hook was the genius of it.
That brings me to the second thing that has to happen after the way-above-average idea comes to you in a conversation or from reading or watching a movie or from a nap. That killer idea has to be honed into a killer hook, if it didn’t come pre-packaged in your inspirational moment around it.
I call that writing from the “essence” of an idea, but the hope of every writer is that the idea and hook occur simultaneously, but it doesn’t always happen that way. But, not to despair. If you have a great idea, usually a great hook can be fashioned around it.
Saving how to create great hooks for another post, how does a would-be songwriter identify great ideas? Is there a way to cull out the great ones from the average ones, some kind of yardstick or downloadable app to use to figure out if your idea is better than anybody else’s? Well, while songs and hooks and ideas and music, in general, are completely subjective, I believe there are two or three things to ask yourself about an idea before you spend time developing it.
First, ask yourself, “Am I excited about this idea and will anyone else be excited about it?”
Again, that’s pretty subjective, but, if you have any self-awareness at all, you’ll probably be able to have a general sense of whether or not anyone else besides you and Mum will be excited about your idea. On the worship side of things, for instance, another typical song about being “broken” or going from “darkness to light” and even those about “entering His presence” or “being in His presence” need to be written in fresh ways to capture people’s imaginations. They’re all true and valuable, but they’ve been said the same way for so long they’ve lost their impact.
The smart writer will work diligently to craft these same vital messages in new phrases to have new impact.
Secondly, ask yourself, “Does this idea take the listener anywhere?”
Songs are like little “mini-movies” that use lyrics, melody, arrangement, and emotion to tell a story or take the listener somewhere. When a song just sits there and talks about something but doesn’t involve me or move me, I won’t want to hear it again and again.
The magic of a song like I Can’t Make You Love Me (Reid/Shamblin, made famous by Bonnie Raitt) is that most people have felt unrequited love and feel moved by the descriptive phrases in the story line. It’s a little mini-movie we can “watch” as we listen or sing along and feel something as we belt out the hook with Bonnie. Had Reid/Shamblin just talked about the subject instead of pulling us into the very scene of it, we would’ve forgotten it long ago.
On the worship side, How Great Is Our God (Tomlin, Cash, Reeves) sweeps the worshiper into anthemic praise by saying what we all feel, but didn’t have the words to say. That’s the movement and the effectiveness of great worship songs–they help us say what we didn’t know how to say on our own. Worship songs worship. They don’t just talk about worshiping.
And third, ask yourself, “Have I turned an interesting phrase with this hook idea?”
If your idea and hook seem to have happened simultaneously, one of the best things you can ask is if there’s anything interesting about the title/hook/idea. Achy Breaky Heart has alliteration with the “k” sounds and great rhyme in the “ee” sounds. If your hook/idea is kind of plain and sounds like a sentence, you’ve probably not thought deeply enough into the idea to create a killer hook and it’s going to fall flat.
The classic worship song we’ve referred to here, 10,000 Reasons (Myrin, Redman), has the alliteration of the “s” sound in thousand and reasons, though the real hook of the song is “Bless the Lord, O, My Soul,” but that’s a confusing example, admittedly. Our UK readers probably know that song by its hook and not its title, interestingly, but I stand by the argument that it’s a great hook, idea, and song that will be sung for decades to come.
While not every hook/title/idea will have alliteration or rhyme, they certainly help.
Look at the songs that are popular in all genres and see how many have alliteration and/or rhyme and how many stand out to you as way-above-average ideas. That’s the real key. Have better ideas than anyone else and you’ll stand out as a songwriter.
Which brings me to my last point.
Most songwriters spend very little time on their ideas and too much time trying to figure out how to write a song.
What if you spent the majority of your time tracking for great ideas, instead of wasting so much time writing average songs? What of you read more, listened more, tuned into podcasts more? My best ideas come from listening to music, as I wrote in an earlier post here.
What if you kept a real notebook with lists of potentially great ideas or recorded them in Evernote or on your cell phone? What if you actually captured every random bit of jetsam and flotsam that floated by and reviewed them every time you felt like writing to see what jumped out as stellar? What if just a little higher level of awareness made all the difference for you? Wouldn’t that be fun?
We’ve started The Song Revolution Podcast to bring this caliber of instruction and inspiration to you each week. Subscribe HERE to stay up to date and really tuned into great songwriting. If you’re not part of our free Facebook group Successful Christian Songwriters, join here. We have video resources HERE.
If you’re serious about becoming a great songwriter, take your ideas from average to amazing by asking yourself the three questions I’ve outlined here. Stop wasting your time on mediocre ideas and amp up the energy, pacing, alliteration, and rhyme to capture listeners like never before.
Makes a lot of sense, thanks.