Hey everyone! It’s summer! YAAAS. FINALLY.
If you haven’t figured it out from the title, for my first post this new cycle, I will be talking about how I write songs! I don’t really have a weird ritual like always drinking orange juice and walking around a park to admire how leaves move with the wind for inspiration (which I should actually try). Instead, it kind of just happens. Sometimes I would dream about a song, and if I’m lucky, I would remember the tune and try to figure out the chords. Most of the time though, I just feel like writing a song one day and then I’ll mess around with a few chords I think sound nice. I will then keep playing those chords and try to hum a melody. Once I figure that out, I immediately record it with my phone, so I don’t forget it (OMG I’VE LOST SO MANY GOOD MELODIES BECAUSE I DIDN’T DO THIS). After that, I’ll try to come up with lyrics by just repeating the melody over and over again. As a secret just between us, I actually take inspiration from rhymezone.com when writing lyrics. Don’t tell anyone!
When writing lyrics, I try to look for words that rhyme and fit into the song nicely. After that, I will just repeat that process multiple times until I get a verse, pre-chorus, and chorus. Once I get through the first verse and chorus, everything is usually easier. For the bridge, I usually change a chord or two and then get back to the chorus. Once I finish, I record the whole song on my phone and delete the other small parts (because ya gurl don’t have no memory on her phone).
I started writing songs because of Gabe Bondoc and Tori Kelly. If you haven’t read it yet, click here to read about me fangirling over Gabe Bondoc. Sigh, he’s amazing. Tori Kelly is also awesome, and if you don’t know her, you should definitely check her out. I really like her songs because her lyrics are incredibly honest and heartfelt (my personal favorites are “Anyway” and “Unbreakable Smile”). Her songs always talk about staying true to her own identity and I really like that about her. Fun Fact: I actually wrote one of my earliest songs using the chords from Tori’s “All in My Head.” She, along with Gabe are #goals.
BONUS
Below is a draft of a song I wrote that I forgot about and just found again recently in my recordings. It’s actually titled the same as my other original, “Sail Away” but I wrote this one before and completely forgot about it. I have only written the verse and chorus so far, but maybe I’ll finish it sometime. Check it out!
