5 Tips to Finish Writing Songs

If you're a songwriter, you know how frustrating it can be to have unfinished songs sitting in your notebook or computer. So, I want to share with you 5 tips to help you finish writing those songs and get them ready for production.

Tip #1: Swap Song Sections

When you're stuck on a song and can't come up with anything to attach it to, try swapping what you have and really like, for a different section of the song. The reason you might be in love with the part you have, is because it’s the hook. It’s the chorus! So, try the Loretta Lynn approach to songwriting: get your main conclusion with the hook or chorus down. In fact, you may have more than one “catchy” part. Then go backwards and start adding the story that gets you there.

Tip #2: Picture the Music Video

If you don't know where the rest of the story goes, or you are having a hard time choosing which direction to take, try imagining what the music video would be like. What storyline would be the most impactful? Or the most relatable? In some cases what would be the most unique outcome of the song’s story?

Tip #3: Circle of Fifths

Knowing which chords to use can help you complete a song. We can take this information and apply it to our songwriting when trying to choose which chords to use that will ultimately help us complete a song.

Tip #4: Listen To A Lot Of Music

Give yourself 30 minutes to 1 hour every day to listen to music, branch out and listen for trends, common lyrical and melodic themes. BPM, instrumentation.. It’s these things that when we hear something we can immediately associate with a certain decade.

Tip# 5: Co-Writers

If all else fails, start co-writing. Bouncing ideas off of each other can be such an amazing experience in songwriting. You might have a line or an idea that you’ve been holding on to for years and your co-writer comes up with something that you just couldn’t see in that angle and it blows your mind.

I hope these tips can help you finish those songs that have been stuck in your notebook for far too long and get them completed and ready for production.