Hey everyone! So today, I’m going to share with you all the quick method on how to write a Christian song.
I’m going to try and keep this read time in under 5 minutes so that way you can follow along with your own songwriting.
Let’s get to it.
Step 1 Create chords
There is a whole bunch of music theory that you could use to create a great chord progression but it’s really not needed. What you need to know is that almost 90% of all the pop hits use the same chord progressions.
So if you just google 10 of the most used chord progressions in pop music, then you’ll find the perfect one that you need.
I’ll give you one right here. It’s the I-V-vi-IV chord progression in the Key of G that would be G, D, Em, C
Step 2 know the direction of the greatest songs
Most pop songs follow a simple direction, Start low and end high in the chorus.
So what you are going to do is you’re going to start at Low G with this song and in the chorus go up to high G.
Know that most pop songs follow simple rhythms and simple lyric patterns so create a rhythm and a melody that is really simple and then jump to the G afterwards in the chorus.
Step 3 Lyrics
Honestly, when you first start out making songs, your lyrics aren’t going to be too great. But if you keep at it and practice hard, your lyrics can become something amazing.
So just take things in your daily life that you can find relatable to other Christians and write about that.
Pro tip right here, love songs are easy to write about so try and write a few songs about the Lord and love.
Hey guys! Here is a link to a blog post I wrote about how to write better lyrics.
So these are the core ideas that I just listed, now let’s get into a little more detail right here.
What you have right now are the core ideas to song creation but let’s expand on it
Hooks and more hooks
So what happens is that in reality, your song should be filled with hooks everywhere.
And what a hook is, it’s a musical idea that’s super catchy. And in order to make a super catchy song, you need to fill up your song with hooks.
It could be rhythmic hooks, melodic hooks, lyrical hooks, or a combination of lyrical and melodic hooks.
Just so you know the best hooks are melodic and lyrical hooks combined. So you might want to save that for the chorus since you always save your best hooks for the chorus.
There was a famous musician and his name is Ryan Tedder and he said it in this show called Songland he states, “write every line like it’s a hook and save your best hooks for the chorus.”
So if that tells you how to write a song then that shows you how far hooks are needed.
Melodic Contours
Melodic contours are the direction that you take the song in.
So there is ascending (ABC), descending, (CBA), Jagged, (ABAB), static (AAAAA), and ascending and descending (ABCCBA)
These are the main types of ways that you can write a song. And of course with each of these different melodic contours, you can also jump and leap and play all sorts of things with it.
You have to remember that in order to make a really good hook, you want to include a minimum of 2 melodic contours in the melody.
Remember that when you go and make a big impact in your melody for the chorus that you are supposed to jump a minimum of a 5th and go to an octave or above. Not too high either . Probably safe to say that you don’t need to jump up 4 octaves either because then no one would want to sing your song.
Remember that you are supposed to be quiet in the verses and loud in the chorus, this makes for a really impactful chorus.
If you’re producing it as well.
Remember that drums are really meant to provide a steady groove in a song. So when you produce your song, don’t go overboard and write drum fills everywhere and anywhere in the song. Remember that by keeping the drums in pocket, it actually makes the song sound super catchy and in itself is a hook.
Of course there are times for transitions. Of course you need to be able to write transitions for drums because then it can become too plain if you don’t use them.
But that’s getting a little too far, I don’t want you guys to fully produce a song just yet,I want to get you guys just to write the song first.
Here is a blog post about Christian producing fundamentals
Form
There are different songwriting forms out there.
There is Verse- Chorus
There is Verse-Chorus-Bridge
There is Chorus-Verse
And there is Verse- Bridge- Verse- Bridge- Chorus
This is telling you where to put your verses and choruses and bridges. Each one of these Song forms are super powerful and great hits have come about from each of them so you need practice writing all these different types of forms.
Chris Tomlin’s Good Good Father is an example of verse- chorus
What a beautiful Name by Hillsong is an example of verse bridge
Hey Guys! Here is a link to a study about Good Good father by Chris Tomlin that i wrote.
So how do I combine all of this music knowledge altogether?
First start with the hook. Write the chorus of the song and make it shine.
Next select the chords that you’re going to use for the chorus and the verses. Hint hint, it’s usually the chords that you’re going to use for the chorus that you’re going to use for the verses.
Next create verses with lyrics and melodic hooks. Remember to use multiple melodic contours in your hooks, a minimum of 2 melodic contours are ideal but they can be less or more .
Create a bridge.
Bridges are rather easy because usually you can get by, by just saying la la la and other therapy words in the bridge. And then repeat the chorus all the way at the end.
Choose a form that you really like or have a ton of practice in and just get to writing.
The Lyrics should always be happy in a Christian song or inspirational.
This isn’t a rule that i heard but it’s something that i follow. Sad melody and happy chords make for an inspirational song.
The reality
In all reality, writing a great song could take less than 5 minutes, but it’s all about finding the groove that works for you in writing songs.
When you first start writing songs, you might notice that it takes longer to write a pop hit, however, the more you practice it, the better you’ll get at it and the easier and faster you’ll be able to do it.
So if you think you could write a Christian song in 5 minutes, it’s possible, but if it’s your first rodeo, I’m sorry but take a slice of humble pie.
Because in all reality the people that get to write songs in 5 minutes have already spent years perfecting their songs.
Here is a link to a blog post about how to come up with new ideas for songs
Remember this songwriting tip
Remember this, that if a song sounds good without the production, it will sound awesome with the production.
The reality is that sometimes record labels don’t want to hear your songs fully produced, they want to hear your songs with just thee guitar and vocals.
This way, they can see if your songwriting skills are actually good or not because this exemplifies the songs that you write and doesn’t hide with the production.
Spend some time being bad at songwriting
It’s never a shame to be bad at something when you first start out at it. Just remember that the slow and steady way always beats the fast and pressured way.
I remember this from a movie one time, “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”
Hey guys! Here is a link to one of my blog posts that talks about how to publish your own Christian music.
Broadcast
I sure hope that I have been an inspiration and a hope to you all. Please remember to pray, read your bible, go to church, and love God above all else. Like, comment, share, subscribe, and I will see you all next time.
If you want to go to heaven, then believe in Jesus and you will go to heaven. (John 3:16)
Thank you all for listening in on this blog post.
German Gonzalez, signing out!
Hey guys1 Check out my song on Apple Music and Spotify. I just recently got 900 streams in 2 months on Tik-tok. I’ve been working hard on my music for years and now I think that my time is coming where I’m just going to be rocking and rolling in music. The Lord has been good all these years. Be sure to check out my song it’s called I have faith in him. It’s the simplest song I’ve released just recently and it got the most amount of streams. It literally just has guitars and vocals in it.
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