Creating a song from scratch and getting it out into the world is an incredibly rewarding, yet complex process. From finding that initial spark of inspiration to exporting your final master, there are many stages and skills involved.
It can be frustrating to lose momentum or get stuck halfway through a promising idea. Or to finish a song but have no clue what to do next.
In this complete guide, you’ll get a simplified walkthrough of the major milestones in songwriting and production. You’ll learn proven techniques from music industry experts to set your creativity free and transform ideas into full-fledged tracks.
From lyric writing tips to mixing tricks to licensing know-how, nothing will be left out. By the end, you’ll have demystified the hit-making process and added new skills to your artistic toolkit. More capable than ever of crafting that next killer song and getting it heard.
Coming Up with Song Ideas and Themes
Coming up with the initial idea for a song can be challenging. Songwriting begins in the creative, right side of the brain which makes connections through imagery and emotion. Let’s look at some techniques to activate this creative mode and spark those original ideas.
Using Metaphors and Descriptive Language
One of the best ways to engage the creative brain is through descriptive metaphors. For example, describing love as an endless road or a heart as a cage. Metaphors make abstract emotions concrete which the mind can grasp. They also convey more meaning through analogy than a plain description would.
Some sources of unique metaphors are poems, literature, art, and even tweets or commercial taglines. Try keeping a running list of metaphors that inspire you or describe a feeling you want to capture in a song. Over time these lists will prime your creative juices.
You can also strengthen metaphorical thinking through exercises. For example, coming up with original metaphors to describe common emotions like loneliness, joy, and heartbreak. Or using vivid imagery to paint a landscape. The more descriptive ideas flow, the easier it gets to channel that creativity towards lyrics.
Finding Broad Themes
In addition to distinct metaphors and images, identify broad themes prior to writing. Love and relationships are common, but try digging deeper. What specific type of love or relationship issue do you want to address? The narrower the theme and emotional target, the easier crafting razor-sharp lyrics becomes.
Start by freely brainstorming themes based on your own experiences, observations, interests, or current events.
Circle back to the list over time and develop any initial themes that stood out. Turn them into questions to answer or stories to tell through song. Even loosely formed themes will inspire the later writing stages.
Collaborating
Finally, don’t underestimate the power of collaborating with a co-writer, especially at the start of songs. Bouncing ideas off another person, discussing imagery that resonates, or explaining a vague emotion you want to convey forces your creative faculties into action.
A co-writers perspective may reshape your thinking or spur new metaphorical connections you’d never have made solo. With themes percolating and your mental creativity churning, you’re ready to begin structuring these seeds into an actual song.
Pre-Production
The Pre-Production phase is about finalizing the rhythmic feel and flow before recording. This includes nailing down the tempo and groove so musicians are in sync. It also involves deciding if the song could benefit from special elements like unusual time signatures.
Getting these technical ducks in a row ahead of time prevents wasting expensive studio time experimenting. It also saves remixing and overhauls after the fact of trying to force a bad fit.
Choosing the Tempo and Feel
The first vital pre-production decision is dialing in the perfect tempo and overall rhythmic feel. The pulse of your song greatly impacts everything from genre classification to emotional response. An upbeat dance track at 128 BPM conveys much different energy than a dramatic ballad at 75 BPM.
But with so much variety, how do you determine the right beats per minute (BPM) for your particular song? Reference established examples within your target genre.
We analyzed the trends for contemporary R&B specifically and found most hits fall in the classic range of 60-80 BPM. Updating your song to align with audience expectations keeps them engaged.
Beyond that broad BPM range, almost infinitesimal shifts can alter feel. Here’s a trick to pinpoint the sweet spot – record yourself singing or humming your chorus.
Then using production software, adjust the project tempo gradually up and down while listening back. Your vocal will reveal which BPM matches most naturally. Purchase high-quality instrumental stems once finalized.
You’ll also make creative decisions about rhythmic elements with the BPM locked. Perhaps driving 16th note hi-hats or a dragged swing groove. Having a solid tempo reference makes choosing complimentary parts effortless.
Production – Recording And Mixing
Mixing is the process of taking all the individual recorded elements of a song and blending them together into a cohesive, professional-sounding stereo track. While mixing requires technical engineering skills, it is also an artistic craft that breathes life into your music. Let’s break down the major steps involved:
Arrangement & Level Balancing
The foundation of a mix is getting the right instruments playing during each section and setting their volumes. Ask – does the chorus have exciting new parts? Are any hooks too quiet? Do vocals sit clearly above the music?
Making instruments transition smoothly throughout the arrangement and adjusting their levels ensures nothing distracts or gets buried.
EQ Shaping
Equalizers boost or attenuate different frequency ranges, allowing you to sculpt tones. For example, rolling off muddy bass frequencies, making guitars brighter, or helping vocals cut through.
Listen closely to each track’s unique qualities and customize EQ to create space and clarity around that core sound. Subtle shaping goes a long way.
Compression & Saturation
These effects dynamically alter sounds over time to add punch, glue instruments together, and provide warmth. Compression targeting peaks smooth out uneven volumes.
Saturation enhances natural harmonic content. Used judiciously on drums, vocals, keyboards, and more, they liven up tones and improve consistency.
Panning & Reverb
Panning places different elements left, right, or center in the stereo field. For example panning background vocals subtly opposite the main vocal. Reverb creates a sense of simulated “room” space with echoes decaying over time. Used together, they provide dimensionality and air between elements.
Following these core mixing disciplines, getting constructive feedback, and fixing any lingering issues will take your songs to the next level.
Distribution and Licensing – Getting Your Music to Listeners
The internet has revolutionized how music reaches fans. Where once physical copies needed major label machinery, today’s streaming platforms allow independent distribution directly to major services. But successfully sharing your music still requires understanding key steps:
Registration – To collect royalties, you must first register compositions and recordings with a performing rights organization (PRO) like ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. They ensure songwriters get paid when music is publicly performed.
Distribution – Use an aggregator like CD Baby, Tunecore, or Distrokid to upload masters to major streaming platforms like Spotify. They’ll encode files, deliver metadata, and collect/pay royalties.
Metadata – Thoroughly tag each upload with correct song titles, songwriter/performer names, and more so you get credited accurately. Missing info means missed revenue.
Promotion – Don’t expect algorithms alone to spread music. Leverage owned channels and playlist ads to market each release and drive early streaming numbers.
Payments – Streaming royalties arrive months later and must be collected from PROs and aggregators respectively. Set up direct deposit availability for convenience.
Licensing Your Music
Selling rights for visual media synchronizations require separate upfront pitching: Research music supervisors working on relevant TV shows, films, or ads and submit your most licensing-friendly songs.
Use licensing companies like Songtradr which pitch curated music to brand contacts for commercial licensing opportunities you’d never reach alone.
Be reasonable on upfront pricing and offer layered rights tiers customized to each use case – but know your worth. Lowball prices signal inferior production value.
Register with performing rights organizations like ASCAP/BMI for back-end public performance royalties whenever licensed music appears publicly.
Conclusion
Creating a song from initial inspiration through to final distribution is a fulfilling but intricate process. We broke down key stages—from tapping into creative ideas to structuring coherent songs, dialing in pre-production elements, expertly recording and mixing, and then distributing and licensing music properly.
While intimidating at first, arming yourself with the right structured knowledge helps demystify each step for greater creative freedom.
Implementing proven techniques for lyric writing, arrangement, mixing, and licensing removes roadblocks so momentum carries an idea all the way to listeners. Simply put – understanding the terrain makes the journey infinitely smoother.
Forge your own path on the rich songwriting adventure ahead using these techniques as guideposts. With inspiration striking and pragmatic steps in place to channel it, you’ll continue learning and leveling up your musical craft without limits. Just stay confident in the process.