Lyric Writing Tips - How to write a song title - 5 ideas you can start with to finish your songs.
It all starts with a song. A great song should have a compelling title. When writing a title ask yourself these three questions.
- Is it catchy?
- Is it memorable?
- Does it support the lyrics of the song?
Let the title set the stage for the song. If you have a title in mind, you can pull from the songwriting stories and themes in my previous blogs. When you have an idea for a song, make sure you write it down. One of the best things you can do is have an app on your phone that you can store a quick recording. Let’s run down a few you can use.
- Apple notepad on your iphone
- Songspace
- Music Memos
- Day One
- Evernote
- Google Drive
All of these apps are great and they all have unique features. Make sure you always have something to log your lyrics, ideas, and titles when they pop. Collecting these little nuggets will pay off over time when you sit down to write. You’ll never run out of ideas this way. When you get stuck, you will always have your song crafting toolbox to work with.
The title of your song should hook the listener. Titles are often repetitive and placed carefully within the song. They can illustrate a person’s name, a place, an event. When you have an idea that you think is a good title, try to build your song from there. Let’s look at 5 types of titles you can run with.
How to find song titles. 5 Songwriting tips you can use for your ideas journal.
1. Steal One - one of my favorite books is Steal like an artist by Austin Kleon. Artist’s are thieves, we just borrow from one other. How many cool song titles are there in popular music. How many ways can you rewrite a title that has already been successful. Grab a billboard chart and start rewriting the top 10 in your favorite genre. See what you come up with.
2. Names - Amanda, Light up my life! Me and Bobby McGee, Kaw Liga. How many cool tunes have you heard of with a name? Try being inspired by someone you have love for. This can be relatives or lovers. What about someone who passed away? Can you tell a story using the name of that person. What about someone you want to be like? Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson. I know a guy who wrote a song about pitching a song to Willie.
3. Your Calendar - What about songs with months, days of the week, or dates? What about Sunday Morning Coming Down by Kris Kristofferson. I always loved Long December by Counting Crows. Days, Months, and Dates can bring up ideas about the seasons, the weather, holidays, and events that happen during the year. Try to think in pictures and jot down some ideas you have about your favorite times on the calendar.
4. Destinations - New York, Japan, California? How many different places have turned up in song titles? Set your story in another place that you have been or dream about. See if you can capture a title from a place. Look at pictures on instagram to spark some ideas for titles.
5. Colors - Purple Rain, The Yellow Rose of Texas, Blue Eyes Crying in The Rain? Colors paint great titles. Try to find some titles with colors and rewrite them with your own experiences. Do you have any ideas for a title yet?
Okay! There’s 5 places you can grab a song title. I’ll put a downloadable pdf file in the post so you can follow along. Make sure for follow me on Instagram at songwriting_ready and check out the podcast if you want to listen along. Happy Writing!
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