online.berklee.
edu
Melody, Harmony, and Lyrics Quick Tips for Better Songwriting
MELODY
1 Has the first melody note of my
chorus been used already?
2 Don’t give away the “surprise”
of that first note!
3 Does my chorus have a unique
melody shape from my verses?
4 If the verse and chorus
melodies are the same or very
similar, this may be a perfect
opportunity for a pre-chorus.
5 Does the first note of my chorus
start from a unique rhythmic position
from my verses and bridge?
HARMONY
1 Does my verse and chorus have
different harmonic rhythms?
2 Harmonic Rhythm is the
distance between chords (I.E.:
one chord per beat, per two
beats, per measure, etc.)
3 Would an asymmetrical harmonic
rhythm work better?
4 Do my chord voicings create the
best prosody for my lyrics?
5 Pro tip: Substitute sus2 chords for
both major and minor chords.
LYRICS
1 Do my verses have the
same rhyme scheme?
2 Are my verse power positions
(the opening and closing
lines) working together?
3 Does my verse opening line give
the best context for the other verse
lines? (Is there a better choice?)
4 Does my verse closing line
sum up the opening line?
6 Songwriters tend to start all their
melodies on the downbeat.
7 Songwriters tend to start the
melodies for each sections
on the same beat.
8 Can my melodies avoid starting
or ending on the tonic or
5th degree of the scale?
9 Songwriters are drawn to the
stability of the tonic (root) and 5th.
10 Are you doing it “just because”
or is there a prosody reason?
6 Uncle Shane Super Pro Tip: sus2
chord with the “3rd” of the chord
in the bass, as in Csus2/E
7 Can I substitute a different
chord for better prosody?
8 Use the downbeat melody
note as the root, third, 5th, 7th,
9th, etc, of a new chord.
9 Can I substitute a different note
for my root and/or fifth?
10 Can I highlight an important word
or thought with a “better” chord?
5 Do my verse closing lines sum
up the opening line of its verse?
(Is there a better choice?)
6 Does each verse (and bridge)
present the hook/chorus in a
different/unique perspective?
7 Have I weeded out all unnecessary
words (i.e. just, so, the, that, etc.?)
8 Can I change any articles
(the, that, this, a, an, etc.) into
personal pronouns (my, his,
her, ours, theirs, etc.?)
11 Can my bridge have a unique
starting note different from
my verse and chorus?
12 Does my bridge have a
unique melody shape from
my verse and chorus?
13 Does the first note of my bridge
start from a unique rhythmic position
from my verses and chorus?
14 Can I better convey
prosody between my lyric
and melody shapes?
15 Can I better convey prosody
between my lyric and
melody note choices?
11 Can I better convey prosody
between my lyrics and
chord progressions?
12 Can I better convey
prosody between my lyrics
and chord voicings?
13 Do my verses start on a different
chord than the choruses?
9 Can I find a better, more
vibrant verb?
10 Is my perspective consistent?
(me and him/her/you, etc.)
11 Does my character change
emotions by the end of the song?