Writing a good love song requires most of the same steps as writing any other kind of song, but with a few of its own conventions. After all, someone writing a personal song from the heart would not approach the songwriting process in the same manner as someone writing music for mosh pits. Most love songs have a few similarities, and becoming aware of them makes it much easier to begin writing.
Things You'll Need:
- Sample Sheet Music
- Musical Instrument
Learn to play popular love songs. Before you begin writing your own song, learn and practice the chords for a variety of different love songs on your instrument of choice. By doing so, you will learn the common chord progressions and discover the similarities that these types of songs share. It will also give you ideas for chord progressions to use in your song.
Choose a key for your song. The "key" refers to a series of chords that complement one another in a particular musical scale. For example, if you choose the key of G, your complementary chords will include G, A minor, B minor, C, D and E minor. Most often, the first chord you use sets the key of your song.
You can refer to a musical scale to find the best chords for each key. For joyful love songs, you would typically use a major key such as C or G, as opposed to a minor key such as Em or Am. Minor keys typically have a darker or more somber feel to them, and would be more appropriate for a sad love song.
Experiment with different chord progressions within your chosen key. For example, you might try strumming G, D, C and then G, C, D to see which works best for your particular song. Think of the person for whom the song is intended and focus on your feelings for that person when choosing your chords. Try a variety of chord combinations and decide which ones really convey your feelings the best.
Designate one chord progression for your verses, one for your chorus and one for your bridge. For popular love songs, the most common arrangement plays as "verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus," but you do not have to follow the formula exactly. The chorus is the most memorable melody of your song, and typically remains the same with each repeat. Each verse maintains the same melody and leads up to the chorus, but often each verse will have different words. The bridge can venture off into different melodic territory entirely and sometimes contains no words at all.
Strum or play your instrument slowly. While fast love songs certainly do exist, a softly played melody often works best to express feelings of love.
Add words to your music. You can use an old love poem, compose words to complement your melody or just sing from your heart and see what comes out. Most important, just remain sincere and emotional with your words to make your love song truly stand out.
