Songwriting Mini Course Part 1 – Getting Started By Learning How To Write A Song Intro

Welcome to part 1 of your songwriting mini course. Over the next 10 days I will show you how to write a song using a clear, step by step process. In each part of this mini course, you will be learning essential songwriting steps in a way that emphasizes song structure. In case you are unfamiliar with this idea, song structure simply refers to the “parts” or “sections” of a song. So, why is it important to learn song structure?

By understanding the way a song is put together, you can very quickly create your own songs (regardless of your current experience with songwriting). Think of putting a song together like building a jigsaw puzzle: If you know where all the pieces of the puzzle fit, you can put everything in the right place to create an incredible work of art. Additionally, the more familiar you are with the process of putting puzzles together, the better (and faster) you get at building them. As you read each part of this songwriting mini course, you will gain a new piece of the puzzle that you can use create a new song. By the end, you will have learned all the necessary songwriting steps to write not just one song, but many songs anytime you want.

Songwriting Step #1: Think About What You Will Say In Your Song

Before you even create a single note for your song, it is important to put a good amount of thought into what you want to “say” with your music. Most people make the mistake of writing music in a totally “improvised” manner without any sense of purpose. While this can still produce results, it is best to know what you want to express in your music first BEFORE you begin writing. By having a clear idea of what you want to write about in your music, it will give you a much more clear sense of direction during the songwriting process. If you want your song to contain lyrics, you do not necessarily need to write out all of your song lyrics beforehand. For now, simply develop a good idea of what you want to express musically.

Once you have developed a good idea of what you want to write about in your music, it is time to begin with the first part of your song: “The Intro”.

Songwriting Step #2: Write A Song Intro

In general, the intro section of your song will be fairly short. An intro is typically made of a short musical idea that is repeated 2 – 4 times. This musical idea could be a single melody, harmonized melodies, a chord progression, or any combination of the two. The purpose of writing a song intro is to quickly gain the listener’s interest and draw them into the music. Keep this in mind, because the first initial moments of a song are extremely crucial! Notice the chart below, this is an example of the times in a standard song that contain the highest points of interest for most people (people remember these sections the most). This can give you an understanding of just how important it is to create a great intro section that effectively sparks your listener's interest.

In fact, before I discuss any actual songwriting methods to help you write a song intro, it is essential that you fully understand the importance of the opening moments in your song.

The opening intro of a song is very important for the following reasons:

When someone hears the opening moments of a song, they will either be interested to hear what comes next (want to hear more), or bored (become disinterested).
The first few moments in a song have great power to immediately make a listener feel a certain way. Since this is the first time someone will hear the song, it will have the greatest effect on them in the moment. For example, think of a song that starts off with slowly strummed minor chords on a guitar. After listening to this, you’d most likely experience feelings such as sadness or relaxation (or something similar).

Now, that you understand more about the importance of opening a song, let’s talk about some ways that you can write a song intro.

The truth is there are nearly endless ways to write an intro for a song. In fact, most people struggle getting started simply because they feel so overwhelmed. I am not going to cover every possible way you can do this… However, I will show you the a few of the main ways to write an intro that will INSTANTLY grab your listener’s attention.

For now, begin writing your song intro by using either a single melody or 1-3 chords or a melody played over chords. Then, use any combination of the following approaches:

1. Ask A Question Instead Of Making A Statement.

In other words, grab the listener’s attention by “asking them a question” musically and making them wonder what will come next. To do this, you must think of a way to make your music feel unresolved and tense. Experiment by starting and ending on different notes of the melody, playing chords that feel “tense”(such as Dominant 7 or Minor Add 9 chords), and by changing the emphasis you put on different notes. By “asking a question” like this, you will create a strong sense of anticipation in the listener. This will make them interested to hear what comes next.

2. Build Intensity By Starting Low And Ending High

Begin your song by staying within the same pitch range, and using only a few notes. For example, only play 1-3 notes for your melody or if you are using chords, only use the lowest notes in the chord. Then, repeat your musical idea while climbing to a higher pitch range with your notes. In music, when the notes of a melody rise in pitch, it makes the music more intense. By starting off “low”, and going “high”, you will give a sense of direction to the music. This will make your music sound like it is going somewhere, and the listener will feel the intensity as you take them there.

3. Use "Faster" Note Rhythms To Quickly Grab Interest

One way to very quickly get attention in music is to use fast note rhythms in the song intro. Do this by writing the intro for your song with a series of very fast notes (such as sixteenth notes or triplets). By using faster note rhythms, you will immediately grab the listener’s interest. Here is an example to illustrate my point…Which of the following song intros do you think would get your attention faster?:

A song intro that starts off with slow, delicate chords.

A song intro that starts off with a series of high speed, energetic scales.

Some very effective ways to amplify the effect of using fast note rhythms are the following:

Use arpeggios (broken up chords) that contain a distance of two octaves from the highest note to the lowest note.
Use a 'sequence' by writing your notes in groups of 3 or more. For example, a 3 note sequence could contain a melody line like this: " A - B - C - B - C - D - C - E - G# etc." A 4 note sequence could contain a melody line like this: " E - G# - B - G# - B - D# - F# - D# - C - E - G ♮ - E - A - C# - E - C# etc."
Add in a series of 'chromatic' notes that connect together the end of the intro to the first note in the next section you will be writing. For instance, if the next section in your song starts on 'E' (or uses an E major/minor chord), you could use a chromatic line like this at the end of your intro: "C - C# - D - D#"

Regardless of how much you like the sound of slow chords, you would naturally be drawn to the faster notes of the scales in the second intro. That said, you can of course "create" the idea of speed in a slow song as well by using a variety of notes. chords, or musical ideas in a short period of time. This causes your brain to have less time to process what is going on in the music, and therefore it forces you to pay closer attention!

4. Give The Listener "A Taste Of Things To Come"

In many song intros, the songwriter will use the intro section as a way to introduce the specific "theme" of the song. This can come in the form of writing a particular melody that will be repeated at some point in the song (in full or partially) or simply using certain scales, chords, rhythms, instruments or many other musical tools. For example, say a songwriter wants to write a soft ballad about an Arabian prince and his love interest. In this situation, the songwriter has many ways to introduce this idea to the listener. He could use authentic arabian instruments, eastern musical scales, soft piano notes, or a variety of other ideas. To do this in your own music, think of a way to quickly summarize or describe the main idea of your song using one or more of these musical elements: melody, chords, rhythm, instruments (what kind and how many?), or dynamics (is the music loud? soft? etc.).

Take the time to read over each of the above points, and determine how you want to begin. To get the most out of this part of the mini course, focus on writing a song intro right now while this information is fresh on your mind. If you need to, write down your musical ideas on a piece of paper so that you don’t forget them. Additionally, learn how to write tons of new ideas of your introby studying this audio course on creating new song ideas .

So far, you have learned how to quickly grab the listener’s attention by writing an intro. Next (in part 2 of this mini course), I will show you what to do once you have your listener’s attention. See you soon!