What do you think makes for a great song?

Question

A great song is personal. It comes from the heart and is more focused on being truthful and organic than creating a hit. It touches the listener in a profound way because it is honest, sincere, and relatable.

Answer 1

I think a great song requirements many things....

1) A core message is key. Lesson's learned, experiences with people, comments on something which is happening in the world, you need something for people to relate to

2) Musical complexity. Sure, a song which is verse-chorus-verse-chorus-interlude-chorus can be good. But the more you can do with intros, outros, interludes, alternative verses, variations on any of the above, multiple interludes, etc. will make your work more interesting.

3) Write lyrics from the heart. People will be able to tell.

4) Match your melody to your lyrics. This will require some compromising, and some times you'll need to take liberties to start lines earlier or complete them during pauses and the like. Just don't sacrifice too much in the music or message category - strike a good balance.

5) Play the song over and over and over and over. You'll find things which thought worked but might not after a while, be flexible and keep modifying things until to get exactly what you want.

Answer 2

I agree with this answer! However, there can be more components to what makes a song truly great. What kind of story is the song telling? Can it be applied to a large audience? Are the lyrics clear and concise so that anyone listening can understand them? These are all questions to ask yourself when writing a great song.

Other key factors in writing a great song are originality, structure, rhythm, and melody. A song needs to be unique to thrive but relatable. We want a structure that is easy to follow and makes the song flow nicely as well as a rhythm so the lyrics can be truly amplified. A melody is key as well as it is the part of the song that sticks the lyrics in our heads.

I hope this helps!

Caitlyn Adkison

English and Art Tutor