Written by Chris Simoni Sunday, 17 May 2009 12:26

We've been working on some new covers to have ready for you at the Sandbar next weekend. Working on new things are what keep the interest up in performing. If we were to play the same songs every weekend, we would get bored, and I would expect that our fans would too.

Although, learning cover songs is a skill, it is only 1/10 of what makes a true musician. It is one thing to copy and mimic artists and tones, and it is totally another to create something from scratch. Creating original songs is were the real talent shows. Creating interesting hooks and melodies is much more difficult than it seems to the average person. This is were all your years of learning and playing cover songs can benefit.

Take a song you really like and break it down to its basic elements, and find out what makes it a good song. Usually it is the melody that the person likes, and they will only show interest in the lyrics, if they like the melody. Without a great melody, the listener doesn't really care what you are saying. A bad melody and great lyrics still make for a bad song.

Here are some pointers of what to look for in a song. See what makes it tick!

Lets start with the hook. A hook is a repetition of a word phase, usually accompanied my a melody. The hook is usually repeated several times during the song. The hook ties the song elements together and brings everything full circle. This is the part that makes people want to sing along. The chorus is normally where the hook resides.

Every great song follows a basic building structure. The normal structure is Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus. Everyone knows what the chorus is, and that is usually were the hook is. What about the bridge? The bridge is something that the Beatles started doing in the sixties, and is pretty much a requirement in today's pop music. The bridge is a chord change up that briefly takes the song in a different melodical direction, but is loosely based in the same style and root chord. It creates interest and suspense. Back in the fifties, all songs were 2 minutes long, because people would get bored with the same repetitions of verse chorus, so they kept it short. With the introduction of the bridge, songs were able to extend past the 2 minute barrier. Thanks, Beatles!

What's else? Well, how about the breakdown. Thats the point in the song where the singer and only 1 instrument is playing. Usually, the singer is singing the chorus. It is pretty much a given in pop music today, and usually comes in somewhere around the bridge. This is another point in the song to create interest.

Now, just sprinkle in some rests. Rests are slight breaks in the song, usually for only 1 or 2 beats. Rests are where everyone stops playing except for 1 instrument.

Now that we covered the basics, go and write yourself a song. It sounds easy, but I bet its a lot tougher than you think!