Christian Songwriting: Song Content - Song Plan

An important aspect of songwriting, and one that determines the direction of your song, is the plan. Whether it is something you have fully written out, or one that is formulated completely in your mind, doesn't really matter. What is important is that you have one (not a mind - a plan - although the mind comes in handy too).

Your plan may not necessarily be clear (or even exist) until you have written some of your lyrics, possibly the whole first verse. Perhaps the first words more or less just happened. But sooner or later you'll get to a point in your song, just as a novelist does in a story, where you'll need to know just what direction you're headed in.

So what exactly is a plan? A plan is a blueprint for your song. It's like a little road map that moves your song purposefully towards a definite conclusion. Without a plan, your song is in danger of degenerating into an aimless conglomeration of words, a cluster of cute but meaningless phrases.

If your song is a story, the plan will determine where in the story your song begins and where it concludes. For instance, if you were to write a song about a famous historical figure such as Napoleon Bonaparte, would you commence your story by mentioning his humble Corsican birth, and then progress with further information about his life? Or would you begin with Napoleon's having already become emperor? Would you describe one of his many successful battles and conclude on a note of victory? Or would you outline his ultimate defeat, his exile, and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death? Or would you ignore his professional career completely and write a song about his relationship with Josephine?

Now read: Song Content - Song Plan 2

Lyric Writing - Rhyme | Lyric Writing - Lyrical Hooks | Song Content - Song Plan | Song Structure | Musical Elements | Rhythmic Devices | Melody Writing | Writer's Block