Here’s a way to get deeper into the craft, the nuts and bolts, of songwriting: Take Apart One Song.

Pick a song you really love (not one of yours…) and break that one song down as far as possible into its component parts.  I can pretty much guarantee you’ll learn a lot.

In practice, how would one do this?  Some suggestions:

Write out the lyric.  Don’t just read it.  Write it out longhand.  Then type it out.  By putting it on paper (and monitor) yourself, you’ll have a different relationship with the storytelling process and development of the lyric.  Go over the words line by line… then word by word.  Where are the rhymes?  And where aren’t the rhymes?  What about the placement of the title; probably not an accident!   Why did the writer make all these particular choices?

Learn the melody well enough that you can play it on an instrument.  It’s fine if you can only play it very slowly… but play it.  Linger over individual phrases that you like.  Listen for the larger picture – how does the melody’s ‘story’ develop over the course of a whole section?  Are there any surprising turns in the melody; bold leaps up or down?  What’s the range of the song?  Examine closely the inner working of this particular melody.  What makes it different?  What makes it special?

Also, take note of the rhythm of the melody, aside from the pitches.  Sometimes the pitches may repeat but the variation comes from the rhythm – or vice versa.

Learn the chords of the song (beware – the first chord transcription you come across online may not be completely accurate.  Trust your ear.).  Play through the chord progression many times.  Take particular note of any chord movement that particularly touches you (then feel free to steal it – later).

Additionally, consider the frequency of the chord changes.  Is there a chord every two beats?  Two bars?  Do the chords (or chord) stay the same for a while and then do they begin to change more rapidly?  Or does the whole song repeat the same chord progression, loop-style (also Louie Louie-style)?

Play the melody and chords together – without the words.   Try it very slowly, listening to each note as it ‘rubs’ against its accompanying chord.  If, like me, you can’t sing and play both at the same time, slowly sing the melody (with just sounds, not words) on top of the chords and notice which notes against which chords evoke an emotional response for you.  If you know any music theory, take note of the relationship between the melody note and the chord at these peak moments.

Finally, play the song a bunch of times.  Now that you know many of the pieces of the puzzle, see and feel how the whole thing fits together.  It’s the sum of its parts… but also there’s an alchemy that somehow makes it more than that.

In all these areas, slow things waaaay down and see what’s going on at the microscopic level.  Take your time and really get under the hood.  You’ll gain insight into the creative process of the songwriter – the way they think, how they choose, the way they get things to flow.  You’ll add some tools to your songwriting kit.

Just pick one song.