6 Songwriting Tips To Spice Up Your Boring Songs

There are things you can do to ensure that your song keeps listeners hooked. Here are some of the regular suspects that keep listeners from connecting positively with your song. Some of the factors relate to song structure, while others relate to the final presentation:

1. Chord Progression with Too Many Chords. A chord progression takes the listener on a journey, and too many chords is like trying to see too many landmarks on that journey. Your brain just can’t process it all. If you find that you’re using 16, 17 or more chords in your song, try to scale back.

2. Chord Progressions that Don’t Offer Resolution. A chord progression is a bit like breathing in the sense that a breath inward causes a “tension” that is resolved with a breath outward. Success is when there is a balance of tension (breathing inward) and release (breathing outward). Good chord progressions offer the sonic version of the same thing. Chord progressions will have moments of tension (dominant chords, suspensions, etc.) and then release (tonic chords or other harmonic resolutions). Check your chord progressions to be sure that moments of creative license are balanced with a good dose of predictable resolution.

3. Instrumentations That are Boring. If your song structure is strong, but you then present the song with a mindless strumming guitar from beginning to end, you could be short-changing your song’s effectiveness. Look for ways to involve other instruments. It’s amazing what simply adding a few french horn notes, a flute solo, or using a different chording instrument can do to the success of your song.

4. Melodies That are Too Flat. Some songs, if the lyric is making an important social or political comment, will do nicely with a flat melody. But if your melody is boring you, it will likely bore the listener as well. Find ways to incorporate leaps into the melodic structure, and do it at moments that support emotion-laden words in your text.

5. Songs That are Too Slow or Too Fast. Experiment with the tempo of your song. You’ll see that tempo has a major impact in the overall effect of your song’s presentation. If it feels that the energy of the song never rises enough to support the lyric, try a faster tempo. If the whole thing sounds energetic but frantic, slow it down just a touch.

6. Songs That are in the Wrong Key. Most singers like to place a song somewhat comfortably within the outer boundaries of their vocal range. But if a lyric is intense, you may be missing an opportunity to support that lyric with the proper intensity in the voice. (Peter Gabriel singing the end of “Supper’s Ready” on their Foxtrot album is a perfect example of how a high tessitura can add to the effectiveness of the voice.

So once you’ve written your song, your job is just beginning. Now you need to ensure that the listener gets the full impact of what you’re tying to communicate to the world.