5 Secrets to Writing a #1 Hit Song

Writing a #1 hit song takes a lot of time and work but when it’s finally complete and goes on the radio with millions of people loving what they’re listening to, it’s definitely time well spent. But before you rush to your office desk and grab a pen and piece of paper, I want to take a moment to set the stage for you giving you five secrets to writing a #1 hit song:

1. Consider the music intro first before penning out the verse.

You’ve got to have a special formula that speaks to millions of strangers. The melody in the very first several seconds of the song has to be catchy. Have you ever listened to a song for the first time not knowing the words for the first several seconds but enjoyed the way the music began? Then after a while, you hear the song over again loving it so much that you start to remember the words to it. What really brought you in as well as the other listeners was the melody. It needs to be timeless and memorable drawing the listener to want to hear the whole song completely through. It’s got to be an unforgettable melody.

2. Consider common themes.

Search for and decide what common theme you’re going to have your hit song relate to. Is it about true love? Losing someone? Coming of age? Along with writing your song based on a theme, make sure you are picking up life experiences within your lyrics that people can relate to. There’s nothing like a song you’re listening to that speaks to your heart and shares your feelings right at the same moment. It’s the kind of song that listeners will cherish and want to hear for years to come. For inspiration, consider listening to some songs from Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish.

3. Search for stories.

If a common theme doesn’t inspire you then search for a story either based on a personal experience, a film, an incident in the newspaper, book, etc. I can remember in the 1970’s there were many songs that were created by telling a story. These songs have captured the hearts of many over the years and are still being played today on the oldies radio or on digital music. Allow the words to become interesting, intriguing and even a little mysterious.

4. Study rhyming schemes.

What kind of rhyming scheme are you looking for in the song? Did you know there are several different ones out there? You could go with a monorhyme scheme where every word at the end of each sentence rhymes(A,A,A,A) or you could go with a clerihew scheme where the first two lines rhyme and then the other two lines rhyme differently in one verse(A, A, B, B). Do your research and find out what rhyming scheme would fit best for your song.

5. Study song structures.

Study the components that make up a song as well as what the listener expects within those different sections:

Verse-This is where you tell the story. It develops the characters, sets the context and pulls the listeners in.

Chorus-This is the 'hook.' The chorus creates an earworm for the listener. It's repetitive, infectious, simple and universal getting stuck in the listener's ear so they don't forget it. A lot of times the listener will remember the chorus before they start remembering the verses.

Bridge-This can be an optional section. The bridge is normally a unique melody later on in the song showing progression leaving renewed interest for the listener. It connects or sets a 'bridge' between the verse and the chorus.

Coda-It's a very simple repeating line as the song fades out into a close.