You've Finished a Song... Now What?

Congratulations on finishing your song! Whether this is the first one you've finished or you're a seasoned songwriter, you might wonder what your next steps should be. I've been writing since I was nine, and I have some recommendations for what you might choose to do now.

These fall into two categories: adding the finishing touches to your song, and documenting the song. We'll start with things you might do to improve your song once you've finished writing it!

Listen Obsessively

Once I've finished a song, I'll often listen to the voice recording I made of it for the next couple of days whenever I'm walking somewhere or taking the subway so that I can get the melody more solid in my mind and hear places that might need to be changed. I like to do this right after finishing the song when the ideas are fresh in my mind in case a line or thought that I'd previously discarded can be repurposed or added back in.

As I find lines I want to change and melodies that aren't quite right, I'll take notes on my phone to work on later. Then, I'll re-record the song with those changes and listen back to it obsessively again. Rinse and repeat until I'm happy.

Set It Aside

Yes, this is the opposite advice- I recommend doing this after you're happy with the song. Writers are often advised to set aside a project for at least a month before starting to edit. Unfortunately, this is good advice for songwriters, too. After some time, you can listen to the song with fresh ears and hear things you might not have noticed right after writing it. Make sure you record yourself singing and/or playing the song before you decide to set it aside, otherwise you might not remember how it goes!

When you've had enough time away from the song after finishing it, listen back to it and take note of things you notice. Are there any places where the phrasing feels unnatural? Are there any lines that feel too wordy or rhymes that feel forced in hindsight? Do you need the pre-chorus before the second chorus? Is there any melody that you heard or remembered differently in your head?

Look At the Lyrics and Melody Separately

Write out the lyrics to your song (preferably by hand) and analyze them without the music behind them. Try to only look at the words without singing the song in your head. Do the rhymes make sense? Is there any word that sticks out when you read it that could be changed? Do you get tripped up over any of the phrasing? You might also analyze the rhyme scheme. I also like to summarize each song section and make sure I'm telling the story in an order that makes sense.

Then, sing or play through the melody without the lyrics. Again, try hard to sing the melody without the words and without hearing them in your head. At any point, do you instinctively want to sing something other than what you initially wrote? Without the lyrics, is the melody interesting enough to hold your attention? Does it feel repetitive? Do you notice that the melodies for different sections are too similar?

Now, put it all back together and make any changes to things you've noticed.

Make a Lead Sheet

We're moving into recommendations for things to do to document your song after you've finished it. This isn't necessary for everyone, but if you know how and have the time, making a lead sheet for your song is a great idea. A lead sheet is essentially a chord chart with the melody and any relevant accompaniment information included. This is a great way to ensure you know what chords you played, what the melody is, what melodies the accompaniment plays (if any), and any other vital information you might need to play this song in the future. This will also be indispensable when you're recording the song or playing it with other musicians.

Make a Demo

If you think you want to release the song, it's a good idea to make even just a rough demo that reflects what you want. If this isn't within your skillset, you might instead write yourself a note describing what you hear and find similar songs to reference. Doing this now will help you solidify how you imagine it sounding. It also is better to send a rough demo than a writing demo (just you and an instrument) to a producer so they have an idea of what you're hearing and they can know if they're a good fit for the project.

It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just enough that the rough arrangement is clear and what you hear in your head is recorded somewhere. This will especially help if you set the song aside for a while before starting to record and produce it.

Keep Your Records!

If you only do one thing on this list after finishing your song, you need to do this one: keep a record of everything. Whatever method you use to keep track of the songs you've written, update it with your finished song. Make sure to include your lyrics, a recording of the song, a lead sheet if you have it, any other notes/materials, and the key and chords used (and what fret your capo is on, if that applies!). This will make it simple for you to revisit the song. 

Finishing Writing isn't Finishing the Song!

Whether you choose to use some of these techniques to improve your song after you've finished it, or you only choose to update your records, I hope you've found this article useful!