PLEASE HELP!!! I WANT TO BE A SONG WRITER WHAT ARE THE TIPS TO FOLLOW ?
we all knw that everything in this life require some special skill and i want to learn from everybody that is why i need your help

Now I aint no professional songwriter but I write off and on and heres what I do[list]
[li]Think of what you want to write about before holding the pen[/li]
[li]Try and develop a concept in your head, then stick to it song through, helps keep your writing in check[/li]
[li]Then just write, don't worry about flow or rhyme yet[/li]
[li]Once u got something that make sense u need to edit[/li]
[li]Distinguish your verses from your chorus and your bridge (general song structure, urs may be different)[/li]
[li]Keep editing[/li]
[li]Let a couple of appropriate persons appraise your writing, helps[/li]
[/list]

Note the emboldened word, its very important.
Anybody else got other/better ideas?

I write sons as well. Music is an expression on one's innermost feelings, desires, aspirations and dreams and fantasies. so pick up a pen and just write. forget about the ryhmes and just write. with time, your deepest gods will start writing through you. thats y some people wake up at odd times just to write. its like a calling. Good luck

U gotta have that feelin and u build off of that emotion metaphors are hot esp. in rap but people want something they can connect with so if u havin problems wit yag irl right about that coz everybody has had girl problems once U also myust develop a steady ryme scheme and u must learn to flow with the musoc

men been writing songs 15 years now. its just piling up. i want to sell some. how do i go about it. at least that one fit make me self employed

Well, you can start by having a word structure. Doesn't necessarily have to rhyme, that comes later. Since you're expressing yourself, just flow with them words. . . .write as many lines as you can. But make sure your word structure's making sense. Try structure 'em in bars like rappers do. . .it helps you get an idea of rhyme structuring. When you've mastered this, start rhyming. Rhyming brings out that creativity in you while making sense, though. Master rhyming with words. . .then you can prolly move on to complex rhyming, i.e the usage of metaphors, similes, puns, imagery to give those lines of yours "life". . . .u know, make it more creative. Battle mcs and sick HipHop heads use a lot of complex lyrics/metaphors when rhyming and their lyrics' meaning isn't usually literal most times.

Good comments so far. I'll add some points you should follow if you want to be an outstanding songwriter.
[list]
[li]Decide what genre and style you want to major in[/li]
[li]List some top artists in that genre and get a list of their top songs[/li]
[li]Learn the songs by heart and study the structures (what comes before what and where, the feel of the chorus, verse, B section, bridge, etc.)[/li]
[li]Practise, practise and pratice[/li]
[/list]
It'll be a good thing to learn how to translate notes to tonic-solfa (do, re, mi, etc) because inspiration can come at different times and if not documented can easily be forgotten (Oh, all the hit songs I never wrote because. I forgot!!! )
Good Luck. I'll add more tips if I can remember,

Be true to ur heart.Dont say u bust guns if u dont except u're story-telling.
Try to make as much sense as possible.
Philosophy(as much as possible but CORRECTLY!)according to ur beliefs.
Try to kick cool rhymes.Not necessarily hot rhymes like rappers do.
U'r good to go.

I need to know the kind of song you intend to write.

Ragga/hip hop rap/Rnb/Apala/Fuji/Juju/Afrobeat or what have you. You can't be writing all unless of course you are Wyclef Jean

@christino,LOL.damn ryt about wyclef.Jack of all trades.

babay am just getting into the music iindustry. i would like to see one of your write ups. den we'll see wat we can do. u can send them to bankrupt3000@yahoo.com

Brilliant thoughts from You guys. I must confess. My self i write songs too,and i believe writing of songs is a passionate thing. If you don't have the passion you can't write nothing. I write different types of songs; Gospel,Hip hop,RnB and Ragga. So one day i just pray My writing songs will open way for Me. Keep writing.

have a story to tell.
song lines come at odd times, it may take a while to be able to fully express yourself in a song. write it down, practice with a friend who is knowledgeable too, you'd be amazed at how much better the song sounds when u share it with someone else. I wrote a song with a group of guys during our NYSC, we never knew how good the song was until we finally sang it.

This will be a cool thread, could we share some of the songs we've written before? We might be able to learn better tips. c'mon guys.

yep. writing aint easy. it takes total understanding of wherever your inispiration is from to write a good song. Inspiration could come at odd hours(even when you are sleeping). Once you fail to pay attention to these inspirations, then sooner or later be sure wherever your inspiration is from WILL run dry.

@ davidylan:

lol, never knew you were a songwriter. Little wonder (lol). So how a quick freestyle straight off the top to show us your lyrical prowess?

na so people dey freestyle abi? I don't write rap ooooo.

I wrote "friends" at the tail end of college for my best friends but we never sang it. . .  sadly

Enjoy! 

Ok removed it!

I am not ready to Share My songs on net now.

Just sit down, you know, write down whatever comes into your mind, good or bad
sometimes when u're writing, you lose focus, something else just pops into ur mind and it does not go with what you've been writing, dont worry, just write it down, if its something like ABCDEFG, dat comes into your mind, write it down, think about ur life, what u've experienced, ur situation u know what I mean, write it down
When u're done, go through what you've written, you will surely put some words together, then you can lose d meaningless ones and add the useful ones together.

FactorChic:

Just sit down, you know, write down whatever comes into your mind, good or bad
sometimes when u're writing, you lose focus, something else just pops into your mind and it does not go with what you've been writing, don't worry, just write it down, if its something like ABCDEFG, that comes into your mind, write it down, think about your life, what u've experienced, your situation u know what I mean, write it down
When u're done, go through what you've written, you will surely put some words together, then you can lose d meaningless ones and add the useful ones together.

Do you write songs? Is this how you write your songs?

Most contributions have been very good. A song is not just what you say, but how u say it. The rhyme scheme is very important. Its understandable if you want to express your thots first then think of the rhymes later, but think of the rhyme you must.

there are multiple structures so dont be rigid or stereotyped.
Very Important when writing songs: hear the song in your head.

@ davidylan:

lol, ok ok you don't write rap, but you can at least write a rhyme, abi?

PS: umm, i hope you know what a freestyle means. . . .

@ lafile:

true talk dawg. Most times when i write, i have how the rhymes would be structured in my head.

I believe listening to ill cats helped me in writing complex rhymes like multies (multi-syllabic rhyming)

@ gbade.x,
i put one up yesterdy and noticed no one else was doing so, i removed it.