Making a song

The parts of a song

A loop that sounds good is a great start, but a song needs to go somewhere. Most songs are built from a few sections, each with its own job:

Intro: eases you in, usually with just a few parts. Verse: tells the story and builds up. Chorus (called the drop in EDM): the big, catchy moment everyone waits for. Breakdown or bridge: strips things back for a breather or a twist. Outro: winds it down.

A really common shape is: intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, breakdown, chorus, outro.

Energy: build it up, drop it down

The secret to a song that keeps people listening is energy that rises and falls. If everything plays all the time, nothing feels big, because there’s nothing to compare it to.

The easiest way to control energy is layering: adding and removing parts. Start with a few, add more as you build to the chorus, pull them out in the breakdown, then bring everything back for the final chorus.

Try it: switch parts on and off in each section, watch the energy bars, and press Play my song. Then press Check my song for tips.

Tips from producers

Think in blocks of 8 bars. Most sections are 4, 8 or 16 bars long, which is why songs feel so predictable (in a good way).

Change something every 8 bars, even a small thing: a new drum pattern, a part dropping out, a filter opening up. Ears get bored of exact repeats.

Hook them fast. Get to something catchy within the first 20 seconds or so.

Steal like an artist. Pick a song you love, listen to how it’s built, which parts come in when, and copy the shape (not the notes) in your own song.

Finish songs! A finished song that’s just okay teaches you more than ten perfect loops. You can always make the next one better.

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