La, la... La, la, la... Is't your world colorful enough? Let MUSIC adds some!

We cannot deny that everybody loves music. I assume that maybe, once in your life, you might have dreamed of playing your own song, just like Stevie Wonder on "Overjoyed" or Ogie Alcasid on "Kailangan Kita."

Well, well, it's your lucky day! Because here's some steps into making your dream come true... Compose your own song, and discover a new color of life in it! Who knows? This could be the start of your music career!

Songwriting is an art that is based upon successful communication. Composing a song isn't easy and requires that you already have some background in music. Add that up with these basic steps and multiply it with your eagerness to learn.

You will need:

Now that you are already geared with the materials, instruments, and attitude, the next thing that you have to do is to work by heart and follow the basic steps in Songwriting:

1. Identify the components of the song and build a successful song structure.There are four elements in a song. These are:
• The verses. The primary function of the verse is to provide the exposition-- the information that will lead to the song's hook or title. Each verse of a song has the same melody and new lyrics.
• The pre-chorus. It is used to propel the listener into chorus. Sometimes referred to as the lift, the climb or B-section. This is optional. All pre-choruses have the same melody.
• The Chorus. This is the catchy, repetitious part of the song. Its job is to summarize the idea of the song in a general way. The chorus has the same melody and almost always has the same lyrics each time it is repeated.
• The Bridge.
This serves as the departure, or release from the rest of teh song. Its purpose is to add a new dimension to the song, take it to the next level, and lead the listener back to the Chorus.

After familiarizing yourself to the elements of the song, choose a song structure. Examples are:

• A-B-A-B
• A-B-A-B-C-B
• A-B-A-B-A-B

Wherein A=Verse, B=Chorus, C=Bridge

2. Develop a great song idea and catchy title. In effectively writing the lyrics, you should start with choosing a theme (e.g. love) and select your title. Be sure that you are very clear on what your title means to you. you should also be able to identify who your target listeners are. Next, outline the story. Decide on the ideas and general information that need to be conveyed in each verse of your song to clearly lead to the title. Then write the actual lines of lyric.
3. Don't forget to focus the lyric. To be able to do this, you should evoke one emotion. You should also remeber to maintain one consistent tense and tone. Effective lyrics maintain one consitent style and tone throughout the lyric.
4. Write A Cappella. Writing A Cappella means composing melodies in your head, without a guitar or piano. Knowledge of musical theory canbe helpful. But even by simply singing melodies taht sounds good to you can be applied. Remember, playing a musical instrument for writing a song is not a requirement for writing a song. You just have to be able to hear them in your head and find a way to get them out.
5. Apply "Keep it Simple and Singable (Kiss)" Rule. Remember that the goal of a songwriter is to deliver his idea from his heart to the listener. Your objective as a songwriter is to communicate. When composing melody, the language available to us is comprised of notes, rhythms, and chords -- instead of words, images and rhymes.
6. Marry the music to the Lyric: Prosody. To achieve prosody, the melody should sound as if it is happily married to the lyric it accompanies, and vice versa. The melody that makes the listener feel happy should accompany a lyric taht has a positive, pleasant message. Minor chords typically contribute to sad-sounding melody, while major chords can have the opposite effect.
7. Vary the tempo and time signature. The tempo refers to the speed at which a melody is performed. when exploring different melodic options it can be helpful to try your song at various tempos.
8. Evaluate your work. Listen back, be objective and ask your self the following questions:
   • Are there extra notes cramme din to make the lyric fit?
   • Does it sound as though notes (or syllables) are missing?
   • Does your melody evoke an emotion all by itself?
9. Make improvements if needed. Improve the melody if needed. Stay open to exploring the full spectrum of melodic possibilities before settling for one that may not be the strongest you're capable of writing.