Songwriting Nashville Style Hooks - Are We Gonna Catch Fish Or Write Songs?
So what is a songwriting hook. A fisherman wants to hook a fish. A songwriter wants to "hook" the people that listen to his songs. He wants to do the same thing the angler does when he wants the fish to come to him. The songwriter wants to draw the listener in. He wants to put things in the song that get and keep their attention so they will hear the whole song and love it, so that they will hear the story, fall in love with it and go out and buy the CD. That's what a hook is. Read on and I'll tell you more.
When trying to think of a good hook for your song, remember these things. Remember that you want to evoke an emotion, or emotions from listeners who hear your song. Keep in mind what your song is about, the message that you want to send with the words you write, the central point of the story. You want your hook to be a type summation, a mini-version of your song.
Take a minute to think about songs you know, any song that pops into your head. What do you remember about each song? The parts of each song you can recall are the hooks. That's why you remember them. The hook may be the title, it may be the chorus that you can't stop singing, it may be a guitar riff you love (and wish you could play) or sometimes even an effect put on a singer's voice or one of the instruments. That's what hooks are, those parts of a song that stick in your mind long after it's over. It's as simple as that.
Write a short sentence that sums up what your song is about in one sentence or phrase, a simple statement in the plainest possible terms. Next, write your hook right next to it. It might be the title to the song. Does it mean the same thing as the sentence you wrote? In the Rascal Flatts song "What Hurts the Most", the hook is the title of the song. The lyric focuses on hurt and how the singer copes with it in those most painful moments. When a listener thinks about the hook-"What Hurts The Most"-they are pulled right back into the song emotionally. Many songwriters fall into the trap of writing line after line without a plan. This is a bad mistake, please don't do it. When you do, you let your sudden inspirations dictate where the song goes and it ends up talking about everything but what you intended to write about. Do this instead. When you first get an idea for a new song, take the time to write a summery about what the song is about, what will happen and how it will end. This is your song blueprint, your plan to guide you as you write the lyrics. Write a very short summation and decide on your hook from this summary. If you will do this, writing songs will be much easier. You will have something to help you when you reach those moments when you can't think of anything to write. Simply refer back to your song blueprint.
Also, when you are writing your lyrics, every line should move the story along, and every word should be related to the hook. Deciding to write a song about apples and then writing lines about oranges is songwriter suicide.
If you are the type of songwriter that has a habit of figuring things out as you go along, I guarantee you, you are going to have a problem with drifting themes. The meaning of your story will start to change during the song. You will end up including lines that don't really belong, just because you like them.
Remember this, the greatest line you could write is a bad line if it has nothing to do with the central idea of the song you are writing at the time. Your song needs to be tightly focused around a clearly defined theme or idea. It takes discipline, and you must employ rewriting to keep your message on target. Go through your whole song, beginning to end, and make sure that every line leads back to your hook. Any line that isn't tightly woven into the song's central message doesn't belong in your song no matter how much in love with it you are. You can always use those lines in another song someday. Your hook is the leader of the pack, the guide that shows all the other lyrics in the song where they need to go and what they need to be saying. Keep these thoughts in your songwriting arsenal and pull them out to guide you every time you start to write a song.
Remember, songs with uncertain or wandering themes will never be signed, recorded or heard.
When trying to think of a good hook for your song, remember these things. Remember that you want to evoke an emotion, or emotions from listeners who hear your song. Keep in mind what your song is about, the message that you want to send with the words you write, the central point of the story. You want your hook to be a type summation, a mini-version of your song.
Take a minute to think about songs you know, any song that pops into your head. What do you remember about each song? The parts of each song you can recall are the hooks. That's why you remember them. The hook may be the title, it may be the chorus that you can't stop singing, it may be a guitar riff you love (and wish you could play) or sometimes even an effect put on a singer's voice or one of the instruments. That's what hooks are, those parts of a song that stick in your mind long after it's over. It's as simple as that.
Write a short sentence that sums up what your song is about in one sentence or phrase, a simple statement in the plainest possible terms. Next, write your hook right next to it. It might be the title to the song. Does it mean the same thing as the sentence you wrote? In the Rascal Flatts song "What Hurts the Most", the hook is the title of the song. The lyric focuses on hurt and how the singer copes with it in those most painful moments. When a listener thinks about the hook-"What Hurts The Most"-they are pulled right back into the song emotionally. Many songwriters fall into the trap of writing line after line without a plan. This is a bad mistake, please don't do it. When you do, you let your sudden inspirations dictate where the song goes and it ends up talking about everything but what you intended to write about. Do this instead. When you first get an idea for a new song, take the time to write a summery about what the song is about, what will happen and how it will end. This is your song blueprint, your plan to guide you as you write the lyrics. Write a very short summation and decide on your hook from this summary. If you will do this, writing songs will be much easier. You will have something to help you when you reach those moments when you can't think of anything to write. Simply refer back to your song blueprint.
Also, when you are writing your lyrics, every line should move the story along, and every word should be related to the hook. Deciding to write a song about apples and then writing lines about oranges is songwriter suicide.
If you are the type of songwriter that has a habit of figuring things out as you go along, I guarantee you, you are going to have a problem with drifting themes. The meaning of your story will start to change during the song. You will end up including lines that don't really belong, just because you like them.
Remember this, the greatest line you could write is a bad line if it has nothing to do with the central idea of the song you are writing at the time. Your song needs to be tightly focused around a clearly defined theme or idea. It takes discipline, and you must employ rewriting to keep your message on target. Go through your whole song, beginning to end, and make sure that every line leads back to your hook. Any line that isn't tightly woven into the song's central message doesn't belong in your song no matter how much in love with it you are. You can always use those lines in another song someday. Your hook is the leader of the pack, the guide that shows all the other lyrics in the song where they need to go and what they need to be saying. Keep these thoughts in your songwriting arsenal and pull them out to guide you every time you start to write a song.
Remember, songs with uncertain or wandering themes will never be signed, recorded or heard.
