While I’ve been mixing music for nearly two decades now, I began as a musician and specifically a songwriter. Out of all of the seemingly limitless themes which songwriters have tackled, love is undoubtedly the most popular. Whether it’s about new love, old love, unrequited love, lost love, there’s always someone who can relate to this universal concept. Just because it’s the most popular doesn’t mean it’s easy; in fact considering that the topic has been so well tread over the last hundred years and beyond, it can feel overwhelming to say something fresh or original. With all this in mind, let’s talk how to write a love song.
How to Write a Love Song
When it comes to how to write a love song, I always think of a quote from one my favorite movies of all time, Almost Famous.
Young aspiring rock journalist William Miller asks rock band guitarist and songwriter from the fictional band “Stillwater”, Russel Hammond, “do you have to be in love to write a love song?”.
In truth, your current (or former) status in that regard doesn’t matter.
What matters in how to write a love song is chasing that feeling and encapsulating it in word and melody through your own singular and unique perspective.
You can be nursing a broken heart and still write a love song; the fact that you have that broken heart and are feeling that pain means that you know how the real thing feels by contrast.
The hardest part of writing any song, a love song or otherwise, is the beginning when you’ve got nothing.
Try to put that feeling in words – this can be thinking about how this person makes you feel, how you see the world differently, or just something you love about the person themselves.
Again, it doesn’t matter what you’ve ACTUALLY experienced with this person, it’s about chasing that specific feeling which motivates you and putting it on paper.
Even a few words can go a long way in getting the song off the ground.
In referring to one of my reliable tips for coming up with song ideas, try singing the words you wrote, even just a few of them, with different melodies.
Don’t be afraid if the message seems sappy by way of being too simple. Oftentimes the simplest lyrics yield the catchiest melodies.
More than that, there are countless songs which prove that a simple message is more easily and universally relatable.
Prime example: Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are”:
There’s a clear message: it’s unconditional love and a sweet affirming message from the writer to the one they love.
But honestly, Bruno doesn’t say anything too specific or groundbreaking here.
Just the same, it was a mega hit (and arguably his biggest song) by virtue of its simplicity, relatability, and a very simple but big hook of his vocals soaring over the instrumental.
Remember that the chorus/hook of a song is its central message or argument, so simplicity is key.
As you experiment with delivering different melodies under that lyric, try inserting different chords underneath it with your instrument of choice.
You can’t go wrong with the “four chord wonder”, or a 1-5-6-4 type progression. For instance, in the key of “G” this would be G-D-Em-C. In the key of “C” this would be C-G-Am-F.
Try each chord for a bar before lengthening or shortening anything to keep it nice and square since most melodies sound great over top of this bedrock.
There’s always a satisfying feeling to this progression as it feels like you’ve gone on a journey, kind of like the musical equivalent of climbing a mountain.
Once you have some kind of foundation in the form of that chorus with a melody and some chords that you like, you’ve done the most difficult (not to mention the most important) job.
If you’re still having trouble with your love song’s chorus, check out my overview on how to write a chorus.
Everything is secondary to the chorus, so the pressure is not nearly as intense when it comes to crafting the surrounding parts.
It’s also easier to write around a chorus because you know what you need to go into from the verse or prechorus and what you’ll be coming out from in the case of an instrumental, the next verse, or a bridge.
Remember that while the chorus is your central message, the verses are where you provide context and support for that chorus message to make it hit harder via that added credibility.
This is your chance to expound on that feeling, sharing hints from anecdotes or experiences you’ve shared with this person, or just delving deeper into the feeling which motivated you to write the love song in the first place.
Songwriting is not easy particularly when you’re starting out – in fact it’s like a muscle; the more you work it or practice at it, the easier it becomes, not to mention the better you’ll become at it.
I put together a roughly 100 page resource dedicated to teaching songwriting entitled How to Write a Song – The No BS Songwriter’s Bible, so check that out for dozens of my own personal tips, tricks, and techniques I’ve developed over 2 decades of writing my own songs and use on a regular basis to write love songs and songs with limitless other themes.
Happy writing and recording… and of course once you have recorded it, use the tips here at Music Guy Mixing to get that love song’s mix sounding like it initially did in your head!
