chords Archives – Page 2 of 4 – Songwriting Craft & Inspiration

Hit Songwriting: “Believer” by Imagine Dragons

Learn hit songwriting. Study "Believer" by Imagine Dragons. Photo by Nolan Knight.

If you could ask Imagine Dragons a question, what would you want to know? You’d probably ask how they do write their hit songs. In fact, you can ask that question and get an answer… just by taking an in-depth look into their biggest hits.

“Believer” – Imagine Dragons

Songwriters: Daniel Wayne Sermon, Daniel Coulter Reynolds, Benjamin Arthur McKee, Daniel James Platzman, Robin Lennart Fredriksson, Mattias Per Larsson, Justin Drew Tranter

TECHNIQUES TO HEAR AND TRY:

Find a fresh approach to your theme/core idea.
Get listeners involved in your lyric with imagery.
Use repetition to make your melody undeniable.
Try a crossover genre like Pop/Rock

Imagine Dragons is one of the most successful Alt Rock, Pop/Rock bands of recent times. They’ve topped the music charts with hit after hit, blowing way past the billion mark in sales and streams. They have consistently created bold, memorable melodies and emotionally authentic lyrics with themes that engage the listener’s emotions.

“Believer” was the band’s third top ten single and a worldwide hit with five times platinum sales. Its powerful lyric theme and emotion-driven chorus have been successfully featured in commercials, film trailers, and TV series.

Hit Songwriting: “All On Me” – Devin Dawson

“All On Me” is the breakthrough debut single for Country artist Devin Dawson. It zoomed up to #2 on the Nielsen Radio charts, topping 19 million views on YouTube and 95 million listens on Spotify (and still climbing). A remarkable achievement for a single by a brand new artist.

I love digging into songs that propel a brand new artist up the charts. Those artists don’t have a billion fans breathlessly waiting for their next release, guaranteeing it shoots like a rocket straight into the Top Ten. Nope. Their releases have to make it on the strength of the song and performance. It takes an exceptional song with a lot of appeal to make that happen and that’s what makes these songs so much fun to pull apart.

SONG GUIDE

“All On Me” – Devin Dawson

Writers: Devin Dawson, Jacob Robert Durrett, Austin Taylor Smith

TECHNIQUES TO HEAR AND TRY:

Use a lyric “measuring stick” to express emotion.
Fresh rhymes are happening in all mainstream genres.
Create a contemporary melody using phrase patterns.
Make your hook stand out with a rhythmic melody line.

Hit Songwriting: “The Other” by Lauv

Songwriter and music artist Lauv.

Although I usually feature songs at the top of the mainstream music charts in this section, today I want to look at “The Other” by Lauv, an artist who took a different path to success and whose work and career provide plenty of inspiration for independent artists and songwriters.

Before huge hits like “I Like Me Better”—which has had over a billion and a half listens on Spotify—Lauv quietly released his self-produced single “The Other.” With one small break it launched his career.

Co-written with Michael Matosic, “The Other” debuted on a friend’s music blog and was picked up by other bloggers, spreading virally through blog aggregator Hype Machine. It just goes to prove that listeners WILL spread the word when they find good music.

Hit Songwriting: “Hello” by Adele

Hit songwriting with Adele: Hello.

I often suggest in my songwriting posts that you learn to sing and play (or just sing ) successful songs. But why is that so important? Because you miss so much when you don’t. It’s like the difference between zooming down a highway at 80 mph versus rolling slowly along with your head stuck out the window.

When you slow down, you notice things… road signs, blue sky. You feel every bump in the road and the smells on the breeze. At 80 miles-per-hour you can feel the emotional rush; when you slow down, you can learn what the rush is made of.

I thought it might be fun for you and I to slow down and go through the process of learning to play and sing a hit song together. I chose “Hello” by Adele because, as I listen to it, the 80 mile-per-hour experience is pretty good, and something tells me that if I slow down and take a closer look, there might be some good songwriting tips I could use to create that experience in songs of my own. So, let’s take it for a drive.

Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) – Kelly Clarkson

This is just the kind of song that every American Idol finalist and semi-finalist hungers for—and so do record labels and publishers. The melody has a huge range, which works well for singers with big voices, and there’s plenty of passion and excitement in the lyrics. If you’re interested in today’s melodic Pop/Rock genre, this is a song that’s worth studying. It offers a master class in contemporary melody and lyric craft.

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