Composition

To compose your own pop ballad, use these steps below as a guide.

As composing is a very personal activity you might want to follow the steps below in a completely different order. For example Paul McCartney wrote the melody for `Yesterday` a long time before he came up with the lyrics.

1 Decide what you want your song to be about. Pop ballads often have a romantic theme: you might want to sing about a lost love, a cheating partner, a difficult break-up or happy relationship. Pop ballads don`t just have to be about love though, as Rafferty`s Baker Street shows.

2 Write the lyrics for the first verse. Four to six lines is a good length for a verse, although you can make it longer if you wish. See you if can include any rhymes at the ends your sentences.

3 Write the lyrics for the chorus. This is the most important part in writing a pop ballad. You want your chorus to be catchy and heartfelt. The chorus should emphasise the main theme of the song

4 Write lyrics for the second verse. Here you might want to resolve any tensions created in the first verse for example, if you fell out of love in the first verse then you could find love again in the second verse.

5 Write the lyrics for the bridge. The bridge acts as a link between the verse and chorus. This could be another section for voice or you might want to create an instrumental bridge instead.

6 Read through the whole of your song. Does the story make sense? Have you managed to include any rhymes? Is your chorus short, simple and to the point, but still catchy?

7 Decide on the structure of your song. Do you want an introduction? Are you going to include an instrumental solo?

8 Decide what key you want to start in, and think about the chords you would like to use. You might use one or two chords for each line.

9 Work on a rhythm of the words, perhaps playing them to the same note or chord to start with. Make sure the strong syllables are also stressed rhythmically. Then try to create a melody based on you chord progression. Don`t be afraid to repeat the same note - the first five words of your song are sung to the note G. Some of the best pop ballads have very simple melodies.

10 Create an instrumental introduction and/or bridge, if you want your song to include them. Make sure all the different sections of your song flow into each other and fit together well.

11 Finally, give your song a title