How to Write Great Songs - Learn From the Masters!

Hello friends,

Welcome to another songwriting tutorial! In today's session we will discuss the process of analyzing your favorite tunes. Our goal will be to establish what key the song is in, the type of progression, and to identify any unique variations. Once we have reduced this song into it's basic components, we will use them as a template to begin writing our own original song. 

Let's get started!

Section #1: Establishing the Key

There are several ways in which you can establish the key of a particular song. Here's a step-by-step approach:

1) The opening chord - In the majority of pop, blues, and rock songs, the first chord is usually the "one" or "root" chord that matches the key. Looking at the first chord of Roy Orbison's "Crying," I can start to assume this tune is in the key of Dmaj.

2) The resolving chord - The next step is to find the chord that "resolves" or puts the progression to rest. If the first and last chord of a progression are a match, and that feeling of resolve is achieved at the close of the progression, than it's a safe bet that this is the root chord.

3) Know your keys - Compare the available chords in the progression with a list of your major keys. Look for the key that has the most notes in common: Key of D - D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#

4) Look for the 5 chord - Very often the five chord creates the feeling of a crescendo, which must be resolved by the 1 chord. In "Crying," we get this feeling once we hit the A7 chord, which forces the progression back to Dmaj, thus revealing that we are in the key of D Major.

Section #2: Identifying the Progression & Variations

In this section we will compare the chords in "Crying" with those available in the key of D Major to see if there is a core progression at work. Most popular songs utilize a "stock chord progression," which is then embellished with the artist signature variations.

Notes and Common Chords in the Key of D Major: