Songwriting: words and structure

Ages 13 to 17 Read alone · about 55 minutes

Read together

A song has words (lyrics), a melody, and a form. Many songs follow a pattern: verses that tell the story, a chorus that repeats the main idea, and sometimes a bridge that gives a change. The chorus is what people remember and sing back.

Good lyrics are specific. Instead of “I am sad”, show a picture: “The coffee cup is cold on the table.” Rhyme helps, but meaning matters more. Many songs use only three or four chords, such as I, IV and V.

The Christian tradition has a long history of songwriting. Isaac Watts, who lived from 1674 to 1748, wrote hundreds of hymns, including “Joy to the World”. Charles Wesley wrote thousands. Today, churches worldwide sing songs in many languages and styles.

Do it

1. Choose a theme you care about: thanks, a friend, a place, a struggle. Write ten concrete images or phrases about it.
2. Shape them into a chorus of four lines with a repeated hook. Then write two verses that tell different parts of the story.
3. Find a simple tune: try humming over three chords on a guitar, keyboard or app, or choose a melody and fit your words to it.
4. Perform it for someone. Ask what stood out. Revise one line.

Talk about it

• What is the main idea of your chorus?
• Which image in your verse is the most vivid?

For the grown-up

Songwriting is a good way for teens to explore feelings and faith. Keep their work private unless they choose to share. Isaac Watts's hymns, including “Joy to the World” (1719), are in the public domain.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• Jimmy Webb, Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting (Hyperion, 1998)
• Isaac Watts, Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707) and The Psalms of David Imitated (1719)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.