Common Songwriting Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

We’ve been working with songwriters from all walks of life… some that have never written a song before, some that have written many - yet we see a lot of the same mistakes coming up for these writers.

Let’s look at some of the most common mistakes songwriters make, so that you don’t have to fall into those same traps!

Mistake #1: Getting stuck on chord progressions/the production of the song

Chord progressions are NOT copyrightable… Don’t waste too much time with them! You can change the chord progression of a song and it’s still the same song. Just pick 4 chords (or better yet, just an instrumental track/type beat!) and then focus on your lyrics and melodies - those are much more important!

Mistake #2: Not editing your songs

Your first draft of a song is probably not going to be a masterpiece. But it doesn’t have to be! Just get all your melodies, thoughts and emotions out and then edit it later. But please don’t edit as you go… just complete your first draft and then edit later.

I promise you - every song you’ve ever heard has gone through stages of editing, even the ones where they said “I wrote this song in 2 hours and it just fell out of me”.

Mistake #3: Wanting your song to be perfect from the beginning

This usually leads to either not starting at all or getting stuck halfway through the song, leaving you with a bunch of unfinished songs. Remember, you can edit your songs (after you have a full first draft).

Mistake #4: Making the melodies match the lyrics

Remember this: Melody > Lyrics.

Melodies are universal, lyrics are not. So instead of molding the melodies to the lyrics that you created, try adjusting the lyrics to make them flow with the melodies instead.

Mistake #5: Writing melodies that are not singable

Don’t make your melodies too complicated or too difficult to sing. People want to be able to sing along with you! The harder you make your melodies the less likely they are to sing with you.

Mistake #6: Making the verse and chorus sound too similar

Lyrically you take your listener on a journey. Make sure you do the same with your melodies! There should be a clear change when going from a verse to a chorus so that people know that we’re now in a different part of the song.

Remember this: You need repetition within a song section and contrast between song sections.

Mistake #7: Not being clear of the overall topic of the song before starting to write

This will lead to getting stuck halfway through the song because you don’t know what else you should say. Make sure you get clear on your topic and map out the outline of the song before you start writing lyrics. I promise, that’ll make it a lot easier to finish your songs.

Mistake #8: Being too vague

Some writers are scared of adding details to their songs because they think that this will keep people from relating to their stories. It’s actually the opposite! Even if the details are different from their own personal stories, the details make it feel real and therefore more relatable. Don’t be afraid to really paint the picture.

Mistake #9: Making every line rhyme

I have definitely been guilty of this too… having rhymezone.com pulled out from the moment I start writing lyrics. Rhyming is cool, but not if it comes at the expense of the story you’re telling - that should always come first!

Mistake #10: Deleting lyrics before the song is done

I have to yell at my students for doing this all the time - don’t do it! If you don’t like something you wrote, just move it down on your page. You never know - it might come in handy later! Maybe it’s not right for your verse, but will work perfectly with your bridge.

Mistake #11: Not having an audio recording of your song

We usually remember to write down the lyrics, but often times people forget to record their audio as well. Make sure you do that! As you start writing more and more songs you won’t remember all the songs you wrote. If you have an audio recording of your songs you’ll never lose them. I also highly recommend to stay organized with your files… I like to keep my lyrics in a Google Document and then link to my audio file on that document so that I have everything in one place.

Mistake #12: Not following some sort of framework

While it’s and amazing feeling when a song just flows out of you, that’s just not the reality for most songs you’ll write! If you have a step-by-step framework that you can use to start AND finish your songs, it makes writing a lot easier and enjoyable - even when you’re not feeling super inspired.

Mistake #13: Not finishing all their songs

Make sure you at least have a full draft of all your songs… Too many people start song and then never finish them. Remember, you can’t release unfinished songs! Having a step-by-step framework will help you finish all your songs.

Mistake #14: Relying on inspiration to write songs

You know the saying “Motivation follows discipline”? It’s the same for inspiration… → Inspiration follows flow. It’s rare that you feel super inspired to write a song when you’ve been out of practice )or you haven’t started yet)… The more you write the more inspired you become. So get into flow first and watch the inspiration follow.

🎧 Check out the whole conversation I had with coach Juliana about these mistakes here:

Prefer Listening To The Podcast On Your Favorite Platform? Listen Below.