Writing Better Hooks and Choruses

Writing simple and effective hooks and choruses is deceptively difficult to do well. A chorus is the central section of the song that delivers the summarizing thoughts, usually tied up by the title, which we often call the “hook.” This “hook” is also engaged to a melodic theme that defines the song.

As songwriters, words like “repetition,” “main message,” and “memorable melody” come up in critique of our songs. Certainly these elements are part of crafting great choruses, but no matter what the commercial tools are, there is one action that is more important than all of them - spending more time gathering compelling initial ideas. When we write lots and lots of titles and develop many more choruses than songs we’ll finish, we can discard most of them in order to keep the best. Our ability to feel the quality of a hook and chorus improves the more we write.

I remember years as a new writer, when I was just delighted to simply make a song and finish it. Back then, I actually believed no one had heard a song quite like mine, and that what I had to say musically and lyrically must surely sound different and interesting. (After all, we’ve known ourselves all our lives, and even we haven’t heard our songs until now). But one of the best learning experiences for us songwriters is to let others hear what we make, and take in both their smiles and their winces. 

Just sitting in the room with someone provides just the perfect amount of social anxiety that we begin to see the notes and words for their potential deficiencies. We recognize that the song we’re writing for our grandmother may not be a huge hit or bring everyone to tears. We recognize that the melodic ideas are boring, or don’t do much for the words, the tempo is slow, the song is too long, and the lyric title has been done before and done better. 

So how do we make lots and lots of choruses, and entertain lots of titles and hooks?

One great exercise is to spend dedicated time each week collecting titles. Get them anywhere and everywhere you can – from books, articles, conversations, movies, arguments, podcasts, and any journaling you do. It’s not just the message of the words that we assess here, it’s the rhythm of the words too. The rhythm of the title words creates the rhythm of the melodic hook. And in order for the hook to be memorable, it must sing well, as if the melody and words were born as one. 

To illustrate this, I’ll use the song American Woman by Lenny Kravitz. Before the downbeat, the phrase ‘American Woman’ rolls off the tongue due to the rhythm of the words, set over just two neighboring tones. It’s not the pitches here that create the interest, but the rhythm that establishes the dangers and thrill of the American woman. Nothing in the language is inaccessible, as Lenny delivers more familiar lyric like ‘stay away from me’ and ‘baby let me be.’ These are phrases that suit the character who isn’t trying to be clever or poetic, but simply on point. He’s serious, and knows the threat this kind of woman implies. In our own songs, we might throw phrases like these to the wayside, labeling them as cliché. And so as it is with upper level songwriting - the true mystery lies in the marriage of music and words to create a character that is more themselves than each element on their own. This is a game of intuition, not intellect.

A songwriters biggest challenge is communicating a genuine message effectively and memorably. Choruses on their own can often feel disingenuous, coming across as cheesy or trite and packed with platitudes. In commercial writing, things like repetition and contrast is key, where the name of the game is getting that chorus section to pop after a verse or pre-chorus. True, contrasting melody, chords, and placing the title just where it ought to land are all tools that help us express the significance of our message. 

But none of these tools can truly be understood without writing regularly, so that we encounter as many situations as possible where they work and where they don’t. So turn down your inner critic and up your productivity, writing down 10 times more titles than you’d ever develop into songs, and 10 times more songs than you would ever bother to record. Over time, you’ll find the songs you used to think were your best have faded out of your repertoire. Your instincts will better know a great hook when you hear one, rather than an idea that seemed good at the time. We all shoot the sky most of the time until one day we hit the target.

And if one day, at the end of your rope, you find yourself saying “I don’t even care if I have a ton of listeners anymore - I just want to write good songs.” That’s when you know you’re close to striking gold. Many artists break right after they give up. If this is you, I can’t wait to hear what you make next.

For more tools to consistently write better titles and hooks, check out my 30-day songwriting program, The 30-Day Songwriter.

Stay Creative,