5 More Tips for Arranging Your Songs

In the last article we discussed the important process of arrangement of your songs as a way of finishing them for the recording process. In this article there are five more tips for arranging your songs.

1. DAW Set up - Some songwriters like to use their recording software to pre-plan each part of the song prior to recording. Using a DAW you can layout how many bars you want your into, verse adn chorus to be, and can even be used to give you a metronome or a basic drum beat.

2. Rhythm - While you are arranging your DAW for recording, you can spend a great deal of time creating and arranging different rhythms for various parts of the song. With just a click of a button, you can combine complex rhythms and make your song take on new heights.

3. Time Periods - Understand various time periods and styles of music to give your piece a certain bygone flare. A good exercise is to try to write and arrange songs from a wide variety of time periods. Make a version of a 20's jazz classic, or try a 60's psychedelic song. Maybe you might find that the 1950's is the time period for you and you will have a knack at that type of song.

4. Mix and Match - Once you get a good feel for a variety of time periods and styles, don't be afraid to mix and match various styles to see what you come up with. One of the fun things about writing songs is the experimental process that songwriters go through while creating and arranging them. Don't forget that playful experimentation can lead to greatness.

5. Effects - Experiment with arrangement effects like vocal doubling, lush string arrangements and other techniques to make your song sound over the top.   

So there are a few more ideas to help improve your songs at the arrangement stage. If you found these tips helpful, you can find out more about songwriting tips and tricks in my new book: "Lyrics and Music: Music Theory for Aspiring Songwriters" available now at Amazon.com, or with several additional Appendices at Barnes and Noble..

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