![]() It’s a prescriptive tale that shows what to do to find love. ![]() Songs that end with the lovers getting together end positively and that solution tends to be popular amongst listeners. So if you want to tell a love story in a song, include a problem that needs solving. Not every story is about lovers meeting, falling in love and living happily ever after. In love stories, the two lovers face obstacles that either strengthen their desire to commit or push them to break up. If we look at storytelling in songs we specifically look to see if the protagonist faces a problem. And the reason they change is by facing conflict. Memorable songs, or songs that “work,” have a protagonist who changes. It all depends on how the character faces his/her problem, chooses in the dilemma and what the outcome of his/her choices are. It could be excitement, intrigue, a faster beating heart, romance admiration, relief, triumph, rebelliousness, anguish, loss or even pity. No matter if the goal is achieved or not, there will be an emotional reaction in the listener at the end of the song. In the case of Westlife, we should expect that the first few lines make it clear that it's a song about love.īut how many Westlife songs establish the love song in the first few lines? ![]() Is it about life and death (Action) or about third-party validation (Performance, Status). So in the song itself, the first few lines should tell the listener what the song will be about. Those expectations are the promise a writer gives their audience. In every kind of story, the genre should be established as quickly as possible to set up expectations that are gonna be paid off. By giving the character a purpose the listener will cheer for him/her if he/she reaches her goal or be sad with him/her if something went wrong, at least as long as the character was fighting for what he/she wanted. Listeners can invest themselves better in a song if they are able to root for the protagonist because they want him/her to achieve what he/she wants. In order to understand what the song is about the protagonist needs a goal. Having a character is essential for songwriting because a song should address a problem. It doesn't matter if your audience reflects that character to be the singer of the band or is putting himself/herself in the situation or circumstances of that person, so as to understand or empathize with their perspective, opinion, or point of view. Someone the listener can identify or even empathize with.Įven if you haven't thought about storytelling in songwriting, as soon as we sing about the troubles of life, facing incredible odds or simply confessing love there's a character in your song that the listener will consider as a real person. ![]() There is the possibility to sing solely about the colors of the sky, the falling leaves or something else that just concerns the beauty of nature.īut if you want to engage your listeners in a great story you need a character. So how do the protagonist’s actions or his decision turn out? What’s the resolution? Something that can be lost or gained depending on how the character chooses in his dilemma. Something that catapults the protagonist into a dilemma. It can’t be a walk in the park where the character goes from A to B without any complications. ![]() The protagonist needs to have a conscious object of desire.Since not everyone is familiar with the craft of storytelling, here are the most important ingredients: But in order for a story to resonate, certain elements must be present. Stories are in our DNA from the time we’re born. What do we need in order to tell a story? We look at the ingredients of what a story needs and I give you a complete guide of how to tell a working story from the beginning to the ending. In this first article, I tell you all about what you need in order to tell a story in a song. I've analysed the storytelling of over 140 songs to prove that the craft of telling captivating stories in songs or on albums truly matters in songwriting. ![]()
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