What Makes a Good Song? 8 Elements for Making a Banger
‘Good’ is forever subjective. Scholars and theorists may have their compelling data, but all that really matters is you — the artist.
So take this post with some salt on the side.
This is nothing more than my subjective input (based on current experiences and beliefs). Use these ideas to craft and strengthen your own perspective.
So what makes a good song? I don’t know, but these are the things that resonate most with me right now.
Let’s do this!
1. A Catchy Hook
Most bangers come with a solid hook. This isn’t a new thing, hook melodies and choruses have always been anchors in a song.
They make your song more memorable and easy to sing along to.
I’m biased though. My favorite part about the songwriting process is making melodies and strong hooks. That’s my bread and butter!
Still, it’s a main ingredient in all the best songs. So here are some quick tips for making a catch hook:
Gibberish x looping. Sing gibberish over looped instrumentals until you stumble onto a solid idea.
Repetition. Use repetition to make your hooks more memorable and easier to sing along to.
Use strong language. Don’t forget about your lyrics — use compelling and emotional language.
Keep things simple. The catchiest hooks are sometimes the simplest.
Explore more:
➤ How to Write Epic Melodies
2. An Authentic Voice
Want to know the best way to creating good music? Finding your authentic voice and then sharing it — unapologetically.
Have you ever found yourself thinking “but nobody else does things this way”?
If so, you’re probably onto something great. So lean into those moments — that’s often what makes you unique.
Here are some quick tips for finding your awesome authenticity:
Use your personal story and experiences
Be honest and real
Take risks
Don’t aim for industry-approved ‘perfection’
Be intentional, practice and continue growing
Explore more:
➤ What Makes a Musical Style Authentic?
3. Memorable Lyrics
A good song is a song people love to listen to over and over and sing to loudly in their cars on their way to places unknown.
Memorable lyrics help a lot here.
There’s a reason unique language, repetition and simplicity work so well — especially in modern music or songs made just for social media (where our attention span is that of a goldfish).
A memorable, well-placed one-liner can make your music stand out.
Of course, success on social media has nothing to do with subjective quality. But still, memorable lyrics help elevate a song in any situation.
Explore more:
➤ The TikTokification of Music
4. Real Live Emotion
“Apparently, we’re not robots. So don’t just be another large language model when making music.”
Our greatest asset (as musicians, as humans) is our emotion, based on some authentic experience that creates real nuanced feelings.
When you infuse this beauty into a song, it’s felt. It’s hard to describe but even harder to fake. It’s that thing that can turn a good song into a great one.
It’s the subtle trembling in a voice. The passion of a line delivered. Words that come from some genuine place of being real.
Sometimes, emotion flies in the face of technique. Because sometimes, this breaking of the ‘rules’ actually serves a song better and more authentically.
So feel the lyrics and the melody. Remember the song’s purpose and its story. Put yourself into it like a character in a movie.
Be emotional — it’s a core trait of a great musician.
The listener is waiting.
5. It’s Well-Produced
A great production is how you optimize a song to its fullest potential. And that doesn’t mean complex plugins and advanced techniques. Simplicity works fine, as long as the fundamentals are met.
Things like clipping, frequency overload or unintentional creative decisions can seriously limit a good song.
So if you need to hire a music producer, it’s worth the investment. Otherwise, spend more time learning how to produce music. It’s difficult if you’re new, but it opens up so much creative freedom and control.
Here’s everything you need to produce music.
Just stay patient and enjoy the process. Learn the basic and start with simple, minimal productions. Less is more.
(also, never compare yourself to others)
Explore more:
➤ My Favorite Music Production Tips
6. A Surprising Element
Going back to attention spans, adding some unexpected developments to your music is a great way to improve your song.
A surprising element is something the listener wasn’t expecting. Here are some examples:
Delaying a drop after building it up
Some unique ear candy sounds
Creating tension with dissonance, but not providing a release (right away)
Unpredictability keeps the listener engaged and elevates the creativity of your music. When a song is predictable, it’s boring. It doesn’t push the envelop or further any stories. It’s safe.
Good music challenges the status quo and makes people intrigued (IMO).
7. Solid Dynamics
In my humble view, a flat song that has no dynamic range is not just boring, but it’s lower in quality.
Dynamics simply relates to the softness and loudness of a song.
For example, what’s better — a song blasting at -6db for 3 minutes straight or a song that mixes in plenty of softer moments, buildups and silence.
Of course, the one with more dynamics is better. I’m sure there are caveats or people who may disagree, but in general solid dynamic are a key ingredient to making a good song.
So play with your volume, add in silence and adjust your frequencies. Be dynamic and create a more interesting listening experience.
8. Your Mindset
“Anger and depression and sorrow are beautiful things in a story, but they are like poison to the artist. You must have clarity to create.”
If you’re not in the right headspace, your music suffers.
All of my favorite songs were written when I was in a deep flow state or just happy. A good mood is motivating and inspiring. When you feel like sh*t, so does the music.
Or at least, the song won’t be as good as it can be.
Songwriting can be an awesome and cathartic way to deal with acute stuff, but over the long-term, it’s super unhelpful. I’m speaking from experience.
Being bummed out is a wet towel on your music. So here’s how I stay stoked in life:
Practice present moment living
Turn off the dang news
Make time for doing what you love
Detach from metrics
That’s all I’ve got for you here! Now go make something epic.
Later ✌️
