Tips on Finishing Writing a Song

Use What You Already Wrote

• Many times, the best ending to a song is sitting within the parts you have already written. Whether it be a lyric you are stuck on or music, it can help to go back through what you have already written and use that as inspiration to finish the song. Try looking at the story you are telling in the lyrics and expand on that for your ending. Take some of the musical parts you have written for the song and try reversing them or putting the notes in a different order to come up with an ending. When you use parts of the song you have already written, then you have a better chance of creating an ending that stays in line with the sound of the song.

Take a Walk

• Inspiration can come from many different sources. If you find you are stuck on how to end a song, then put the song down and go outside for a while. Walk around your neighborhood or go to a favorite spot you have for meditating and thinking. Take a deep breath and just look at what is going on around you. You may have the lyrics or melody for your song drifting in the back of your head, and then you suddenly see something that inspires you to write your ending. Strike up conversations with people about anything for additional inspiration. There are no rules and there is no structure for songwriting---if you put down your writing to experience something else then your ending may just come to you.

Collaborate with Someone

• It may be that the ending to your song does not come from you. If there is someone that you normally collaborate with on songwriting, get them involved in helping you get an ending to the song you have been working on. Even people who know nothing about songwriting can hear something you are working on and come up with a good idea for an ending. You may not want to take the first idea someone gives you and your only choice, so record several options as endings for your song. Listen to them to find the one you like. You may even find that combining ideas from other people help you to come up with the perfect ending to your song. Just remember to give proper writing credit to people that help you finish a song.