The Expert's Guide to Turning Your Poetry into Songs

Some of the best songs in the world have actually been born of poetry, though you would never know it. While most poems that people are familiar with have a definite rhythm, there are others so abstract that fashioning a song from them seems virtually impossible.

Beginning songwriters may find it especially difficult to transform their poetry into singable songs for any number of reasons. There are a lot of things to consider when deciding to approach songwriting from this perspective. Tempo, content, and arrangement are all important factors of the songwriting process. Taking a meaningful poem and attempting to extract a gorgeous song from it can be a bit thorny. But you can do it.

Step 1 : Figure Out What You're Trying to Say...

It's important for any song to have a purpose, even if the purpose is to have no purpose. In any event, it helps to decide if your little ditty is to tell a story of some sort. Or perhaps you simply want to write something catchy. Whatever your purpose, the poem you choose to transcribe to music should speak to you in some way.

Before beginning to write your song, you will first need to examine the style of poem you've written. Is it blank verse, a ballad, or perhaps something else? Ballads are the easiest kinds of poems to put in to songs because of their rhythmic nature. Blank verse has a definitive rhythm. But these poems often do not rhyme. For the sake of your song, figuring out what you're trying to say will help you to determine what "rhythm" to present it in. Read over your text and see how the words make you feel. After reading it a few times, try imagining what kind of music might accompany your sentiment. You will be surprised at what you "hear" in your head.

Step 2 : Break it Down...

One of the frustrating things about songwriting, is that you have a very short window of time to say what you really want. Musical measures can come and go very quickly in songs. Thus, even if your poem has definite rhyme and rhythm, it may still not fit within a certain number of bars. So, in reading your written poem, circle or highlight your favorite parts, the most meaningful ones---the ones which speak to the topic of your new song.