Becoming a songwriter is a lifelong dream for many. Although anyone can technically write a song, only a small portion of people end up make a living off their passion. Writing good songs is a major part of being a songwriter, but it doesn't stop there. If you want to make the leap, you'll need to market your songs once they're polished up. Songwriting can be a harrowing field to get into, and it's extremely competitive. However, with the right dedication and artistic integrity, there just might be a place for you in this field. Follow the steps bellow to become a profectiona song writer.

Method One Composing the music

1 Begin with a chord progression.
A chord progression is the basis of any pop song. Chord progressions are fundamentally simple to come up with, but it requires inspiration to come up with a truly great one. Using an instrument of your choice, ply around with a few different chords and see how they match up together.

Chord progressions are often predictable and simple in the context of pop music. Especially if you are starting out as a songwriter, it's a good idea to start small at first and work from there.

2 Build a song structure.
A hit song will always come in the form of a coherent song structure. It may be helpful to write out the parts of your song down, and attach musical ideas to them as they come. Here is a list of some common parts in songs:

The intro: An instrumental opening for the song that introduces the tone and rhythm of the song. Certain songs, like the Beatles' "She Loves You" break typical form and open up the song with the melodic chorus.

The verse: The most common part of a song, where the main body of the lyrics and music tends to go. In Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and others, this is where the story is told. The "summary" of the song is reserved for the chorus.

The chorus: A repeated section, often the most memorable melody in the song. Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" uses two verses before its chorus. The chorus uses repetitive lyrics stating the speaker's summary of the action.

The bridge: A change of pace featured later on in the song, often following a chorus. If a fresh idea happens right before a chorus, it may be called a pre-chorus. "Billie Jean" uses a pre-chorus after the verse and before the chorus. This is used to build up the tension before letting loose in the song's melodic hook.

3 Practice your instrument daily.
If you play an instrument, noodling around on it every day may lead to surprising new insights and ideas. Give yourself some time to play in a freeform mode on your instrument. Let all pretenses drop, play around and see what happens. If you end up hearing an idea you like, write it down or record it for use on a song.

Practicing and rehearsing songs written by other people can be the springboard for your own creative ideas.

4 Record a demo.
After you have a basic demo prepared, you can revisit it and listen for yourself. This will shed a fresh insight on the music and what it may need. Improve upon the demo version as you see fit. Because songwriting is a constantly evolving process, you may record several demos of the same song before you're done.

5 Verse yourself in music theory.
Although being educated in music theory isn't necessary for a songwriter by any means, it may help set you on the right track. Knowing which notes tend to agree with each other the most may give you a valuable insight if you're stuck on a certain part of a song and aren't sure how to proceed.

Theory books are widely available.

Community colleges also often host classes in music theory.

Method Two writing your lyrics

1 Keep an ideas notebook.
The best lyric writers take a notebook around with them wherever they go. That way, when a clever line strikes them, they can record it down before it's lost forever. Make a habit of writing down the random thoughts that come into your head on a day-to-day basis.

Keeping a thesaurus around with you will help as well.

2 Give your inspiration a rest.
You may find your creativity reinvigorated if you give yourself a day or so to rest away from your work. It is easy to burn out in any creative process. When you come back, you'll hopefully have a refreshing perspective on your art.

Most often, sleeping things over will give your brain time to consolidate your thoughts. When you make up the net morning, you'll have a fresh insight on what you worked on the day before.

If you're getting stressed out over the creative process, go for a walk and take half an hour to relax.

3 Offer a sincere emotional insight.
Any songwriter worth his salt will tell you that the best song material is written from the heart. Although this can be different if you're attempting to "make it big", do the best you can to be emotionally invested in whatever music you're making. Even if you're not the one who will ultimately perform the music, you should be communicating an inner part of yourself to your prospective audience.

Taking a page from your own life will make it easier to evoke a real emotional response. Take a life experience that moves you and write about it.

4 Tell a story with your lyrics.
Some of the best songs tell a story. If there's something noteworthy that happened to your recently, consider writing a track about it. Base your verses around telling the story, while the chorus can reiterate the general theme of what you're attempting to convey.

Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" tells the story of a man who is accused by a one night stand of being a woman's father. The story incorporates romance and a dimension of tension.

5 Avoid cliche and forced rhymes.
An easy beginning mistake in writing lyrics is to place the importance of the rhyme above anything else. Rhymes can be very effective when used cleverly, but they can just as easily make lyrics feel amateurish if you're building a song specifically around them. The same idea applies to overused cliches and cheesy sentimentality as well. Although you may feel you need to rely on bombastic emotional insights to get your feeling across, you'll get better mileage by toning it down for something more intimate.

Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" sneaks in rhyming within the same lines, but the rhymes are only used because they advance the story.

6 Employ repetition in your lyrics.
Repetition allows a listener to latch onto something familiar in a song before the first listen is over. This is an important psychological aspect of music appreciation. Take the most pithy line in your lyrics and repeat it. A small verse section can be re-imagined as a chorus.

The most repeated lyrics in a song often ends up as the song's chorus.

7 Match your lyrics to the music.
Finally, integrate your lyrics with the melody in your song. This may involve tweaking your melody and rhythm to accommodate the lyrics. You should keep in mind however that the music should almost always come first, as it's the thing people will be focusing on the first time they hear the song.

You can stretch vowels and vocal sounds to match the music.

If you're writing a hip-hop track, a skilled rapper will usually be able to fit irregular verses into any steady rhythm.

8 Come up with a fitting title.
A song title should catch the audience's eye immediately. Some great titles may be plucked from the lyrical ideas you've already written. While there is no single step-by-step process on how to get the perfect song title, play around with a few words or phrases and decide for yourself which one matches the message your song is getting across.

You might pick a title that captures the essence of your song. If your song is story-based, pick a word or theme that describes what it's about. If your song is about someone, name the song after them. Michael Jackson's song "Billie Jean", for example, is named after the primary character.