I'll admit it; I often fall victim to having a boring song title. Songwriters often play it too safe when it comes to titles. We want their title to be easy to remember, easy to google, or easy to hear in the song, usually the song's hook.
There's nothing too wrong with creating those safe and boring song titles, but you want to jump out of the box with your ideas every once in a while to come up with catchy song names. Or you can go full risk and make all your song titles creative!
The way to get creative ideas flowing is way more straightforward than you'd think. Remember the Five W's and H from grade school?
Apply this method to figure out your song's story, and you'll open the gate to a world of ideas for your song title that will take you far from the general restrictions of your usual thinking.
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A basic yet creative idea could be to describe what is happening in your song. For example, if you're writing a pop song where a guy is trying to get a girl's number, the song could be called "Hit On In The Club".
If your song is a sad song that tells very abstract details about heartbreak and love loss, your song could simply be called "Tears" or "Ouch". If you're ranting about the lack of justice for a community, your song could be simply called "I'm pissed".
You could take an even more basic approach with the "what" question and call your song something simplistic like "Word On A Paper" or "A Song I Sang".
You could also attribute defining aspects to your songs, like a color, mood, personality, tempo, genre, and writing structure, then add that to the song title. For example, your song could be "Purple Feelings" or "Morbid Rock".
The story behind your song can be a number of things, but your title can be simplified to something like "Lila's Lyin' Story" or "It's My Mess".
The song's topic could be about someone else, or it could talk about a community or family. You could make the song title about the wellness of your loved ones "Pop's Dreams".
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You could be telling a story about your hometown or a story that happened in your hometown and name the title after it.
It could be a house, a school, a church, a state, a country, a party, anything. It could be the subway. You could also reference a location that was just nearby.
Your "where" could reference the place you wrote or recorded the song. It could be a reference that has nothing to do with the lyrics. Those types are usually the most creative ones!
Another idea is that your where could be completely fictional and be a reference to the characters in your story's location. You could be writing a love song about a couple in Paris and calling it Paris while having the title be the only reference to the location.
Similar to the previous W, you could reference the date of your story. It can be the year, the month, the day, or all three. You could reference the date by era.
You could also reference it by season. An abstract idea is to reference the date range that the song genre you're creating was born.
Your song title could be the day of its release, the day it was recorded, or the day it was written. It can be a day of importance like someone's birthday or their wedding day.
The title could be the date of someone's death or birth. It can be a holiday or include a holiday in the title as well.
Your song could be giving an overarching message that isn't found in the song's lyrics word for word.
For example, if you're writing a song about heartbreak, you could have lyrics all along the lines of "I feel this, my heart feels that I regret this, you did that," but the overall message is that boys suck. So your title can be "Boy's Suck".
Your song could be detailing some sort of drama or darkness that you want to get away from, talking about the pain and horror and fear of it all, but the overall message could be that you want freedom. So call your song "Where's Freedom?".
In conclusion, song titles don't have to be boring and safe. You can get creative by using the Five W's and H method to figure out your song's story.
Consider the "what," "who," "where," "when," and "why" of your song to come up with a title that stands out.
You can describe what's happening in your song or attribute defining aspects like color or mood to your title. You can make the title about the person or community your song is about, or reference a location that's important to your story.
Don't forget about the date or era of your song, and think about the overarching message you want to convey. You can use your title to get that message across, even if it's not directly stated in the lyrics.
By taking a risk with your song titles and getting creative, you can make your music stand out and leave a lasting impression on your audience. So don't be afraid to step out of the box and come up with some catchy and memorable song titles!
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As a session singer, writer, and producer that has worked with over 300 clients to provide high-quality jingles, singles, and features, Yona spends her time creating and marketing new music and helpful resources for creators. Check out Yona’s latest releases on her Spotify, her Youtube and share if you like it!
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