SONGWRITING TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT SECOND VERSE

Map out an outline of the song as soon as you decide on a hook. Knowing where you are going helps you avoid saying too much before you get to the 2nd verse. Second verses are not that difficult if you have planned out your whole song’s structure and you already know what you are going to say in advance, and you avoid saying those things earlier in the song. A map will help you do that.

​Say ONE thing in each verse that supports your hook. Don’t try to say 5 different things in one verse. Say one thing at the time and elaborate on it to develop it well. If you communicate one clear message, you’ve done your job.

Let your second verse answer the question “And then what?” Think of your song this way: First Verse says “This happened”. Chorus says “Because…”. Second Verse answers “And then…”. If you would want to add a bridge, it should be something like an additional information to one of these 3 pieces, specially the one that comes right before the bridge, which usually is the chorus. And if you find it unnecessary to add a bridge, you absolutely do not need to force it in. The bridges also can be a solo instrument section. Don’t forget the power of a solo instrument.
 
Don’t settle. Let your goal be making the 2nd verse even stronger than the first. If you keep people engaged and listening into the second verse and you knock that verse out of the park, you’ve probably written a really good song!

Author

Hangi Tavakoli is our in-house established and professional music producer with more than 15 years of experience in songwriting, music production, mix and mastering. He has produced more than 1500 and written more than 3000 published songs to-date, including some major hits in international scale.