Okay, so I wanted to make a little something special for my little sister, and I thought, “Why not write her a song?” I’ve messed around with writing lyrics before, but this time I wanted to actually finish something and make it, you know, good.
First, I brainstormed. I just jotted down a bunch of words and phrases that reminded me of her. Stuff like her goofy laugh, her obsession with unicorns, and that time she tried to cut her own hair (disaster!). I didn’t worry about rhyming or anything, just getting ideas on paper.
Then, I tried to find a melody. I’m no musician, but I can hum a tune. I messed around on my old keyboard, trying to find something catchy and upbeat. I probably sounded ridiculous, but hey, nobody was around to hear me!
Next, the tricky part: fitting the words to the music. This was like a puzzle. I had my list of words and phrases, and I had my basic melody. I started by trying to find a line that felt like a good opening, something that captured her personality. I went with “Sparkle toes and a sunshine grin,” ’cause, well, she loves glitter and she’s always smiling.
- Tried different combinations of words.
- Read them out loud (and sang them!) to see how they flowed.
- Changed the melody a little bit here and there.
It was slow going. Lots of scribbling, lots of deleting, lots of humming the same tune over and over until my head hurt. I got stuck a few times, especially with rhyming. Ugh, rhyming. I’m not a poet, okay?
My Simple Tools
I used a regular notebook and pen to write. And my old Casio keyboard, to try find a melody. And I use my phone to record the melody. I’m sure there are better ways, but it works to me.
But I kept at it. I focused on making it personal, using inside jokes and little things that only she and I would understand. I figured even if the lyrics weren’t perfect, she’d appreciate the effort.
Finally, after a few days of messing around, I had something that resembled a song! It wasn’t going to win any awards, but it was cute, it was personal, and I knew she’d love it. I recorded a super rough version of me singing it (cringe!) and sent it to her. She loved it! Totally worth the effort.
