How to Make a Good Punk Song

Think about what you want to sing about., Choose your style., Create lyrics that rhyme most of the time., Combine your lyrics and melody (or absence of melody) to create your song., Keep the music fast., Drums need to be fast and furious., Create...

9 Steps 2 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Think about what you want to sing about.

    Punk music can be about almost anything: a relationship that’s soured, politics, your feelings towards something in general, or just something completely random.

    If you write a song about your feelings towards something, make sure it stays “punk” and not ‘emo’.

    Emo is short for emotive punk rock, and is actually an offshoot of punk.

    We're trying to write punk here, not an offshoot of punk.
  2. Step 2: Choose your style.

    Make your lyrics match they style of punk you are playing (but remember that within all these styles there are variants).

    Hardcore should be shouted with just a couple phrases repeated, about politics or something relevant.

    Psychobilly/horror-punk should be about B movies or killing. 77 punk or post punk can be about love or pretty much anything. , Most punk songs use rhyme a lot.

    If you can't come up with a perfect rhyme (as in: seedy / needy / greedy), try using imperfect rhymes.

    There are two main types:
    The vowel sounds of the words are the same (e.g. subtle/bubble) The consonant sounds are the same (e.g. middle/muddle) To make words rhyme, you can also try using an alternate pronunciation.

    To make “more” and “sure”rhyme, for example, you could pronounce “sure” as “shore”. , Try stressing different syllables on different beats. , Most punk music is fast and uses only 3 or 4 chords.

    Your guitar needs to be fast and catchy, with distortion up high.

    The chords ‘A’, ‘E’, ‘D’, and ‘B’ are a good place to start.

    Be creative and add minor chords to make it stand out.

    Feedback is good. , Throwing in a few snares also gives it a good sound. ,, Your song title can be a line from the chorus or about the overall theme you are trying to get across.

    You could also go and try to make a name that is ridiculously long and relates to the song in someway.

    A song can also have a random name that has nothing to do with the song, but this is not a great idea unless the name is catchy. , So, if you follow this guide to the letter, your song will not be ‘punk’.
  3. Step 3: Create lyrics that rhyme most of the time.

  4. Step 4: Combine your lyrics and melody (or absence of melody) to create your song.

  5. Step 5: Keep the music fast.

  6. Step 6: Drums need to be fast and furious.

  7. Step 7: Create deep bass notes that back up the main guitar.

  8. Step 8: Give your song a title.

  9. Step 9: Remember that punk music is defined as being yourself.

Detailed Guide

Punk music can be about almost anything: a relationship that’s soured, politics, your feelings towards something in general, or just something completely random.

If you write a song about your feelings towards something, make sure it stays “punk” and not ‘emo’.

Emo is short for emotive punk rock, and is actually an offshoot of punk.

We're trying to write punk here, not an offshoot of punk.

Make your lyrics match they style of punk you are playing (but remember that within all these styles there are variants).

Hardcore should be shouted with just a couple phrases repeated, about politics or something relevant.

Psychobilly/horror-punk should be about B movies or killing. 77 punk or post punk can be about love or pretty much anything. , Most punk songs use rhyme a lot.

If you can't come up with a perfect rhyme (as in: seedy / needy / greedy), try using imperfect rhymes.

There are two main types:
The vowel sounds of the words are the same (e.g. subtle/bubble) The consonant sounds are the same (e.g. middle/muddle) To make words rhyme, you can also try using an alternate pronunciation.

To make “more” and “sure”rhyme, for example, you could pronounce “sure” as “shore”. , Try stressing different syllables on different beats. , Most punk music is fast and uses only 3 or 4 chords.

Your guitar needs to be fast and catchy, with distortion up high.

The chords ‘A’, ‘E’, ‘D’, and ‘B’ are a good place to start.

Be creative and add minor chords to make it stand out.

Feedback is good. , Throwing in a few snares also gives it a good sound. ,, Your song title can be a line from the chorus or about the overall theme you are trying to get across.

You could also go and try to make a name that is ridiculously long and relates to the song in someway.

A song can also have a random name that has nothing to do with the song, but this is not a great idea unless the name is catchy. , So, if you follow this guide to the letter, your song will not be ‘punk’.

About the Author

M

Michael Adams

Committed to making crafts accessible and understandable for everyone.

60 articles
View all articles

Rate This Guide

--
Loading...
5
0
4
0
3
0
2
0
1
0

How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: