When I call people by their first names, I vary their names and see which one gets a positive reaction. Once I understand which name to use for a particular person, I pin that word down and use it exclusively. Some people don’t like it when their names are shortened. Others prefer their full name, as it appears on their passport. If you find a word/name that resonates with someone, you’ll be able to find the right approach.
It’s the same in music. You need to choose a title that fully conveys the song’s essence. It should define the essence of the piece and simultaneously reveal part of the concept of your musical group/repertoire.
There are countless song titles like “SHE,” “Spring,” “New Year,” “For You,” “Her Eyes,” and others—all of which you can find online. It seems few people bother with the title and simply start copying them.
Honestly, if I knew the title I’m giving this song already existed, I’d change it immediately.
The title of your song is the birth of something new in the world. As soon as a line appears in the middle above the verse, you give life to your creativity.
Your title signifies your uniqueness. Our language is rich with both native words and borrowed words from other languages. Is it really that hard to come up with a title that doesn’t exist yet? I don’t think it’s difficult; you just need to use your brain.
I know someone who writes wonderful poetry. Some of his sketches could be considered the best poems of autumn 2020, but others—and these are the most important to me—are lyrics for songs that could become hits.
This author has one odd quirk: he doesn’t come up with a title until he’s written the entire text. Sometimes, the lyrics can be written in a few hours, but the author spends weeks coming up with the title. What an approach! While the title should be at least unique, it should also reflect your musical image.
It would be ridiculous to name a hit by the famous artist Robbie Williams “Night of the Vampires,” “Raging Bull,” or “Lost in the Dark.” His repertoire also includes songs with titles like “Grace,” “She’s the One,” “These Dreams,” and so on. It’s immediately clear from these titles that this artist portrays himself as a Casanova, a romantic. Of course, that’s not necessarily true in real life, but the musician’s personality isn’t important here. What matters is the image he creates on stage.
In conclusion, I’d like to draw your attention to the analogy with seagoing ships. Remember the saying, “As you name a ship, so it will sail.” A very accurate expression. But since I know a little about shipbuilding, I can compare the song title to the front part of a ship—the stem.
You know that by the stem of a ship you can determine for what purposes it was built. If the bow is straight, then it is a minesweeper (for detecting mines); a bulbous bow indicates a pleasure craft (passenger); a straight line with a slope indicates speed (cruiser); The structure of the stem, the above-water part of which is straight, and under water (below the waterline) has a sharp slope with a head, slightly smaller than a bulb, refers to icebreakers.
So, a song title, if chosen correctly, will reveal the purpose of the work, i.e., why and for what purpose it was written.
Choose the titles for your songs carefully.
