Hooks, What They Are and How To Write Them Part 3
Written by Dan Monk

 Editors note: you may want to read part I and part II before continuing.
 

Coming up with a catch phrase out of thin air has to be tough right? Not really. You probably hear several every day. You just need to learn to listen to other folks. And listen to yourself too. Carry a small notebook (or pda) and jot down random quotes you hear. You may be surprised at how good many of them are.

But if your notepad is blank and so is your brain there is still hope. Of course I can't guarantee a good hook, but you should be able to come up with something.

Step 1
Look around, what's the first thing that catches your eye? For me it was the bookshelf.

Step 2
 Write down everything you can think of that pertains to the object you just picked out. Describe its physical characteristics and any thoughts it may bring.

My bookshelf:

is made of wood.
Rectangular in shape.
Brown in color.
(you can and probably should have more in your list)

So now we have a brown wood rectangle. Wood makes me think of the woods or a forest. If the wood or forest is brown it is probably fall. So there's one hook - fall in the forest. You could turn it around also, a forest in the fall. That could work for a lot of songs. But we're not done yet.

Brown wood rectangle is kind of wordy but change rectangle to square and you have brown wood square. That might be a little tougher to write a song around but I think it can be done. While we are on the rectangle, what are some rectangular things. How about a swimming pool? The brown wood becomes a brown log, a brown log in the swimming pool. Hmmm, I think that's enough brainstorming for now.

Those may not be the best hooks ever, I just wanted to explain the process. It's a structured free association. One thought leads to another until one starts to jump out at you. Grab that one and work it.

There are some other things that can help you write hooks. Try twisting a common phrase. For instance; the more things change the more they stay the same could be twisted to; the more things change the more I want to leave. Also, names (people and places), dates, are all good. You can even make up words.

Remember that sound is as important as meaning, sometimes even more so. Most vowel sounds are open and usually what the singer works with. A lot of consonants however are short, harsh and closed sounding. If you are wondering what the difference is between a closed and open sound, say the letter or word. In general, if your mouth is closed when you finish it is a closed sound.

Hard and soft sounding letters and words are similar. If you close your mouth it will usually be a harder sound. If you want an angry hook then f and b are what you want. K is interesting, it can go either way. There is the open k, as in ok and the guttural k as in that word we all know and love.

But the alphabet could and probably will be the subject for another article. For now I hope I have helped you understand hooks a little better. And given you some inspiration to write your own.

Take care,
Dan

previous




(c) 1999, Dan E. Monk, All rights reserved. Reprinted here by permission.

Vision Statement

“The vision of the site is to allow people who desire to glorify God in music and give them a common arena to work together in online collaborations, thus enabling people from all over the world, with different gifts and skill levels, to participate and help one another create perhaps the next generation of free praise and worship.”
 

"Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song,  
And His praise in the assembly of saints."
-Psalm 149:1 NKJV