Songwriting
How to write a song on piano
The piano gives a songwriter the whole range at once and two hands to use it with — which is why piano-written songs tend to have wider melodies and more movement in the bass than guitar-written ones. The method below uses that: left hand holds the harmony, right hand looks for the tune, and the two are separated on purpose until each one works.
This page is part of the guide to songwriting.
Start with a progression in one hand
Play four chords with the left hand alone, in root position, one per bar. C–Am–F–G or C–G–Am–F will do — the point is not the chords but that one hand is free.
Keep the left hand low but not muddy. Below the C two octaves under middle C, triads turn into a blur; the comfortable region for full chords is the octave below middle C, with single bass notes lower if you want weight.
Play it until it loops without attention. Everything that follows depends on the left hand becoming automatic.
Find the melody with the right hand, away from the chord
Play single notes above the progression and listen for the ones that pull. The notes already in the left-hand chord will sound safe and add nothing — the interesting ones are the second, the sixth and, over the dominant, the fourth resolving down.
Sing what you play. A melody that works only under the fingers usually fails in the voice, and the range of a sung line is far narrower than the range of a hand.
Keep phrases short and leave gaps. Piano writing tends toward continuous motion because the instrument allows it; songs need air where the listener catches up.
What the left hand can do besides block chords
Arpeggios. Break the chord into a repeating figure. It fills time and keeps the harmony present without competing with the voice.
Octaves and fifths. Root and fifth in the left hand, thirds left to the right hand or omitted. Open and strong, and it stays out of the melody's way.
Walking bass. Move the lowest note by step between chords, using inversions where needed. C–G/B–Am–F walks down and turns four chords into a line — the single most useful device for piano songwriting.
Silence. Dropping the left hand for a bar before a chorus does more than any added chord.
Two hands, one arrangement
Decide who owns the middle. If the right hand plays chords and the melody is sung, the two will fight for the same register — the usual fix is thinning the right hand to two notes, or moving it up an octave.
For a song meant to be sung, the piano part exists to support a voice that is not there yet. Leaving a hole in the middle of the texture is not an omission; it is where the voice will go.
Record yourself playing and sing over the recording. It is the fastest way to hear whether the arrangement has room.
Choosing the key
Write in whatever key your hands find, then move the song for the voice. Unlike guitar there is no capo, so transposition means relearning the shapes — which is why it pays to test the singing key early rather than at the end.
The practical shortcut is to sing the melody first without the piano, find where it sits comfortably, and then play the progression in that key. C, G, F and D are the friendliest for hands; if the voice wants E flat, the extra flats are worth the trouble.
A digital piano with transpose solves this in one button, and using it is not cheating — it is the same decision a guitarist makes with a capo.
Where to go next
Starting on guitar instead pushes a song towards different shapes. At a keyboard the useful next step is inversions, because the hand finds them before the theory names them, and they are the practical form of voice leading.
Common questions
How do I write a song on piano?
Play a four-chord progression with the left hand until it needs no attention, then look for the melody with the right hand using notes outside the chord. Sing what you find, and choose the final key by where the voice sits comfortably.
What chords should I start with?
C–Am–F–G or C–G–Am–F in C major, or the same relationships in G. Both put the relative minor next to the tonic, which is why they carry so many songs. Keep them in the octave below middle C so they do not turn muddy.
Why does my piano part fight the vocal?
Because both occupy the middle register. Thin the right hand to two notes, move it up an octave, or leave the middle empty — the hole in the texture is where the voice belongs.
What should the left hand play?
Block chords work, but arpeggios, open octaves and a bass that walks by step between chords all do more. C–G/B–Am–F turns four chords into a line, and that single device carries a great deal of piano songwriting.
How do I choose the right key for singing?
Sing the melody without the piano first and find where it sits, then play the progression in that key. On a digital piano the transpose button does the job a capo does for guitarists.
Is writing on piano different from writing on guitar?
Yes, in what each instrument suggests. Guitar shapes push toward certain progressions; the piano lays out the whole range and two independent hands, which tends to produce wider melodies and more movement in the bass.
Leave room where the voice goes
Play the part in the studio and look at the register it occupies. Seeing the gap in the middle is easier than hearing that it is missing.