Songwriting for me starts with the desire to share with my home church. I begin by reading the Bible…sometimes with a topic (looked up in the Concordex), sometimes with a Biblical character (looked up in the Index), sometimes just opening the Bible and following the footnote references in my study Bible. This is similar to warming a pot of salted water to start soup.
With soup we add root veggies first; with a song we establish a groove (otherwise known as a time signature at a tempo). The main ingredient is a rhyming chorus (often 4 or 8 lines). The chorus should be congregation singable by the first repetition (the salt of the earth).
Associated poetry in the verses grow the details related to the themes in the chorus. In soup, thickening agents (arrowroot, legumes, sauces) resemble the verses’ structure. When the chef tests with a spoon midway through the simmering, the composer is finetuning the couterpoints and test-driving an arrangement.
The key of the tune often changes at a later time, or I may want to add a key modulation or a Coda. The final tempo must wait until finishing touches. The real test is rehearsing with the praise band. One primary consideration is which fret to capo the strum guitars (in a praise band). -Mr. Allen