Writing Songs for Children

Writing songs for children can be both emotionally and financially rewarding.

Children's songs can be heard in films and TV shows, as well as on recordings.

If you are going to write songs for small children - age five and under - you must follow some simple rules to make sure that children will enjoy listening to them and singing them.

Make sure that the lyrics are easy to learn and to remember. Using rhyme will help with this, as will having a strong hook.

Words should be easy to understand. Children should know exactly what the song means.

Keep your lyrics focused - tell a story with a beginning, middle and an end. Don't offer conflicting viewpoints or engage in philosophical discussions.

You should be direct about expressing emotions. Lyrics can mention being happy, being angry or being sad. In this way, children's songs differ from songs written for adults, where emotions are implied through the actions of the people in the song.

Children may enjoy singing nonsense words, the classic example being Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Disney's Mary Poppins.

Melodies  should have few notes and be easy to remember and to sing.

Keep the notes to a small range. Small children usually sing from Middle C up to the A or the B above Middle C. Use a range that extends from five notes to one octave.

Children have faster metabolisms than adults. The tempo of a children's song should therefore be quick as well. A child might consider a song that was written at a medium tempo for adults to be slow and boring.

When writing for an older market - children between the ages of six and twelve - you can use the same rules that you would use when writing songs for adults. Just make sure that the lyrics are age appropriate. For example, avoid lyrics that are sexually suggestive.