Tips for Toplining Songs

Toplining songs can be difficult, but also very fun, rewarding experiences.  Here are a few different techniques and tips for toplining songs

-Listen to the beat a couple times.  Get a feel for the sections of the song.  What does the song make you feel? Depending on the situation (if you are writing for yourself or hired to write a specific type of song/or message), this step of understanding what the song makes you feel can be important and useful in the long run.  

-Get in the vocal booth and record a couple passes through.  Even if you don’t have the words yet, sing the first melody that comes to you - it doesn’t have to be perfect.  Sometimes, your initial ideas may be the best.  Other times, this technique might not work at all.  However, you may be able to piece through different ideas that you recorded and put a whole melody together.  Or you may hear a certain melisma or phrase that your ear keeps coming back to - and that is usually a good hint of what you should write for the melody.
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-Sometimes a lyric or hook will come to me first, and then I will loop that section of the song until I can come up with a melody to fit.  Take as long as necessary - sometimes it takes a while, but it is worth it to keep trying out different things until you find what is the perfect fit.