How to Write a Love Song on the Piano

Any creative endeavour starts with inspiration. If you’re deeply in love with your muse, you’re probably inspired already! 

But you don’t need a love interest to write a romantic love song. You can get inspiration from other songs, movies, television, or works of art. And imagination goes a long way!

If you’re new to songwriting, look to the masters for inspiration. Listen to a diversity of artists from all genres, backgrounds, and time periods: from Bob Dylan and Chopin to Ed Sheeran and Yiruma.

> Romantic Love Songs on Piano

Next, pick a key. It doesn’t matter what key you pick, but if you plan on singing, pick a key that you’re comfortable singing in.

Some people associate specific keys with specific emotions. For example, Christian Schubart’s Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst (1806) describes E-flat major as “the key of love, of devotion, of intimate conversation with God” (translated by Rita Steblin).

Schubart may be onto something. Erroll Garner’s “Misty” and Frédéric Chopin’s “Nocturne in E-Flat Major” are very romantic piano pieces in E-flat major! But of course, key sentiments are subjective. So pick a key you’re comfortable writing, playing, and singing in—ideally one where you’re familiar with the diatonic chords.

Some songwriters pick their melody first (see next step) but if you’re still brainstorming yours, starting with a chord progression can be a good catalyst for melodic ideas. 

Chord progressions set the mood and narrative direction of a song. You can make up your own progression or choose a popular progression. Remember: just because many people have used the same progression doesn’t necessarily mean a song is unoriginal or uncreative. 

Still stuck? The I-V-vi-IV progression and its sibling the vi-IV-I-V progression are great places to start. These progressions have carried the love songs of legendary songwriters for decades, from the Beatles to Taylor Swift!

> Top 10 Piano Chord Progressions (And How They Work)

Perhaps you already have a melody living rent-free in your head and you just need chords to harmonize it. In which case, check out our lesson on how to match chords to melodies.

Have a progression but no melody? Try improvising over the progression with notes from the same scale. Melodies don’t have to be complicated. In fact, simplicity often wins because simple tunes are catchy and get stuck in your head!

If you need more inspiration, try one of these lessons:

How to Write A Melody on the Piano
How to Improvise a Beautiful Melody: 9 Tips From Jesús Molina
Create Emotion With Only 4 Notes