To put it simply, a song is a piece of music, similar to a composition but also very different in what a song includes that a composition doesn’t. A song is a collection of musical elements that are combined together to create something that is interesting and satisfying to listen to. A song is a more modern name for a piece of music and often uses modern instruments like drum kits, guitars and electronic instruments like keyboards, electric drums or synthesisers. However, a composition might consist of older, more classical instruments like strings, piano and brass.
Songs would use most (if not all of) the musical elements, however the three most important ones for songs would be melody, rhythm and harmony as without these, the song would feel unfinished and there would not be any interesting parts to it; these musical elements are also the most important in compositions. However, another musical element that is not usually looked at much but is extremely important in songwriting is the lyrics. Without the lyrics, the song would have little to no meaning, melodies in the song would be less strong and it would overall be less interesting as the listener would have lyrics to sing along to. Most compositions do not have lyrics; they are purely instrumental, and this missing musical element is the main difference between these two types of music.
A songwriter is fairly self-explanatory; someone who writes songs! They can write different parts to the song, like the melodies, rhythms and harmony. Musicians and artists are often their own songwriters and create their own ideas that are then made into an actual song which contains the three important musical elements. Some artists have ghostwriters, who often get paid to write songs or parts of songs for other people and then that artist gets lots of the credit for the song. Songwriters have the be very creative, critical of their own ideas and always very understanding when people suggest improvements and all of these things would create a song that is appealing to a mass audience.
Another type of songwriter would be a lyricist. These often write lyrics and then work alongside songwriters to create a piece of music or a melody that goes with the song, or songwriters gain the rights to those lyrics and use them for their own music. Many songwriters might take both of these roles to make a song that is then entirely written by themself but famous artists might work with three or four other songwriters and lyricists to create a piece of music. The lyrics have to be meaningful in which the listener would relate to, building a more personal connection between the lyricist and the audience.
A composer is different from a songwriter as composers arrange scores for large groups or ensembles, compared to songwriters who often write for themselves or parts for a few other people. Lots of composers use music manuscript to write their songs in which the ensemble can read to learn their parts. I feel like songwriting is more spontaneous and improvisational as the parts don’t have to be played strictly note for note and even if your parts were made by someone else, there is still a lot of room for freedom and adding your personal flair to make that song unique. On the other hand, people who read a composer’s score have to play it note for note; there is little no room to change the piece as everyone’s parts are created to fit perfectly together. Composers also don’t have to think about writing lyrics however for songwriters and lyricists, lyrics can be the defining element of the song and determines its success.