Guide · Songwriting
How to write a song intro, and how to end a song
A good intro is short and tells the listener what kind of song this is, often with a riff, a groove or the first line. A good ending is deliberate: a clean stop, a repeat of the hook or a fade. Get in quickly, and leave on purpose.
Updated 20 Oct 2026
Writing an intro
- Keep it short. A few bars is common.
- Use the hook. A riff, a chord pattern or the first line of the chorus.
- Set the mood and tempo. The listener should know the feel in seconds.
- Or start with the vocal. No intro at all can work.
Writing an ending
| Ending | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fade out | Lets the groove or the chorus repeat and drift away |
| Hard stop | Ends cleanly on the last chord or beat |
| Repeat the hook | Leaves the hook in the listener's head |
| Return to the intro | Brings the song full circle |
| Ritardando (ritard) | Gradually slows the tempo over the last bars |
What to avoid
- A long intro before anything happens.
- An ending that goes on after the song has finished.
- Cutting off the last note by accident when you record.
Check it by listening
Play the first thirty seconds and the last thirty, and ask whether you would keep listening. See song structure.
Keep it all in one place
In songdrafts every take of a song stacks on one card, in the order you add them, with the lyrics, key and tempo on the same song. A marker on a take can note where the intro ends.
Common questions
How long should an intro be?
Short. A few bars is common, and some songs have none.
How do I end a song?
With a fade, a clean stop, a repeat of the hook, or a return to the intro.
Does a song need an intro?
No. Starting with the first line can work.
What is an outro?
The ending section of a song.
Should the ending match the intro?
It can, for a full-circle feel, but it does not have to.
Want this done for you? songdrafts is a board for your voice memos: every take stacked on one card, songs that move across stages, merging half songs, and one share link with comments pinned to the second. Works offline, and nothing you upload trains AI. What is songdrafts?