Bardcore Songwriting Advice

So you want to turn your pop chorus into a lute banger. You want a track that sounds like a tavern choir crashed a mainstage festival. You want medieval flavor without sounding like an audiobook. This guide gives you that sauce in a way your roommate will actually listen to and your followers will clip for reels.

Everything here is written for working artists who want results. Expect practical workflows, concrete exercises, and real world scenarios. We will cover what bardcore actually means, how to translate modern songs into medieval textures, how to write original bardcore material that feels authentic and viral, how to arrange and produce in a modern digital audio workstation or DAW which stands for digital audio workstation and is the app you use to record and arrange like Ableton Live, Logic Pro, or FL Studio, and how to get traction on platforms where Gen Z eats audio content. We will explain any term or acronym as we use it. No elitist nonsense. Just tactics you can use right now.

What Is Bardcore

Bardcore is the weirdly catchy trend where modern songs are reimagined with medieval or early music textures. Think lutes, hurdy gurdies, recorders, choirs, and vibes that make your history teacher do a spit take. It started as a meme movement online and grew into a full rearrangement style. People cover Billie Eilish or Nirvana and then the earworm hits harder because the contrast between lyrics and texture is deliciously wrong.

Key features of bardcore

• Instrumentation rooted in historical or historically inspired instruments like lute, viol, psaltery, hurdy gurdy, recorder, and frame drum
• Modal or archaic scales that give a song an ancient feeling even when the chords are modern
• Vocal delivery that ranges from solo minstrel narration to full ensemble chant
• Arrangement choices that favor monophonic or thin textures in verses and richer polyphony in chorus moments

Why Bardcore Works

Bardcore wins because it offers contrast and novelty. Your brain loves familiarity wrapped in new packaging. A modern lyric carried by a medieval sound creates cognitive collage. That contrast makes people pause on a feed. From a songwriting angle it gives you new melodic and harmonic choices to make the same emotional content feel different.

Real life scenario

You are in a coffee shop scrolling and you stumble on a three second clip of a familiar chorus sung over a lute. You stop. You watch. Ten seconds later you share it because it is funny and pretty and somehow smarter than the original. That is the power of bardcore.

Choose Your Bardcore Direction

Not all bardcore needs to sound like an early music documentary. Pick a direction and commit. Here are four directions you can choose with examples and why each is useful.

Minimalist Minstrel

Lute or harp with solo voice. Intimate. Great for folk lyrics and songs that benefit from being stripped. Use for storytelling and emotional clarity.

Cathedral Choir

Choral textures, organ like drones, and reverberant space. Use for dramatic readings of modern ballads or for ironic covers of upbeat pop songs. The choir turns a simple hook into a hymn.

Tavern Band

Rhythmic frame drum, fiddle, and accordion or bagpipe like synth. Good for danceable covers and viral reels. This is the energy option. Think crowd clapping and ale sloshing.

Hybrid Medieval Electronic

Blend ancient samples with modern beats. Use a filtered drum loop under a lute to keep the groove alive for streaming platforms. This direction works for artists who want to play both worlds.

Core Promise and Title

Before you write anything, write one sentence that states the emotional core of your piece. This is your core promise. If you are covering a modern song, ask what the original promises and how that promise changes when presented in a medieval context. If you are writing original bardcore, pick a promise that fits the mise en scene.

Examples

• I will sing what the city forgot in the echo of a courtyard.
• This tavern remembers the lovers who never left.
• We raise our voices for a lost night and a found laugh.

Turn that core promise into a title that is short and singable. A title in bardcore works best when it either sounds archaic or is delightfully plain in contrast to the texture. Example titles: The Last Ale, Court of Broken Promises, Night Song for Two.

Melody Craft for Bardcore

Melody in bardcore leans into modes and stepwise motion more than pop melodies do. Modes are scales that give different moods. We will explain the most useful ones and how to use them.

Common Modes and Why They Matter

Dorian

Dorian feels minor yet open. It is like a sad smile. Use Dorian when you want melancholy that can still dance. Example: play a Dorian scale and emphasize the raised sixth.

Mixolydian

Mixolydian feels like major but with a twist. It is great for singalong refrains that want a medieval lilt. Use it for tavern choruses that invite clapping.

Aeolian

Aeolian is natural minor. Use it for solemn chants and introspective verses.

Lydian

Lydian has a raised fourth which gives a bright otherworldly quality. Use it sparingly for moments you want to signal magic or revelation.

Topline Method That Actually Works for Bardcore

1. Vowel pass. Hum on pure vowels over your chosen modal drone for two minutes. No words. Record it. Mark the parts that feel singable and easy to chant.
2. Phrase map. Medieval phrasing favors shorter motifs that repeat with variation. Map your melody into two bar motifs that can be ornamented with grace notes, trills, or low drone fills.
3. Anchor on a cadence. Medieval music loves cadences that resolve to a drone or a tonic note. Place your chorus cadence where the choir or ensemble can land together.
4. Ornament last. Add mordents, grace notes, and slides after the melody is working. These tiny edits sell the historical vibe without getting in the way of modern ears.

Harmony and Drone

Bardcore can be harmonically simple and still feel rich. Drones are your friend. A drone is a sustained note that sits under the music. Think of a bagpipe or a hurdy gurdy holding one note while melodies move above.

Ways to use drones

• Single drone under verses to give a sense of place and sameness
• Move the drone at structural points like chorus entries so the ear feels a change without complex chord shifts
• Use parallel harmonies for chorus layers to simulate early music vocal practice where harmony was often parallel motion rather than modern functional harmony

Chord tips for bardcore

• Keep chords sparse. A simple tonic, minor submediant, and subdominant can carry a lot of emotion
• Use pedal points where the bass stays constant under changing upper voices
• Borrow modal color. If you are in D minor and want a lift, borrow a chord that gives a Lydian or Mixolydian flavor for the chorus

Lyrics and Language

Lyric choices will decide whether your work reads as charmingly archaic or cartoonishly fake. The goal is to suggest an old world without sounding like you pulled your vocabulary from a badly captioned renaissance fair poster.

Voice and Register

Decide how archaic you want to be. You do not need to use thou and thee. Modern language can sound medieval when set against the right instruments. A better strategy is to use sensory details and specific images. Use words like hearth, cloak, courtyard, and ledger only if they serve a moment.

Prosody for Medieval Texts

Prosody is how syllables and stresses work with melody. In medieval chant and early music the rhythm often follows the text. When adapting modern lyrics, make sure natural stress points line up with strong beats in your melody. If a modern lyric stresses a syllable that does not fit the medieval rhythm, reword it or retime the phrase.

Real life example

You want to cover a pop line that says I am breaking down. The natural stress falls on breaking and on down. If your medieval phrasing lands stress on I and am the line will feel off. Try You will find me breaking instead if you need to move the stress to fit a chant pattern.

Translation and Archaism Without Cheesy

When choosing archaic words ask one question. Does this word deepen the image or does it just show off? If the word does not pull weight delete it. Replace vague modern abstractions with physical things like the clink of coins or the smell of baking bread.

Before and after

Before: I miss you in the night.

After: The candle guttered and I kept your cup for the cold.

Rhythm and Tempo

Tempo choices depend on direction. For a hymn vibe go slow. For a tavern dance push the tempo up but keep percussion organic. BPM stands for beats per minute. A slow hymn could be seventy to eighty BPM. A tavern dance could be one hundred twenty to one hundred thirty BPM.

Rhythmic ideas

• Use dotted rhythms or long short patterns to mimic medieval dance forms
• Frame drums and tambourines provide pulse without sounding like a modern drum kit
• Layer modern kicks lightly under a frame drum when you need platform friendly energy for streams

Arrangement That Serves Both Ear and Feed

Arrangement in bardcore is about reveal. You want the hook or twist to arrive early enough for short form video audiences but you also want development for listeners who will stay for two minutes.

• Open with an identity motif. A short lute riff, a choir tag, or a recorder fragment. This gives viewers something to recognize by second three.
• Keep verses thin. Let the listener settle into the story without distraction.
• Open the chorus with fuller texture. Add viols, chorus, or a second lute part. This creates the release moment audiences expect.
• Use a coda or refrain that replays the opening motif with a twist so listeners get the satisfaction of return

Production Tips for Medieval Flavor in a DAW

Production will make or break your bardcore. You can have beautiful arrangements but a bad mix will ruin the illusion. Here are practical steps for producing a convincing medieval sound while keeping modern clarity.

Instrument choices

Choose samples and virtual instruments that feel real. Many sample libraries offer lute, theorbo, viol, hurdy gurdy, and crwth. If you cannot afford a library use high quality free samples or use clever voicing with acoustic guitar and reverb. A nylon string guitar run through a short reverb and low pass filter can approximate a lute if you play the right voicings.

Microphone emulation and room

Use convolution reverb with a chamber impulse response to simulate small stone chapels and taverns. Avoid massive plate reverbs for everything. Keep dry signal for clarity on vocals. Add a little room to instruments to glue them together.

Tuning and temperaments

Early music uses different temperaments than modern equal temperament. You do not need to retune everything but trying a slight detune or microtonal shift on drones can add character. Many samplers allow fine tuning. Use this subtly.

EQ and presence

Roll off unnecessary low end below eighty Hertz for lute and recorder. Boost presence at two to five kilohertz for voice clarity. Use gentle saturation on viols to add warmth.

Layering modern beats

If you are blending modern drums, keep them supportive. Sidechain the low end to the frame drum or kick so the bass does not swamp the historical instruments. Use shaker textures rather than full snare hits to keep the feel authentic.

Vocal Production and Performance

Vocals in bardcore can be intimate or institutional. For solo minstrel keep one lead vocal with light double on the chorus for warmth. For choir style record multiple passes and pan them wide to simulate ensemble. If you have access to real choir singers record each voice. If not use a high quality choir library and then humanize it by adding slight timing offsets and dynamic variation.

Delivery tips

• Sing like you are telling a story to one person across a table
• Use ornamentation sparingly and tastefully
• Double the chorus in a higher octave for the second half to add uplift

Legal and Copyright Considerations

Covering modern songs in a new arrangement is allowed in many contexts but you must secure mechanical rights for recorded covers if you plan to distribute on streaming services. For short form content platforms like TikTok or Instagram some use license libraries for popular tracks but check platform rules. If you create an original song in a bardcore style you avoid cover licensing but be careful not to copy melodic hooks from existing songs too closely. When in doubt consult a music lawyer or a rights service.

Real world example

You make a bardcore cover of a chart song and post it to streaming platforms without rights. The platform may remove the track or the original rights holder may claim the revenue. Instead use a licensed cover service or upload to platforms that provide cover clearance automatically.

Promotion and Viral Strategy for Millennial and Gen Z Audiences

Bardcore lives on visuals and jokes as much as on music. Pair your audio with a compelling visual strategy. Short reels that highlight contrast win. Show the instrument, show the transformation, and give the audience an ear worm to clip.

Platform tactics

TikTok

• Open with the hook within three seconds
• Use on screen captions that play with the contrast for comedic effect
• Encourage duet chains where others add percussion or clap along

Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts

• Create a simple narrative around the cover like a tavern scene or a modern twist reveal
• Use vertical friendly shots of instruments and hands to show craftsmanship

Long form audio or streaming

• Create a full arrangement for streaming platforms and include an explanation or behind the scenes in the description so listeners can discover your process
• Consider a release strategy where you drop a short clip first then a full version the next week

Collaboration and Ensemble Work

Working with historical instrument players will level up authenticity. Send clear demos and give them space to embellish. If you cannot hire musicians then find sample libraries that allow realistic articulation changes like plucked versus strummed lute strokes. When recording real players record in mono close and then a distant room mic for ambience.

Exercises to Build Bardcore Skill

The Mode Swap Exercise

Take a familiar major chorus and play it in Dorian. Hum the melody over a Dorian drone for ten minutes. Mark moments that now feel different. Rewrite two lines of lyrics to match the new mood.

The One Instrument Rule

Write a complete arrangement using only one melodic instrument like a lute or a recorder. No percussion for ten minutes. This forces stronger melodic writing and clearer textures.

The Viral Clip Drill

Make a fifteen second snippet that reveals a twist. Start with a modern hook and then cut to full medieval texture on the last four seconds. Time limit twenty minutes. Post and track engagement. Learn from the results.

Before and After Lines

Theme: a breakup turned into a tavern confession

Before: I am moving on and I feel fine.

After: I empty your cup and let the ale remember you instead of me.

Theme: a love that feels endless

Before: We are forever.

After: We carved our names on the oak and the bark kept them warm through rain.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

• Over archaizing You add too many fake old words. Fix by keeping language natural and using just a few carefully chosen archaic images.
• Too many layers You clutter the mix with samples. Fix by returning to one strong motif and removing competing textures.
• Forgetting prosody The lyrics sound awkward with the melody. Fix by speaking the line at normal speed and moving stressed syllables onto strong beats.
• Bad instrument choices Sample choices that sound toy like. Fix by investing time in a single convincing library or by processing acoustic guitar and flute in a way that sounds believable.
• No hook The medieval arrangement buries the original hook or never creates a hook. Fix by creating a strong short motif that repeats and is easy to hum.

Resources and Tools

Sample libraries and plugins

• Look for lute, theorbo, viol, hurdy gurdy, recorder, and chamber choir libraries
• Use convolution reverb plugins for realistic rooms
• Consider a saturation plugin for warmth

Learning resources

• Listen to early music ensembles and notice phrasing
• Study modal melodies and try transcribing simple tunes
• Watch bardcore creators and reverse engineer their arrangements

Bardcore Songwriting Action Plan

1. Write one sentence that states your core promise and turn it into a short title
2. Choose a direction: Minstrel, Cathedral Choir, Tavern Band, or Hybrid
3. Pick a mode for your main melody and do a two minute vowel pass over a drone
4. Build a motif in two bar phrases and repeat with ornamentation
5. Arrange verses thin and chorus fuller with a drone that moves on key changes
6. Produce in your DAW with convolution reverb and careful EQ for clarity
7. Make a fifteen second clip that leads with the hook and post on TikTok
8. Collect feedback and do one targeted revision before streaming wide

Bardcore Songwriting FAQ

What instruments are essential for bardcore

Lute or nylon string guitar, viol or cello for low lines, recorder or flute for melody, frame drum or tambourine for pulse, and a choir or choir library for texture. You do not need all of them. A single convincing lute and a drone can be enough.

Can I do bardcore on a budget

Yes. Use a nylon guitar with a short reverb and a free or inexpensive recorder sample. Record in a quiet room and use convolution reverb to give space. Focus on melody and texture rather than on paying for every obscure instrument.

How do I keep lyrics modern but feel medieval

Use modern language with medieval images and sensory detail. Avoid forced archaic words. Let the music imply antiquity while the lyrics tell a story someone alive today can relate to.

Do I need to study early music to write bardcore

No. A basic familiarity with modal scales and phrasing helps a lot. Listen and imitate before you innovate. You do not need formal training just curiosity and practice.

How do I make a cover legally safe

Clear mechanical rights if you distribute the recorded cover on streaming services. Use platform license libraries for short form social media. Consult a rights service or lawyer for commercial uses.

Should I lean into comedy or keep it serious

Both work. Comedy gets clips and shares. Serious presentations can build long term fans who appreciate craft. Decide based on your audience and your brand voice. You can be funny and serious in different pieces.

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