How to write a killer dance tune

It's that famous DJ ... Roger something, er, ohwhatshisname ... oh, yeah Sanchez. Photograph: PR

Last week, I had an email from a German dance act. They'd heard some of the dance records I'd written and were wondering if I'd be interested in writing a top-line (melody and lyrics) to one of their tracks. I must admit, writing to track over the net is not my favourite way of working - I prefer sitting in the room with other writers and being able to change the chords if I feel the urge. Still, as a writer for hire you have to be flexible. It's fun to mix it up, and at least I'd be the only person writing for this particular track (as far as I know), which isn't always the case.

Recently, a label sent out a backing track to all the top-line writers they knew, asking them to write melody and lyrics for their girl group (I'm not allowed to say which one). This is quite a common practice in pop and dance music and works well for the labels. For the top-liners, on the other hand, it can be frustrating. It doesn't involve much collaboration or feedback and, if their top-line doesn't get chosen, chances are they end up with an unusable melody that sounds too much like the chosen one.

This label was honest enough to say that there was only 10% available of the song's copyright, since the track had a sample that would claim the main part of it. Some A&R people love suggesting tracks that the artist should sample (1980s electronica like Depeche Mode seems to be the flavour of the moment), and the girl group in question used a famous sample on their last single too.

I wonder if Matthew Dear got 50% of the songwriting credits when Fedde le Grand used his vocal sample for Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit? When it comes to song splits, it's not about how many words you write - it's all about negotiating from a strong position. If the producer didn't ask before using the sample, they may have to give away most of the publishing. Roger Sanchez had to give Steve Lukather much more than 50% for using one line from the verse of Toto's I Won't Hold You Back in Sanchez's hit Another Chance. Of course, that line gets repeated over and over again, but still.

Like most people, I used to think that writing dance music must be ridiculously easy. After all, how difficult could it be to write one chorus (and possibly a verse too) about getting down on the dancefloor that gets repeated ad infinitum over a beat?

The first time I worked with a DJ/producer, he told me that he wasn't into writing the old "Take me higher" and "Put your hands in the air" dance cliches. "I like to write stories," he said. "Fantastic," I thought, as I strove to come up with original ways of describing a universal experience. "It'll be like country music with a beat underneath it." Of course, by stories he meant: "I see you across the dance floor. You look really hot. I want to take you home."

It's difficult to write something original with such a narrow choice of subject matter. Then again, the most important characteristic of a good dance top-line is not the profundity of the lyrics, but that they flow well. Don't clutter it up with too many words and stay away from long unusual ones. Use nice open vowels, not too many consonants and come up with a killer hook. If you manage to get an original lyrical idea that fits into these parameters, it's the icing on the cake - what makes a good dance track great.

Then again, my most successful dance track to date is called Turn on the Music, so forget that last bit. Maybe I'll go for the "Let's all come together and spread the love" theme for this one.