5 Pro Tips on Lyric Writing (that are fast and easy to use)


7 pro tips on lyric writing
Lyric writing can be a challenge at the best of times.
 
It’s one thing to get an inspired idea or any idea. But for many beginner lyric writers, it can be a struggle to turn those ideas into a full song lyric.
 
There are certain tools lyric writers can use to write better songs. Techniques that are easy to use and make it less of a struggle to write lyrics.
 
And don’t take my word for it. These tips on lyric writing come straight from the pros.
 
So, let’s jump right in…

7 tips to write better lyrics for beginners (from the pros)

The best song lyric starters are titles

Before we jump into this one, let me clarify what I mean by ‘song lyric starters’.
 
That is to say when we are starting to write the song lyric for real.
 
So we are not talking about generating an initial idea. Ideas can come in lots of ways. We can get inspired by something we have seen, or heard, or read. We noodle around on our instrument and get some chords or a melody we like.
 
For example, let’s look at Sting.
sting quote
His approach is to create the music first. Then, he gives that a structure. That is to say, he lays it out as a verse, chorus, etc…
 
Then, (as he puts it), he let’s the music tell him the songs story.
 
And this is an approach has been used by many songwriters from David bowie to Max Martin. I’m not saying it’s their only approach, but it is one of them.
 
And this is where building a list of song titles pays off.
 
If you open your eyes and ears to them, song titles are everywhere. On billboards, conversations, movies, books, tweets, hate comments.
 
Make a list, keep a journal or create a document and never let a good idea slip away.
 
So when you get a good idea for a song, some chords or a melody, open up that document and start auditioning title ideas.
 
Listen to the music you want to write lyrics for and decide what kind of song it is, a love song, a dance song…
 
Then find a title that looks the way the music sounds and describe a situation that tells its story.
 
Or, if you are starting with the lyrics, start asking those title ideas ‘what they want to be?’.
 
For example, does the title idea form an image in your mind?, ask what emotion could it symbolize? Is it a phrase or a common statement?, ask what situation would this work in?
 
Get the big picture clear in your mind and it will give your lyrics a direction to focus on and point towards.
 
You then know ‘What’ you are writing about and can start figuring out ‘How’ you are going to write about it.

Lyric Writing Exercise

Now I promised you fast and easy. So don’t feel you need to build this list all at once. This needs to be a habit you form. So let’s get you started. Here is an easy lyric writing exercise.
 
Open up a book and randomly put your finger on a page. Pick out 10 – 20 words. Verbs and Nouns. Start pairing off those words and see if any possible song titles emerge.

Simple lyrics for better songwriting

In real life, big words might make you sound clever. When it comes to songwriting they are usually more trouble than they are worth.

They can be hard to sing and a nightmare to rhyme.

But, this can depend on your lyric writing style.

Because the whole idea is to bring people into the song and let them get lost in it. If they have to think about what you said, you’ve lost their attention.

Even slow songs happen quickly, so make it easier on the listener and give it to them straight. As a beginner, this can be an essential practice.

For that reason, take advantage of single-syllable words. The English language has so many words that mean the same thing.

Using short and common words makes it easier on the listener and they are easier to sing,

Look at the first verse of I’m Yours by Jason Mraz

Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill, but you’re so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks
Now I’m trying to get back
Before the cool done run out
I’ll be giving it my bestest
And nothing’s gonna stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it’s again my turn
To win some or learn some

There are 69 words and only 11 have more than one syllable.

It can also open our lyrics up to more rhyme options. We can use a combination of single-syllable words to rhyme with multiple syllable words

Like “melted” and “felt it”

And they also make it easier to match up the rhythm of your lyric lines. Because it’s easier to arrange and manage the stressed syllables.

songwriting tips from famous songwriters
Keep it conversational.
Use everyday words and keep it conversational, especially for the verses. 
 
You might like the idea of having some poetic and unique lyrical style. That is something that comes with practice.
 
And this is one of the tips on lyric writing that can be misinterpreted. But remember, simple isn’t easy. Writing a conversational lyric using mostly one-syllable words that is interesting, is a skill unto itself.
 
To be honest, a conversational lyric that isn’t boring is much harder to pull off than vague poetic imagery.
‘Don’t muddy up the waters just so they appear deep’. 

Lyric writing exercise

Have a conversation or listen to a conversation. It’s better if the topic is kind of important to the people having it. like, a conversation about a breakup.

Listen to how people express their emotions without any preparation or editing (as we would do when writing lyrics).

If you can, record, remember or write down some of the phrases. Then without changing the conversational quality, construct a quick song verse.

Making song lyrics stronger with Power Words

Most songs are short and this makes every word precious real estate.
 
So choosing the right words, in our lyric writing, will make the best use of that space.
 
Because these words show the listener something more than they are being told.
 
That is to say, they reveal more about a situation or emotion without adding words. Well, I should say without adding ‘unnecessary’ words.
 
In truth, the right word will depend on your song. It depends on the style and type of lyric you want to create.
 
The “right word”, means using words that best express your lyric’s message.
 
So it will always be the writer’s creative choice.
 
But, there are some simple tips we can follow to make our lyrics show a lot more than they are telling.
 
To make the listener ‘feel’ the rain, instead of just getting wet
lyrics for songwriting

When we want to say a lot with a few words, we want to choose words that have motion, that paint a picture and have emotion.

For that reason, Verbs are our best friend. Have a look at these verbs…

‘I got out of bed’, Vs ‘I jumped out of bed’ Vs ‘I crawled out of bed’.

Got is generic,

Jumped has motion,

Crawled hints at emotion.

So each of these words is showing us something about the emotional state of the singer?

Because a specific verb will create a picture in the listener’s mind. That being so, we can decide how they see that picture.

Make no mistake, they will see their own bed in their own room. But we can point them to what experiences they are remembering.

In other words, everyone gets out of bed every day. But not every day do we jump or crawl out of bed.

So when we do, there is a reason for it. That reason will have an emotion or a feeling behind it. And that is what we want them to relive when they hear our lyrics.

Let’s look at a real-world example…

“Woke up, fell out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head”.

What feelings, state, or emotions do those verbs suggest? Compared to …

“Woke up, sprung out of bed. Breezed a comb across my head”.

They are saying the same thing, right?

But they both feel very different. Those external verbs are showing us the inner life of the singer.

Verbs describe actions and actions speak louder than words.

“Love”, as a verb is generic.

A word like “fall”, as in ‘fall for’, has motion.

Through sense memory, the physical sensations are easier for the listener to recall.

We can use external verbs to express and describe inner feelings, thoughts, and emotions.

Try it now, pick a verb, and have a look at thesauras.com. See how many emotions you can express with the synonyms you find.

Identify with details

So after verbs, Nouns are our next best friend. Because we can identify with details.
 
For example,  “Love” as a noun, is generic. Replacing it with a word like “flame”, paints a picture in our minds.
 
Getting specific with nouns and creating a mental picture will bring our lyrics to life.
 
Bug‘ Vs ‘Ant‘, for instance, or ‘downstairs‘ Vs ‘Kitchen.
 
Also, we can personify nouns to express our inner life, attitudes…
 
For example…
 
I tumble outta bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition
 
*As a side note the verbs here are not only expressing a state of being but also using assonance. (more on that later)
 
Back to the noun. A cup of ambition is obviously a cup of coffee.
 
But she gives the coffee a human attitude, her attitude.
 
Let’s strip that lyric of all the cool stuff and see what we get…
 
I get up outta bed and go into the kitchen, pour myself a cup of hot coffee”.
 
Now, there’s nothing wrong with it per se, but it’s way more forgettable.
 
Since the opening line to our lyric is an important line. Because it sets up how the listener follows our lyric.
 
As a result, it can guide them into the meaning of the chorus.
 
*the opening and closing lines are as power positions. (more on that later)
 
So of course, our creative choices always depend on the type of song we are writing.
 
But personifying nouns can be a useful tool. Because we can express the singer’s feelings without stating them outright,
 
eg, “pouring rain” vs “angry rain”.
 
The rain is neutral but the attitude is expressing the singer’s feelings.

Give it a go…, generate a random noun and see if you can find a version that paints a more vivid mental picture.

Then, give that noun a human emotion.

Stop struggling to write lyrics and use a monkey suit.

So keeping it simple doesn’t mean you can’t get creative and use your imagination.
 
In other words, focus on the emotions and give them a ‘monkey suit’.
 
But what is this monkey suit we speak of?
 
So a Monkey Suit can be any Situation, Object, Person, Place, or Thing. It can be anything real or imaginary, that we can use to Symbolize emotions.
 
Here are a few examples…
 
The police – message in a bottle.
 
That song is about feeling alone, finding it hard to make a genuine connection in our society. He picked ‘a cast away’ as a monkey suit.
 
He still wrote about his honest emotions but used all the imagery associated with ‘a cast away’.
 
The Weeknd – Blinding lights
 
that song is about feeling desperate and confused. He used the monkey suit of ‘the blinding lights of vegas’.
 
and used that to write a situation that summed up his emotions.
 
Olivia Rodrigo – Drivers license
 
So this one is like an inside-out Monkey suit. Because getting a driver’s license symbolizes freedom.
 
But she contrasts that with driving around the same streets. like being trapped in her heartbreak.
 
Picking a monkey suit will let you write from the heart and also give you the freedom to use your imagination more. You get to use imagery that you probably wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.
 
It makes it more fun to write and more interesting for the listener.

The craft of Lyric Writing Structure

So organizing the flow of your lyrics makes them logical and meaningful.
 
Plotting out ‘How’ the lyrics will unfold gives them the most emotional impact.
 
And there is a very simple way to do this. It works exactly like the plot of a movie or a book.
 
Let’s have a look at this easy to use ‘formula’, that can help us out.
 
Now, when I say formula, I don’t mean this is something that will make our lyrics formulaic. Think of it more as a loose and flexible structure that keeps us focused.
 
Just like if we were trying to get a point across in a conversation. There are ways to do that, that are more effective than others.
 
So here is the formula…
 
SO-
BUT/BECAUSE-
AS A RESULT-
 
 
 
So… I saw you dancing in a crowded room
 
You look so happy when I’m not with you
 
But… then you saw me, caught you by surprise
 
As a result… A single teardrop falling from your eye
 
We can apply this formula to sections of our song and to the song as a whole.
 
Check out this video for a full breakdown of this technique.

how to structure lyrics

how to structure lyrics

lyric writing exercises

Pick an object, Lets say ‘a hole’
 
pick three point of view, let’s say
1. fall into a hole
2. climb out of a hole
3. dig a hole.
 
Now let’s organize these with our formula…
SO… I dug a hole
but… I fell into the hole
As a result… I have to climb out of the hole
 
Now we have the out-line of a song.
And we can do this with each point aswell. This will give us the flow of information in our lyric.
 
This is an out-line of a plot. That doesn’t mean this is the order we have to use in the finished song…
 
I DUG A HOLE
So…I never ment to hurt you
But… it always seems to go wrong
Because…I’m always two seconds too late
As a result…I’m up to my eyes in hurt
 
Now this isn’t ment to be a finished lyric. But it’s how the lyric will flow. As you can see, using this structure makes it move in a meaningful way. Now we just have to say those things with more style and pick a rhyme scheme.

The one thing you should take away from this post is…You can’t get better at writing lyrics if you don’t write.

Even if it’s just ten minutes a day. Write something every day and don’t judge it. Apply these tips on lyric writing and see what difference it makes.

I’ve put together a free cheat you might find useful, you can grab it here…

 

 

 

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