Writing lyrics is all about words isn’t it? Therefore to be a good lyricist you would need a healthy respect for the English language and how it can be juxtaposed to tell a story, describe something or put across a point of view.

You would need to become very interested in what you read, speak, see and hear around you. First of all lets start with the humble newspaper.

Mindfulness and observation are two of the most important qualities that a songwriter needs to have to be able to come up with songwriting ideas on a more consistent basis.

Let me attempt to expand on that premise just a little bit.

First of all to become interested in words you need to actively seek them out. Words are all around us yet we don’t see them.

We just take words for granted.

We especially take for granted what comes out of our mouths. The promises and commitments that we make, the way that we relate to people and the way we assimilate information.

Actively seeking out words does not mean getting a dictionary and reading it from cover to cover but it does mean increasing the amount of reading and listening you currently do.

If you are like me you would be saying to yourself ‘but I have no time to read’. My answer to that is ‘who says you don’t have time?’

As a songwriter we can’t afford not to have the time to read and slow our lives down a bit so we can pick up on what is happening around us.

Start by getting the newspaper every day and really take note of what you read.

You are looking for something that jumps out at you. A headline may make a great title for a song, a quote may make a good line for a chorus, an article theme may make a great song story and so on.

Have a look at the letters to the editor.

I personally find this section most entertaining and it also shows everyday people writing (mostly complaining) about everyday things in everyday language. I find this an absolute goldmine for songwriting ideas.

In the letters to the editor you find people at their most witty. It’s these witticisms I find make great songwriting fodder.

I know someone who only writes songs when she is angry about something. If this is you then reading the newspaper will be the equivalent to finding a vein of gold.

For the rest of us its a good opportunity to just take some quiet time out, grab a notepad and pen and allow the ideas to enter us from the ether. This is a great example of brainstorming for ideas.

Remember, it doesn’t matter what you write, but the writing that matters.

If you “tune” yourself into specifically looking for songwriting ideas you will find them. It’s amazing what the brain will find if we allow it too.

This exercise is not a guarantee that a song will appear the first time but (with any songwriting idea generating technique) with practice comes mastery and from mastery comes effortlessness in creation.

About The Author

Do you ever have a time where you’re searching for lyrical ideas? I know I do. Some of you may have already my newsletter ‘Super-charge your lyrical Ideas’ – and hopefully you’ve grabbed some idea’s from it. Here, I’ll go into it a little bit more. You should certainly take what is happening in your daily life and try and ‘listen for lyrics’ as they happen to you.

Overheard Chit-Chat For example, I overheard a conversation at a restaurant the other day (which usually isn’t very difficult) and somebody said the phrase “there’s just no use in me trying”.

I immediately jotted it down, came home and starting to write a song based around that phrase. The song was about a relationship and the girl tried her best to keep it together, but it was sinking situation and the hook (chorus) would sing “there just ain’t no use in my trying”. This is a very simple yet powerful idea.

Write about your Friends Situation There isn’t anything like taking ideas from your friends or relative’s life.

Of course, if it’s seemingly negative then you may not want to tell them where the inspiration came from If your friend’s mother just had a heart transplant and the family is going through grief, then why not write a song about it? In fact, why don’t you go one further and make out like the father is cheating with another woman? Fictionalizing a real life story is often a great way to write a song.

Perhaps the father cheating can be a feature of the song. Yes, this may seem harsh – but look, who’s to say you have to reveal your sources of inspiration? Remember, you are only writing a song here.

Grab the Daily News What’s happening in the world today? Earthquakes? Tsunamis? Politics? Violence? Racism? Think about the implications of events that are unfolding before your very eyes. These are the things and the people of the world are listening and watching.

Remember to take things to a new level with your song – meaning think of the depths of these events and circumstances and write from a ‘how this effects us’ stand point. This is incredibly powerful because people will WANT to sing your song as it effects them too.

Ideas from TV and the Movies How many times have you watched a movie and have been completely moved by it? This is exactly the feeling people experience when listening to a song they love. It makes them feel validated in some way.

The lyrics are totally congruent with their emotions. Writing about specific situations from TV and films in realistic genres (ie. not sci-fi and horror) will be a route to evoke somebody and then hopefully to like your song enough to want to hear it over and over.

As you can see, the above will surely get your ears listening for lyrical ideas in different situations. Once you make a habit of this, ideas will be flooding in your mind – sometimes non-stop.

Here’s how to write lyrics that stand out and shine for the listener. Here are some tricks to grab your listener and make them want to hear every detail of your songs lyric and music.

Come up with an interesting idea that all people feel. Listen to all the conversations around you, in bars, at work, in the emergency waiting room and in your everyday conversations.

Keep notes and use them to come up with an outline for your song. To learn how to write lyrics you need to decide on a song form, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus for instance.

The outline can be one sentence for each of the first verse, chorus, second verse, and bridge. Make the story progress to become more and more intimate as it goes. Try to make each verse give a new angle on the chorus. This is called “color the chorus”. Make the chorus have new meaning each time you hear it.

Focus on one main idea for the song and describe it in great detail when learning how to write lyrics. Narrow all things in your song down to relate only to that idea. Use other good ideas that don’t quite fit in another song.

Decide on a hook (main phrase and meaning) for your chorus. It should wrap up everything in your song. In other words every line in your song should relate directly to your hook and give it new meaning. Make sure to put long vowel sounds in your chorus and hook so the singer can hold out the notes easier.

When you write your lyric choose words that show what you mean as compared to just telling what you mean. Find new ways to say “I love you” common phrases. Turn these old cliches into new examples that demonstrate what you mean.

Be specific, be specific, be specific is the key on how to write lyrics! Don’t say a “car”, give its name and color or make. Do this for all words you use. Don’t just say it was “raining”, describe it, how it sounded, how it felt, how it tasted. Do this will all your words.

Find words (verbs, nouns, and adjectives) that are loaded with power and emotion for the listener. Use a thesaurus to find words. Use action verbs not passive verbs because they don’t cause action in your song. Keep all your lyrics in action at all times.

Brainstorm you first lyrics and don’t judge them at first, just write and come back later and edit. Get you thoughts out on paper. Organize them later. Decide on a rhyme scheme. Make the rhyme scheme different in the verses than the chorus.

Make the meter and rhyme scheme in the verses match each other so the song will be easier to sing and flow better. Keep you sentences as short as possible, cut all the unnecessary words. Focus your words on the one theme in your song when you think about how to write lyrics.

Use humor, irony, times and dates, proper names and place names whenever you can. Find ways to get them in. Listen to your inner voice when you are rewriting. Ask yourself how to write lyrics so the listener will hear what you have written. Write for the listener not yourself. Try to speak to the listener.

Find a non-family member to critique you song, if something doesn’t seem to hit the listener as you intended, consider changing it. Don’t get hung up on little things, the purpose is to communicate your ideas.

Change you song if it isn’t communicating well. Always respect how people have heard you song as compared to how you think they should hear it. How to write lyrics is the art of engaging your listeners in the story, pictures and emotions of your song.

About The Author

Writing a song is something that will take time regardless of your experience and expertise. There are many things to consider when you write songs and this is by no means an exhaustive list. We all continue to learn and improve throughout our lives.

Ideas to assist in improving your lyric writing at a glance:

• Research
• Brainstorm your song topic (consider more than the obvious)
• Song structure
• Be prepared to capture ideas whenever and wherever (note pad or voice recorder)
• Avoiding writers block (experience new things to stimulate thought)
• Engage your audience
• Seek the honest opinions of others
• Improve your skills (writing workshops, forums and discussion groups)
• Leave the lyrics for some time so you can review them later when they are ‘fresh’ to you

First it’s important to research the genre of song you are writing. Consider how the songs are written, what is being said and how it is being put forward. Are there keywords used commonly? What is common between all these quality songs?

Try and apply this knowledge when you begin writing your song.

Songs must be carefully constructed. It’s very useful to consider at depth your song topic. List keywords and think about more than physical attributes. Emotions and feelings are also vitally related to the topic you are writing about. The more words you can list and the more brainstorming you do, the better the end product is likely to become.

Another aspect of song writing that should always be considered is the general structure of the lyrics. Song lyrics often include verse, chorus and bridge. The chorus is most often repeated throughout the song while the bridge (a section in the song that is different from the verse and chorus) breaks up the monotony of the song, giving the listener a break from the ‘normal’.

It is always wise to be prepared to capture ideas whenever you get them. You may be jogging and suddenly BAM! The idea hits you, so it’s always essential to have a means to record your song ideas.

A notepad and pencil will work well, although a voice recorder (perhaps a cheap MP3 player) for many is an easier way to take notes.

Then of course, there are the inevitable times where ideas don’t come to you freely. Many of us have experienced the frustration of ‘writer’s block’. New experiences often stimulate new ideas and vigor for writing. So get out there and play a sport you’ve never played, visit a new place or just do something out of the ordinary and see what happens!

Any good song lyrics must engage the audience, so think about how you believe the audience will react when hearing the lyrics. Ask friends and other professionals what they feel and think about when they read / hear the lyrics. The more input others have the more likely you are to have the desired effect when writing.

Consider double meanings when you write and be sure to avoid cliches and tacky over used lines and phrases. The more unique and interesting your wording the better.

If it’s unusual it’s likely to capture attention, so be original but ensure that it suits your intended audience.

Like any skill, writing can be improved by learning more about it. Attend writing workshops, join appropriate writing forums and learn from discussion groups. It’s amazing what you can find out and then apply to your writing!

Asking questions of others is fine, but sometimes you may not have even known the question was out there in the first place, so the learning becomes even more valuable and may never have taken place if you had been involved in the activities just mentioned in this paragraph.

MOST IMPORTANTLY ensure you work on it and be very thoughtful about how things are worded. Every word counts, so don’t just accept it, improve it. Use a thesaurus to widen your vocabulary and refine the message you are communicating with your audience.

Once you are happy with your song and you have sought feedback it’s time to look at the overall message you are giving to the listeners. Compare your song lyrics to those in a similar genre. Are they comparable? Are they interesting? Do they make you want to listen? Are your song lyrics giving out the message you intended?

Seek opinions other than your own and be open to their feedback both good and bad. It’s hard to hear that your songs isn’t as good as you think it is, but hey, that’s life and it’s better to find out now and refine it or just start again than to feel like an idiot later when telling others about this ‘great song’ that obviously is pathetic!

After all this it’s time to take a break from what you’ve written. Leave it for a few weeks. Try not to think about it. Seeing it ‘fresh’ will let you make a better judgment on its quality. There have been many times when people have thought they have a hit and leave it for a few weeks only to find that their song is NOT what they thought it was!

Give it time…

If you consider what’s been mentioned above you are much more likely to produce top quality song lyrics. As with anything of a high quality it takes time and practice but the more you do the better you’ll get!

About The Author