How can one write better lyrics? Here are a few lyric writing tips and suggestions.
1. Is there a particular incident that you think may have some song value? Write a song about it. If it’s something you personally experienced, then that’s even better.
2. Practice writing lyrics that have nothing to do with anything you’ve actually experienced. This could really add more variety to your songs. Was it something experienced by someone you know? Write about it.
3. Take a very good concept and write several songs about it. Each song should give a different twist or perspective to the concept. This may very soon add up to a complete concept album.
4. Perhaps you’ve written a song with a great melody but you just don’t like the lyrics. You should probably just keep the melody and completely rewrite the lyrics, based on a new topic.
5. Write lyrics about something you have read about in a newspaper or magazine. Or perhaps something you saw on tv. How about your favorite movies? Do they have interesting ideas for writing lyrics?
Lyric Writing Tips:
6. There are certain themes which are known to have made many great hits. The songs say basically the same thing but in different words. You can try this. Just be original about it and treat the particular theme in a unique way.
For example, let’s take a look at John Denver’s “I’m Leaving on a Jetplane” and Wyclef Jean’s “Gone till November”. These two songs were big hits in different eras but are basically saying the same thing … Baby, there’s no need to cry because I’ll be back.
7. How about cliches? Just turn on your radio and you will hear the same cliches being repeated over and over. If you use these same cliches you won’t see much success.
How about giving these cliches a unique twist? For instance, take a look at the popular phrase “break my heart”. How can you give this cliche a unique twist? Dianne Warren did it with “Unbreak My Heart”, the song made popular by Toni Braxton.
8. Songwriting is not about telling, but showing. You should attempt to make your lyrics come across in such a way that the listener sees vivid images. It’s almost like writing a short story. Paul Simon is one example of a songwriter who uses interesting characters in his songs.
Go here for tips, tricks and techniques to help you write better songs.
Rewrite Your Lyrics
When can a songwriter rightfully say that the lyric writing process is over? Answer: When the lyric has been rewritten a few times, or preferably a number of times.
Very often, songwriters fall into the trap of believing that they can finish writing lyrics in one seating. They sit with pen and paper for a few minutes or even an hour and consider their work finished.
While this may work in rare circumstances, the truth of the matter is that most times it doesn’t work that way. Those who succeed at writing lyrics are usually writers who make it their duty to go over their lyrics, make certain lines more relevant and more appealing, replace certain phrases, tighten up their rhymes, and so on.
Quite often, a line which you wrote the first time around is inadequate or it may simply be a cliche. These problems are easily solved if you place great emphasis not just on writing lyrics but rewriting them.
Would the first take of every scene ever be used to make a movie? When there’s a photo shoot for a big artist’s CD, would the photographer take one photo and consider his work complete? Wouldn’t he keep taking photos? The same thing must apply to your lyrics and the entire songwriting process.
I’m a firm believer of the view that the more you rewrite the lyrics of your song, the better they get. Sometimes, your lyrics end up treading a different path altogether, but it’s usually for the better. You just keep building your song each time you rewrite those lyrics.
Click here to check out my list of recommended products for songwriters and musicians.
Brainstorming
One thing that can really enhance your lyric writing is brainstorming. This is one preliminary step that we sometimes neglect when we write lyrics. As songwriters we should try to dig dip to come up with ideas. Sometimes we simply underestimate our imaginative capabilities.
Rhyming dictionary
A good rhyming dictionary is a very useful lyric writing tool. It will help you get out of a lot of jams. Just reading through the entries can really inspire you. There’s no need to beat your head against the wall in search of rhymes. You can use a good rhyming dictionary to help you write lyrics?
Read: Learn How To Write A Song – Songwriting For Beginners – Tips
Lyric writing tips:
Lyric writing tips to help you write better lyrics.
Lyric Writing Tips from our Visitors:
Page 1: How to write song lyrics, how to write better song lyrics.
Page 2: How to write music lyrics, learn to write lyrics.
Page 3: How to write lyrics, how to write good lyrics.
Page 4: Song writing techniques.
Page 5: Free songwriting tips.
Page 6: Songwriting for Dummies Review.
Page 7: Learn songwriting.
Page 8: Writing a Song.
Page 9: How to Write Great lyrics; How to Write Great Songs.
Page 10: Writing Lyrics To A Song.
Return to songwriting home page.