How to Write Lyrics

Practice writing music according to the flow of thoughts. Writing with the flow of thought means you keep writing non-stop and write down everything that comes to mind. This helps you quickly capture ideas that come and go, as well as find ideas when stuck. ^[7]

• Practice like this every day to help yourself brainstorm. Over time, this practice will help you get better at writing music.

Research available tracks. Listen to popular songs with beautiful lyrics for inspiration. Plus, research songs you like and explain why you like them. You will learn a lot from contemplating what makes a good and bad song. Find out what the song is about, how to talk about it, pay attention to the song’s melody and rhyme.

• The way you rate a good song may differ from everyone else. Focus on the things you enjoy because that’s what’s important.
• For practice, you can rewrite the lyrics to the music you like. You can change a few lines or rewrite the whole thing.

Decide on a topic to write about. Decide for yourself what kind of music you want to write lyrics for, and determine what kind of lyrics you like or dislike. It really depends on what kind of music you want to write. Believe it or not, you are on your way to becoming an artist, and as an artist, you can go your own way and make your own judgments about other artists’ work. So, if you want to write something akin to Avril Lavigne rock instead of a Frank Sinatra classic, don’t let other people’s opinions influence you.

• If you’re not sure what kind of music you want to write, listen to your favorite songs and find common ground between them.
• Get to know the musicians who wrote your favorite songs. Then study their works to identify trends and assess style.

Read poetry. If you’re running out of inspiration but want to write music, then try reading poetry. Old poems (such as by Lord Byron or Robert Burns) have good ideas, but the words are not modern. Then try to transform them. Can you write a rap based on Shakespeare’s work? Writing folk songs from EE Cummings poetry? This challenge will help you progress and is a good starting point. ^[8]

Stay true to your own style. Don’t be pressured to write the same song as someone else because each artist has their own style. Writing music in a completely new way is acceptable! Some musicians write freely from the mind, while others write with a specific purpose. While music has many rules and regulations, it’s ultimately a daring creative journey, which means the most important thing is still something that reveals who you are.

• Writing music is an art form, so developing your own style is a good thing. Don’t feel like you have to do what others do.

Write regularly to produce good ideas. Prepare a notebook and write a lot, because in your bad ideas will filter out what is useful. That’s how the creative process works: we have to pound the sand for gold. Write as much as you can until you feel complete or ready to put it aside. Writing a word or a note is a great start. Let your song ferment. Writing music requires a long process.

• Writing lyrics has to go through many stages. Don’t worry if what you write doesn’t sound like a song at first. You can shape it gradually.
• Store everything. If you can write a verse, it will soon lead to a good song or something.
• It’s okay if your song isn’t good enough. You can always check back to write better.

Write every time. You should start by practicing writing wherever you are. Write about your feelings. Write about the world around you. Write about people or things that interest you. This will help you find the right words for the song. You can write a poem that you can later set to music (it can be a complete poem or just a few short lines that you want to compile into something later). Remember: what you write doesn’t have to be desperate, angry, or emotional. The laundry list can also be poetic if well-written.

• Diaries can be a great source of inspiration for a song. For example, when going through a difficult time, you could write lyrics that capture the disappointment, despair, or hope experienced. This will help your listeners feel empathy for you.
• Sometimes you will be stuck with ideas, this happens to everyone. The best way to get through this stage is to write down whatever words come to mind. Don’t worry about it or not.

Use actions to express feelings. “Today I am sad, today I am drunk, my lover left me…”… Don’t. Don’t write like that. Your song will quickly fade into oblivion. A good song, like a good sentence, will make us empathize because it captures the experience in the sentence, not because the author tells us to feel that way. Try to use metaphors to express your feelings rather than telling your audience if you’re happy or sad. ^[9]

• A good example of this is in Damien Rice’s The Animals Were Gone . Instead of writing I’m so sad , the author used the night I dreamed about you, and wished I didn’t wake up; Because waking up without you is like drinking water from an empty glass .
• Brainstorm to see what ideas you can use and choose from, or build on existing ideas. It’s best to find inspiration for this step.

Set the rhyme properly. You know poorly written songs that lead to cheesy lyrics? The reason is because they abuse rhyme or use it too badly. You should avoid writing lyrics that rhyme from top to bottom, and if they rhyme, they should sound natural. Don’t try to put weird words in just to make the lyrics rhyme. Really, a good song doesn’t have to rhyme. There are countless songs without rhyming lyrics.

• Good example: “You bring me back to life/ Just seeing your smile I knew/ The sun shines – oh my!”
• Bad example: “I love the cat / The cat is whining / The tail is like a leopard / The cat is a bit fat…”
• Naturally, this is customizable by music genre. Like rap music uses a lot more rhyme, but that’s not a rule of thumb. It’s just their style.

Try out non-standard rhymes. If you want your rhyme to be more distinctive and not cheesy, then experiment with other rhyming styles. There are more rhymes than what you learn in school. Discover how to rhyme homonyms/consonants, compound rhymes, transliteration, squeeze rhymes, etc.

• For example, Macklemore’s song Same Love uses non-standard consonant rhymes: lately/daily, anointed/poisoned, important/support it, etc.

Avoid clichés. You should avoid clichés because these will make the song stand out and not show your special talent. If you write “I kneel before you” (while begging), “walking down the street” (the character is a girl, or it’s you, whoever it is), or “do you see no”, then there is a high chance that you need to practice more. ^[10]

Understanding musical notes. Remember the law of conservation of mass in science class (the idea of how much matter decreases here, the same increases in matter elsewhere). This law also applies to music. Learn about the mechanics of how musical notes work (fields, rhythms, notes, silences, etc.) to make sure the lyrics match the music. In short, you should make sure that your lyrics have an almost uniform number of syllables with a steady beat and melody (don’t have to speed up the melody to be able to match the lyrics that are too long). .

• Imagine this songwriting step as 4 cups of water. Now you have to pour half a cup of water into the 5th cup, which means you now have two half-full cups. The other cups are full you can’t add any more water. Similarly in music, you can’t add a beat in one passage without compensating another (usually using a pause).

Start with an existing tune. When you’re just starting to write music, if you’re just composing on your own, it’s best to start with a pre-composed tune. This is an easy start for most people to practice writing lyrics to match the music. You can write your own tunes by working with a friend who is good at this, or stick to some classic tunes, like folk songs (just make sure the song has become public property). add).

Keep everything within 2 octaves. Not everyone has the same vocal range as Mariah Carey. When writing music, keep the notes in the right range so someone can sing it, so avoid anything beyond 2 octaves, unless you’re writing music for someone who can sing that well.

• If you write music for yourself, you need to know your range. First, warm up your voice, then hum and lower your voice as low as you can. The lowest note you can lower your dip into is your lowest range. Then hum as high as you can. The highest note you can hold for 3 seconds is your highest note.
• If you want to expand your vocal range, then repeat this exercise over and over, but try to reach a wider range each time.

Add breaks for the singer to breathe. Singers are human too, so they still need to breathe. Allocate 2-4 extra beats in places in the song so the singer can catch his breath. This also gives listeners time to catch up on the lyrics. ^[11]

• A good example is the American national anthem, after the line “For the land of the free”. There is a pause before entering the line “And the home of the brave”, allowing the singer to rest after several previous heroic guarding sessions.

Re-read what you wrote. Identify the big picture of the song. Is the song structure narrative, manifesto, or descriptive? Is there a call to action, direction, or welcome? Does it reflect any philosophy? Or is it completely absurd? Is the song structure varied? You should start by looking at each word and then make changes if necessary so that the whole song fits together. Think about what the lyrics convey and how it balances with what you want to say. Do you like the sound created by the placement of consonants and vowels? Does one sentence have many meanings? Are there any phrases that stand out? Do you want to repeat a song or word? Remember that when listening to a song, the audience is absorbed only the most prominent parts.

Rewrite. Who says you can’t change what’s written? If you like the original, keep it. But most of the lyrics need to play with the music to be perfect. A good song can be drafted in one go, but most take more time than that. You even have to re-edit the stanzas to keep the song consistent. Sometimes this makes the whole song change the meaning completely.

• Try to write a good first sentence to capture the listener’s attention.
• Watching the same song over and over is the best way to get better at writing lyrics.

Get opinions from others. Once you’ve finished the song, you should share the demo with everyone. Although they could only read the lyrics, they also commented on where the rhyme was out of order or sounded a bit odd. Of course, music that is subject to public discussion is not a good idea, but if you come across an opinion that you can agree with, quickly fix it. ^[12]

Do something with your song! The world becomes a better place thanks to people sharing the fruits of their creation. It’s okay if you’re shy, writing a song doesn’t mean you have to go on stage to perform. But you should write it down or record it to share with everyone. Don’t hide your great work.

Learn how to write a song . If you’ve never written a song before, you’ll probably need to learn more about composing. This is not much different from writing lyrics, but there are basic rules and guidelines you can rely on.

• By practicing, you can teach yourself how to play an instrument. But you’ll probably want to sign up for a class. This will make it easier to grasp techniques and concepts like chord clusters.
• Learning how to write music will help you learn how to write the whole song instead of just the lyrics.

Learn to read sheet music . While this isn’t necessary, understanding how a piece of music works can greatly improve your writing skills. Sometimes you can even write music for others to play.

Improve singing ability . The ability to sing well also helps you to capture the notes you need to find for the song. Practice your vocal skills and you will be amazed at the benefits.

Have basic musical instrument skills. Knowing how to play the basics of musical instruments also comes in handy for writing music. Consider learning the piano or playing the guitar. Both of these instruments are self-taught and not overly complicated.