We all want to be able to write a song that stands the test of time, the kind of song that resonates with people all over the world. Most of the songs that currently do this are quite simple in melody and chord progression but it is their lyrics that make them stand out.
Many songwriters struggle to find ways to express themselves lyrically without making their words sound cliche, boring or in some cases, way too cryptic for anyone to understand.
Example:
“I said hey,
I want you to stay.
So don’t go away,
Bab…ay…..”
= SUCKY LYRIC ALERT!!!
So how do you go about writing amazing lyrics that resonate with people?
In today’s video I share one powerful lyric writing technique that many different types of writers use. Novelists, poets, short story writers and script writers as well as songwriters all use this technique and you can harness its power to not only write lyrics that don’t suck, but lyrics that stand the test of time.
Nicola xx
Practice Step
Come up with a character for your song. It can be fictional, just for practice sake. Then create a little story around that central character. Write out their personality traits, what age they are, what they are going to do in the song, who they are interacting with etc.. Just start brainstorming. Once you have a main character and a general story plot, share it in the comments below.
Eg: My character is a girl who sneaks out at night and has a dark, wild side.
Video Summary
Use a writing technique called Characterisation.What that means is before you write a single word, have a think about your character/s in the song. Who are the main characters? Are you the main character and are you talking to a guy that’s broken you’re heart… or is the main character someone else?That’s the first step of Characterisation; to figure out who your characters actually are. The second step is where it starts getting really fun because you can take your charcacters on a journey.You can make them do whatever you want.
Have a think about what your characters are doing, where they are going, how they are feeling etc. When you do this, straight away you know which types of words you are going to need to use in your song and you can spend some time brain storming descriptive words that you can use.
Ultimately, Characterisation really helps make sure your lyrics arent going to suck because it forces you to go deeper into the psyche of the character and into the moment you are describing within your song.
So give it a go – it does take a bit of practice but the more you do it the easier it becomes.
Its the same secret in selling too. Aim your marketing at specific groups, identify a customer and develop a history or lifestyle so that you know them. Only then can you directly sell to, sing, write a story about them. In fact, even when just meeting people, get to know them before you launch into what YOU want to say. Listen to them first. Its the only way to communicate! Such a good short lecture, thanks!
my character is a girl who is a nerd and she afriad to show her true self :p
Wooo! I love it! 🙂
Throughout the day, I have thoughts that I scribble down. They provide loads to a song, when the words come with the music, match the thoughts to the music, out of Craftmanship. The best Songs always comes with both created at the same time, Words & Music. The rest is Craftmanship.
In the early morning 1.00 am, 2.00 am, no distractions, an acoustic room, kitchen or bathroom, acoustic guitar, a pad and pencil, go for it. Ask yourself a music question. Paul Simon did this, and made great songs. John Lennon was an night owl too.
i’m making a song for my two sisters and i’m only 11 years old but i still don’t know how to write it but i really want to make them happy, can someone please help me out with the lyrics?
I so much want to write music but don’t know where to start