SONGWRITING SERIES: MAKING YOUR LYRICS BETTER

Every songwriter has natural strong and weak points. For me, musical and production concepts tend to be much easier than lyrics. Sometimes it is perfectionism, other times it is insecurity, and still other times I simply can’t find the words. But here are a few important items that I have found to be helpful when working on lyrics…

1. Create imagery:
If your listener can't "see" the story then they can't feel invested in it. It is dead to them. Think of an amazing novel you have read that came alive for you. The author may have dedicated several pages to tell you what a certain room looked like. More importantly, you might get revelations about a character's story sprinkled through multiple chapters. In the end, you likely felt as if you knew some of the characters personally. A song can capture that but the challenge is you only get three and a half minutes to do so instead of 300 pages. You have to be efficient and deliberate with your phrases. Be okay with descriptive action words that specify what the characters and scenery look and feel like. Side note... as much as some people may roll their eyes, Taylor Swift is the master of this. She can weave an incredibly thorough story with very few words.

2. Count Your Syllables:
Many songwriters will tell you this but still... pay attention to mirroring your syllables. If verse 1 and verse 2 have completely different syllable counts then it will likely feel forced and unnatural. The only exception is "the moment" where a performer has the liberty to break from the mold and use a phrase or melodic sequence that strays from the expected. This point is unique in that it doesn't always have to be followed but at the same time, I would argue most writers that don't line up their syllable counts will have very sloppy songs.

3. Embrace Editing:
Please. Pretty please! I have heard too many writers say that everything just "naturally flowed" and that the song was just a breath of inspiration. Ok. That happens. Like 5% of the time. But more often than not when someone says that the song poured out with no wrinkles, they don't realize how bad their song is.
You are an author. Think like an author! There are plenty of times where musical instinct will come into play but not always in songwriting. Trust the process. Draft 1, draft 2, draft 3... and maybe on occasion you come back to your first idea. But now you know that you took the time to process and explore ideas that you may have initially missed.

*LASTLY:
Break the rules. Just remember there is a big difference between breaking the rules and not knowing them. If you are intentional when you draw outside the lines, that is where the fun begins.

Happy writing!