A songwriter can be either a lyricist, a composer, or both. While a composer creates the melody, it is the lyricist who writes the words that others sing to that melody. To become a lyricist you need dedication and a lot of practice, to master the ability to write effective and memorable musical lyrics. If you want to “write the songs that make the whole world sing”, here are the steps you need to follow.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Learn the Trade
Step 1. Learn what it takes to write a good musical text
Even if a musical text looks like a poem and uses many of the same techniques of poetry and descriptive imagination, a musical text must be written for the ear rather than the eye. While a poem can express complex ideas in a complex format, a musical text must quickly express simple and powerful ideas in a clear and concise way. A good musical text needs:
- An unforgettable title. Many country songs are famous for their titles, such as "Drop Kick Me, Jesus (Through the Goalposts of Life)".
- A "hook" or memorable phrase in the body of the text that often links to the title of the song. In Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell's "Georgia on My Mind", the hook is "Georgia, Georgia", which starts almost every line of the song.
- A defined theme or story that can be easily followed throughout the song. Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" tells of a convicted murderer who laments the loss of his freedom as he watches a train pass from his prison cell.
- Ingenious and engaging rhymes. Toby Keith's song "A Little Less Talk", written by Keith Hinton and Jimmy Alan Stewart, stands out for the verses "The look she shot me through the glass refraction said, 'A little less talk and a lot more action'" (The look he threw at me through the reflection of the glass said: "A little less words and a lot more action").
- Images that live in the mind. In Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville", the lines of the refrain "Searching for my lost shaker of salt" show the singer's emotional state, the feeling of not being able to do anything important.
Step 2. Learn to structure a song
In addition to having the components described in the previous passages, a musical text has a structure of one or more stanzas, a chorus that is repeated after each verse and often also a bridge that separates the last repetition of the chorus from the penultimate one.
- Each verse usually has a different text, but all verses are sung in the same melody. Some verses include a "pre-chorus," a line that prepares the listener for the chorus.
- The refrain uses the same melody and the same words - or almost - every time it is sung. It establishes the emotional impact of the song, often incorporating the song's title into its lyrics.
- The bridge has a melodic and lyrical structure different from the verses and the chorus. It establishes a pause in the song and often includes a moment of revelation.
Step 3. Keep learning your trade
Read books, take lectures and seminars, and use what you learn in writing texts.
Participating in workshops and seminars on writing song lyrics also gives the opportunity to form a network of contacts
Method 2 of 3: Build the Song
Step 1. Choose a title for your song
This is what everything else in the song should refer to.
Step 2. Analyze the title to find ways to support it in the text
Find the questions the song title asks, and decide how you want to answer them. Make a list of words and phrases that flow from those answers.
Step 3. Write the chorus
Use the title of the song and put the phrases and words you collected where they look best. Focus more on the words at first - let the rhythm pattern come later.
Step 4. Write the stanzas
Using the same techniques you used for the chorus, create the story the song tells. For example, if the song is about moving forward with a broken heart, the first verse can tell how the person broke the heart, the second the fruitless ways to deal with the situation, and the third a successful solution.
Method 3 of 3: Working as a Lyricist
Step 1. Collaborate
Most lyricists work with one composer and increasingly collaborate with other lyricists (B52's hit "Love Shack", for example, was written by 4 people). Each writer brings their own strengths to a project; some may have excellent vocabulary, while others have an ear for the rhythm of words. You can find collaborators at a songwriting workshop or asking around in music clubs or the music department of a local university.
Usually, when a lyricist works with a composer, the composer creates the melody so that the lyricist writes the words on it, but sometimes the lyricist writes the text first and then the composer puts it to music
Step 2. Ask for feedback
Show your lyrics to other writers for their opinion. Also get an opinion from prospective listeners and music industry professionals.
Step 3. Become an expert with songwriting software
While songwriting software makes music composition easier, they can also benefit lyricists by providing prepackaged melodies and rhythms to write lyrics on.
Step 4. Show your texts
Making your work known is important to get it published, recorded and sung. Modern technology makes available a number of options that were not previously available.
- The Internet allows you to publish your texts on your website or share them with other lyricists in a forum.
- Computers and the internet have also opened up far more opportunities for performing artists, expanding the market to which to sell your songs. There are also a large number of non-traditional opportunities, such as providing background music for electronic presentations.
Step 5. Enjoy your results and build on them
It will take some time to sell your first song: once you do it you will want to sell more, and others will look for you. It helps to see each step you master along the way as a personal achievement worth celebrating.
