Let’s face the truth – writing lyrics is not too hard, but writing good ones is. It may not take too much time, skill, or effort to come up with a few rhyming lines. However, if you want your lyrics to bring value, deliver a message, and engage the audience, you will have to work hard.
If you are wondering how to write a song and make it sound good, in this article, we’ve collected 7 best tips that will set you on the right track.
Becoming a Better Song Maker: Tips to Succeed
Whether you are an amateur just starting his path in song lyrics writing or a professional who wants to bring his skills to a new level, these tips will help you instantly write better songs:
1. Listen to different music a lot
Let’s start with the obvious – to become really good at something, you need to constantly observe how others do it. This should give you a sense of what works well and what doesn’t.
Just like other kinds of writing, lyrics writing utilizes instinct and the best way to tune your instinct is by listening to a variety of different lyrics. You will be surprised how your brain will start generating more ideas once you get to know a lot of other lyrics!
2. Study different lyrics
Listening to a variety of lyrics, though important, won’t bring many benefits if you don’t get your brain on it. To upgrade your own skills and get better in writing songs, you should listen to other lyrics thoughtfully and carefully analyze them.
Study how other authors make their word choices, what rhymes they choose, what writing techniques they follow, etc. Analyze each piece and try to understand why it works.
3. Write a short summary before you start writing lyrics
Good lyrics always deliver a specific message and tell a story. A good trick to get and stay on track while writing is to make a brief, one or two sentences long summary of what message you are planning to deliver with your song. Such a summary will help you ensure that you don’t lose the string of thought and logic you initially wanted to follow.
4. Keep it simple
In a way, simplicity is the key to success in all kinds of writing. Whether it is a poem, novel, custom writing essays, news articles, social media publications, or song lyrics – the simpler you keep it, the better. Keeping your lyrics simple you make them understandable to everyone.
One more reason to make lyrics simple is that they are always complimented with music. Even the simplest lyrics become richer with a story and music behind it. Thus, there are no reasons to complicate things.
5. Make it natural
The biggest difference between lyrics and other types of writing is that they are sung by someone. Unlike an article or book, lyrics are performed by a person, which is why they can be less formal.
Good lyrics should sound conversational. Listening to different music, you have probably noticed that tricks like slang words, incomplete phrases, and other informal language work just fine in songs. Now, use this to your benefit! Don’t be afraid to make your lyrics conversational and just as natural as our everyday speech.
How to ensure that your lyrics sound natural? The best way to do this is by saying them out loud or singing them.
6. Make wise word choices
Writing better lyrics is much about making better word choices. You should already know that different words may have subtly different effects on the audience. For example, if you want to express the state of happiness, you could use the word “thrilled,” “delighted,” “excited,” or simply “happy,” and each of these words will have a different effect. The true art is to choose what is more accurate and powerful.
Unfortunately, there is no secret formula that would allow you to make flawless word choices all the time. Just like other skills, it takes time to develop a strong sense of what words work best in each particular situation. One thing you can do though is practice more and keep trying until you are left with amazing choices.
7. Show your personal voice
Last, but not least important tip is to show your personality through your lyrics. The process of writing songs is very creative, which means there are no strict rules to adhere to. There is no right or wrong, so you should do whatever feels right to you!
When writing lyrics, remember that all great songs are personal. They reflect the personality and voice of the author, and that’s exactly what makes them good.
The Bottom Line
In the conclusion of this article, it is worth giving you the last final advice – if you are wondering how to write better song lyrics, the only right answer is to practice more!
Composing lyrics is probably one of the hardest things you can do with words. To succeed, you will have to convey the right message using not that many words, meanwhile making sure it rhymes.
Also, you need to ensure that you don’t just tell listeners a story but show it to them with the help of sensory language.
The tips from our list should help you level up your game and become a bit more proficient in songwriting. However, they will only ensure your success in the long-run if you practice more! Thus, consider the tips from this article and devote as much time to practice as you can. This way you will succeed!
Author’s Bio: this article was written by Jeff Blaylock. Jeff is a professional writer with a passion for music. Since high school and until now, Jeff has always been interested in lyrics writing and spent many long hours mastering this art. In this article, Jeff shares his personal tips on how to compose better song lyrics.
