Become a Lyricist

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 requires dedication and practice to master the skills of writing effective and memorable song lyrics. If you want to "write the songs that make the whole world sing," here are the steps to go about it.

Steps

Learning the Craft

  1. Learn what it takes to write a good song lyric. Although a song lyric looks like a poem and uses many of the same poetic techniques and descriptive imagery, a song lyric needs to be written for the ear instead of the eye. While a poem can deliver complex ideas in a complex format, a song lyric must rapidly deliver simple, powerful ideas in a clear and focused manner. A good song lyric needs the following:
    • A memorable title. Many country songs are famous for their titles, such as Paul Craft's "Drop Kick Me, Jesus (Through the Goalposts of Life)."
    • A "hook," or memorable phrase in the body of the lyric that often connects back to the song's title. In Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell's "Georgia on My Mind," the hook is "Georgia, Georgia," which begins most lines of the song.
    • A clear theme or story that can easily be followed throughout the song. Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" is about a convicted murderer lamenting the loss of his freedom while watching a train pass his prison cell.
    • Imaginative and engaging rhymes. The Toby Keith song "A Little Less Talk," written by Keith Hinton and Jimmy Alan Stewart, features the lines "The look she shot me through the glass refraction said, 'A little less talk and a lot more action.' "
    • Imagery that lives in the mind. In Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville," the line in the chorus "Searching for my lost shaker of salt" shows the singer's emotional state of feeling he can't do anything worthwhile.
  2. Learn how to structure a song. In addition to having the components described in the previous step, a song lyric has a structure of 1 or more verses, a chorus that repeats after each verse and frequently also a bridge separating the last repetition of the chorus from its next to last repetition.
    • Each verse usually has different words, but all verses are sung to the same melody. Some verses include a "pre-chorus," a line that prepares the listener for the chorus.
    • The chorus uses the same melody and the same, or nearly the same, words each time it is sung. It provides the song's emotional impact, often incorporating the song's title in its lyrics.
    • The bridge has a different melodic and lyrical structure than either the verse or the chorus. It provides a break in the song and often includes a moment of revelation.
  3. Continue learning your craft. Read books, attend classes and seminars, and incorporate what you learn into how you write lyrics.
    • Attending songwriting workshops and seminars also provides an opportunity to network.

Crafting the Song

  1. Choose a title for your song. This is what everything else in the song should relate to.
  2. Analyze the title for ways to support it in the lyrics. Find the questions the song title raises and decide how you want to answer them. Make lists of words and phrases that flow from these answers.
  3. Write the chorus. Use the song title and the words and phrases you brainstormed where they fit. Focus more on honest lyrics initially, and let the rhyming scheme come later.
  4. Write the verses. Using the same techniques as in the chorus, create the story the song is telling. For example, if the song is talking about dealing with a broken heart, the first verse can relate how the person got a broken heart, the second an unsuccessful means for dealing with it and the third a successful resolution.

Working as a Lyricist

  1. Collaborate. Most lyricists work with a composer and increasingly collaborate with additional lyricists. (The B52's hit, "Love Shack" was co-written by 4 people, for example.) Co-writers each bring their own strengths to a project; some may excel in vocabulary, while others have an ear for the rhythm of words. Collaborators can be found at songwriting workshops or by asking around at music clubs or the music department of a local college.
    • Usually, when a lyricist works with a composer, the composer creates the melody for the lyricist. Some composers prefer to write the melody first, others will compose a melody for lyrics you've already written. When looking for a composer make sure you can agree how you will work together. Find someone with the same goals as you. Make sure you are looking to create songs for the same genre. e.g. Pop, Heavy Metal, Hip Hop.
  2. Solicit feedback. Show your lyrics to other songwriters for their opinions. Also, get feedback from prospective listeners and music industry professionals.
  3. Master songwriting software. While songwriting software makes the composing of the music easier, it can also benefit lyricists by providing ready-made melodies and beats to write lyrics to.
  4. Put your lyrics out there. Getting your work out there is important in getting it published, recorded and performed. Modern technology makes a number of options available now that weren't available before.
    • The Internet makes it possible for you to post your lyrics on your own Web site or share them with other lyricists on a message board.
    • Computers and the Internet have also opened many more opportunities for performing artists, thus allowing a larger market to sell your songs to. There is also a larger number of non-traditional opportunities, such as providing background music for electronic slideshows.
  5. Enjoy your accomplishments and build on them. It will take some time to sell your first song, and once you do, you'll want to sell more, and others will look for more from you. It helps to see each step you master along the way as a personal success worth celebrating.

Tips

  • One way to practice writing effective song lyrics is to write your own lyrics to the melody of an existing song. (For example, the country songs "Great Speckled Bird," "The Wild Side of Life" and "(It Wasn't God Who Made) Honky Tonk Angels" all go to the same tune, that of "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes.") This is somewhat different from writing song parody, in which you match the sound and rhythm of existing song lyrics, as well as the melody.
  • When you want to write lyrics but you don't know what to write about rite about the mood you're in or about your life and listen to artist that will inspire you.

Warnings

  • If you choose to write your own lyrics to existing melodies as suggested in the tip above, be aware that the melodies to current hit songs are protected by copyright. You won't be able to market your words to those melodies without permission from the copyright holder.

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