Turn Poetry Into Lyrics
Have you ever wanted the ability to write amazing lyrics, but only ended up with a boring chorus? Maybe it's time to try writing poetry and then turning it into a song!
Steps
- Decide what genre of music you want your song to be in. Is is punk, country, jazz, rap? Once you decide, you may want to read some lyrics from a band or artist in the genre to get a feel of what you're going for.
- Write a poem. Don't even think about the fact that you're trying to write a song. Base your poetry on something that's happened to you. Depending on the genre, you can decide if you want to describe an emotion, tell a story, or just write something down. Or if you're writing your song as a gift, take some time to think about that person and your history together.
- Read over your poem. Pick out a particular phrase that grabs your attention. Turn this into a chorus. It is usually easier to make the chorus then the other parts, if it catches your attention it will to other people.
- Decide where you want the breaks in your music. Is there going to be one chorus or four? Where do they go? Try reading your poem out loud and notice where you pause or breath. These are usually good places to break. Then put in the chorus.
- Read over your poem again. Erase the parts that you think are too long or don't fit in a song. In each song there is a beat and if you have a long line in your poem and just try to squish it in, it won't sound nice. If you really liked the line, then try to think of another, shorter way of saying it.
- Take your poem and put it in lyric form.
Warnings
- Not all poems make great songs! If yours doesn't turn out the way you want, try again.
- Don't get discouraged or stop trying if you have trouble at first! Everybody has to start somewhere.
- If you've never written poetry it may take you a while to get the hang of things. Try to look at the article, "Succeed at Writing Poetry." It might give you insight on what you're looking for in a poem.
- Try picking a category of music you're familiar with or your song will sound like a cheap imitation.
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