5 More Tips for Witing Better Lyrics

Last time we looked at five tips for improving your lyrics writing, and today we are going to go over a few more tips to help with your lyric writing.

1. Describe the Indescribable - I know it sounds crazy, but you should always be on the lookout for things that seem impossible to describe, and then go about figuring out how to describe them. Been abducted by aliens? What was that experience like? Smash your thumb with a hammer? Can you explain how it feels like you are trying to give birth to a buffalo out the tip of your thumb?

2. Practice Rhyming Daily - This is something that should be a part of your daily life. Everyday work at thinking of words that rhyme and put them into practice. Try to keep track of words that rhyme when you hear them, and whenever you hear an interesting word, try to think of other words that rhyme with it.

3. Read Books - Read a lot of books, and when you find lines that you really enjoy, try rhyming a new line that works with the line in the book. It doesn't even have to complete the thought of the author of the book, but it might launch you into a new idea for a song. I hear that Bob Dylan likes to use this method to help inspire him to write songs.

4. Read a Thesaurus - The Thesaurus is your friend. Put it to good use, and eventually it will start to stick in your head. Eventually you won't need to use a thesaurus because you'll have so many good words in your brain that they will just pop out whenever you need a good word.

5. Learn the proper names of things - This is a really useful technique when you want to be incredibly descriptive in your songs. By including the real name of something, it evokes all of the surroundings of that particular object that you are referencing, and you create a visual impact on your listeners.

Bonus Tip:

6. Make up Names for things: Of course you don't have to always have the proper name. You can always be like Lewis Carroll and invent new names for things and create a spirit of whimsy in your listeners.


If you found these tips helpful, you can find out more about songwriting tips and tricks in my new book: "Lyrics and Music: Music Theory for Aspiring Songwriters" available now at Amazon.com, or with several additional Appendices at Barnes and Noble..

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