Musicians are people who are constantly overwhelmed with feelings and burdened with duties. Even if you think of yourself as an expert singer and performer, there may arrive a time when you are forced to sit down for some lyrics. Surely, there are a lot of people who have experience in the field and can craft a text without effort. But there are also performers who have never approached writing lyrics in such a straightforward way.
You will be surprised to find out that even bands who mostly do covers write their own lyrics. They have to add a few individual touches to the single in order to make it slightly different than the original, and this is when the songwriting occurs. This task sounds like a piece of cake for musicians who have been in the business for years on end. The same cannot be said about the young performers that have never approached a written word and are now asking for help. These methods will help you craft lyrics from scratch and conduct research for better songwriting:
• Don’t use too many words. Look at the songs by your favorite performers. In order to start hitting gold, you have to obtain practice first. However, there is no need to be overly rich with words or create massive texts in order to be noticed. Voluminous writing is good for novels, while songs make sure the music carries most of the sense. The narrative should not be too complicated either. Even if this is the theme you care deeply about, something between 200 and 250 words would be enough to render meaning and get a message across to the audience. Surely, lyrics have to be well-written to draw the attention of the fans, but you don’t have to be too wordy if you don’t want to.
• Focus on the meaning of music. There are no performers that go around saying something like
“Now, I am going to write a song with a specific meaning and get my fans to decode it later”. Singers do not need a particular message to get them started. Instead, they are often left in the quiet of their own room to meditate and do some mental relaxation exercises. Think of the places the music takes you to. There are certain experiences connected with that feeling. If this does not happen and inspiration does not come, this means that the particular melody is not working for you. Find one that does and follow the pattern. It would be much easier to say there is a certain paradigm to creating music and lyrics as the performers go on their personal journey. It does not work like that in real life. Every time you turn off the phone and listen to the melody, you are allowed to experience a different kind of sensation. This is what inspires songwriting and lyrics that can be called hard-hitting.
• Create mental hooks you can hold on to. It’s great to have a whole song rearranged in your head. This is the option known as a mental hook that tends to create the trends for the music. The hooks can also be developed vocally. They are the reason the song becomes an earworm and remains catchy after you have listened to it several times repeatedly. If this does not happen, the lyricist does not have to panic and run around trying to decide on their next step. Try the faster tempo, speak over the music, and find the right style for you. The song will be crafted naturally as the sound flows over it. Sometimes, it takes longer to shape your thoughts and form them into coherent sentences. It is definitely worth it, though.
• Bend the words to create a better meaning. Do not feel trapped and bound by the accents that already exist in the language. There is a free card that we all use from time to time, when lyrics are involved. It is called the power of an artistic license. Think of the artists that play with words and their meaning to get their point across: they are not afraid to toy with the language and therefore turn it into a tool. They are known to make the words rhyme by bending pronunciations. This may not be the kind of tactic that can be used every often, but it will give you a general idea of how to work with the lyrics. Also, there are no strict rules of writing when it comes to rhyme. You can choose the style that works best for you and follow the pattern as you are taking the notes. Be guided by your inner feeling and feel the richness of the written word. We love this approach: it means that you can find symbolism in songwriting, especially when it is not expected. Tools like satire, metaphor, epithet, and allegory are all used to render our thoughts. Do not hesitate to bring them out in your song and explore your subconscious. It is all about self-expression and the way you handle personal topics.