LEARNING TO WRITE SONGS- PART 3

    6.     Try writing in different conditions:

Some people find it easy to write in a cool quiet place or at night when it’s quiet and cool while others find easier in noisy environment maybe because they are always inspired by their environment and observing people. So try writing at different times to know what actually works for you. You might have a writer’s block because of the time you are writing.

     7.     Getting great lyrics:

It’s one thing to be inspired but putting together your lyrics is another especially when you want a great song and you don’t want to sound like a child or an amateur. You can do this by:

a.      Move around journal: great lyrics and inspiration can come at anytime and anywhere and you don’t want to be caught unawares and forget the lyrics as well, so get a “move around song journal” or a piece of paper and move around with it.

b.     Use imageries and metaphors: when writing, expressing yourself with metaphors and word plays can help your listener get an image of what you really talking about. Song writing is like painting except instead of brushes and paints you use words and sounds. So use imageries (e.g. instead of saying “sad day” one can say “blue day” or “rainy day”) as well as similes and metaphors to paint a mental picture for your listeners. PLEASE TRY TO AVOID OVER USED PHRASES, PEOPLE ARE TIRED OF IT!!!

c.      Modify the lyrics to suit the song  – if you have a “move around” journal or song journal you definitely will have gotten a wide range of lyrics to choose from, so combining these ideas and structuring them properly is really important. In doing this, try to combine ideas and lyrics with similarities especially tone wise and then adjust them to be more consistent. This is where metre and timing comes to play.

d.     Arrange your lyrics properly – don’t just put lyrics together make sure that they match your song. If you are writing a song about an unfortunate life changing experiences you don’t want to put lines that don’t fit in, this will take away the meaning of the song.

                                   

e.      Rhyme your lines – because rhymes and wordplay are fun to listen to and a great way to keep people’s attention, when writing it’s always a good idea to rhyme your lines. However, don’t just write rubbish that doesn’t make sense because  you are trying to rhyme so, if you can’t rhyme just don’t bug yourself

Note: write your songs in the language you understand