by Kevin Tiernan

Created on: July 01, 2009   Last Updated: July 02, 2009

The goal of producing song lyrics is to express specific emotions or concepts through song. The earliest cultures used the method of song writing as a means of story telling, history, and so forth. Today, we carry on this tradition of expression. However, the form in which lyrics come is by no means limited.

To begin, try and find someplace with little distractions, where you can focus on what you want to write. I have written lyrics on the computer before, but it helps to write them on a piece of paper. Hand writing your words helps you connect physically with your work. So, grab a utensil, a pad of paper, and take a seat. If you are writing the lyrics to accompany a song, try putting the song on your mp3 player, or someplace you can continuously repeat it. Don't start writing right away. Listen to the song over and over, until it is embedded in your mind. You can't write to a rhythm you've never heard before. Get in touch with your instrumental, then put the pen to paper. Sometimes it helps to have a guitar nearby. Play the backing track of the song, and see if you can make up a melodies on your guitar. Then, translate the guitar parts into lyrics. When you come up with melodies, they don't have to be actual words at first. You can just hum sounds, or write down gibberish that will later be replaced by words.

Usually, there are basic parts comprising a song. These parts are not always included, and many times songs are written very sporadically. We'll concentrate on the basic sections of a song for now, which often looks like this:

Intro

Verse 1

Chorus

Verse 2

Chorus

Bridge

Chorus

Outro

Let's break it down here. The intro is the first part of the song that sets everything up, leading into the main context of the song. There are all different types of introductions. Some have words, some have guitar, some have a full band, etc. In other words, the definition of what you include in the intro is very diverse. What you really want to concentrate on it the instrumental. Is there anywhere you can say something like "oh yeah!" or "Go!" to break up monotony of the music? The band Story Of The Year does this frequently on their album, "The Black Swan". Take a listen to "Cannonball", in which the singer shouts, "Countdown!":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c0MlDDunxY

The intro makes way for the first verse, where the main singing comes in. There is am ample amount of melodies you could put alongside the music. Listen to what the instruments are playing,

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>