Songwriting is about COMMUNICATION. We communicate on a three levels:
VISUAL, EMOTIONAL, and PSYCHOLOGICAL.
Think of Your Song as a MUSICAL MIND BRIDGE creating Thoughts, Feelings and Images that will resonate in the Mind of the Listener. Here's some Fun, Common Sense Talking Points to help you Write More Memorable Lyrics, Stories, and Characters. Topics Include:
CREATING A “MUSICAL MIND BRIDGE"
• Lyrics should be like a Photo Album, each page revealing Common Images - Childhood or Family Memories, Sports, Vacations, Romance - relatable moments that the Listener can bond with.
ADVANCING THE STORYLINE - (The “ViewMaster” Technique)
• Remember the plastic Disney toy with the revolving picture disc? Everytime you clicked the lever it rotated to the next scene or characters. Same with Lyrics - Every Line should ADVANCE or RE-ENFORCE the Story!
RHYMES & REASON
• So you came up with a great line, but you're stuck trying to find it's rhyming partner. Rule 101:
The RHYME SERVES The LINE! Don't try to work the Rhyme in, WORK the LINE OUT! Follow the continuity of what you're trying to say and you'll find new words and ideas that bond both lines together.
PUT YOUR SONG IN MY SHOES
(INTERNAL v. EXTERNAL LYRICS)
• Don't Tell People how YOU feel, MAKE THEM FEEL IT! Substitute Internal lines like, “I look in your eyes … I get this feeling deep inside” with an External line like, “I'll never forget the night that we met…” - Let the Listener drift off into their own Prom Night type fantasy.
HONEY WORDS
• Words that Trigger Strong Emotional or Visual Images. If your wife sent me a bunch of cookies and asked, “How'd he like them?", “They were good” sounds indifferent. But, “They were DELICIOUS”, puts me on the A-List for the next batch.
• Choose words that are Sensuous, Visually and Emotionally charged, and appeal to Singers - Open Vowels, Alliteration, Punchy Cadence - Words that are Fun to Sing and show off their vocal chops.
THE TITLE TEST
• Song Meister Gary Burr said, “The Title is Your North Star - Everything in the Song Should Point To It!”. Hopefully it's Unique, Memorable, or a Cool Twist on a Cliche. Verses should develop the theme - repetition of the Title in the Chorus' should summarize the message.
THIN OUT THE WORD HERD
• Less is WAY more! Every Word and Syllable should have to Fight for the Right to Stay in the Song!
• WRITE and PLAY THE HOLES! (Think “Beethoven's 5th”). The brain needs time to process Words, Melodies, and Emotional Content. Syncing Word Syllables with Musical Spacing creates CADENCE, the Heartbeat of your Melody.
THE “GOD'S EYE” POV
• They say, “Write What You Know”, but sometimes our personal POV can “bleed” into the story. The “GOD'S EYE" POV creates an INVISIBLE NARRATOR (think Zeus on Mt. Olympus) looking down objectively and letting the story unfold. This gives You Creative License to take the Story and Characters in different directions while still keeping Your core values.
I, ME, MINE
• Watch your 1st Person Word Count. In a love song, “I” is about taking - “You” is about giving. You want to write on Common Grounds that makes the Listener feel like your story is THEIR story!
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
• Mega-Hit writer Craig Wiseman says, “NOUNS, NOUNS, NOUNS! Don't Tell them, SHOW THEM!” A song is like a 4 min. Mini-Movie; assume the Listener's Mind is a Blank Slate - YOU provide the IMAGES.
• Use the “5- Senses” (Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch, Taste) and the Reporter's “5-W's”(Who, What, Why, When, Where) to put more Flesh on the Bones of the lyrics.
THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS ON THE PAGE
• The Magic isn't always in Your 1st Draft. While your Conscious Mind struggles over a line, your Sub-Conscious Mind may have dropped a Key Phrase somewhere else in the song that makes for a Stronger Title or better summarizes Your Message. Don't be afraid to Re-Write the Song from there.