Lyric Writing Process

naught101 writing writing / lyrics

This is a summary of the ideas laid out in the Process chapter of Pat Pattison's Writing Better Lyrics, plus my interpretations. It also includes some ideas from Jeff Tweedy's How to Write One Song, and probably some other sources that I might eventually remember.

Process

Start with an idea.

  • Keep an idea diary? Pick one.
  • What's making you angry/sad/happy/whatever right now? Or earlier this week?

Object writing

  • Half to one page based on the idea.
  • Frees up the mind, gets you in the zone.
  • Focus on sensory descriptions:
    • Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste, Touch,
    • Organic (body-internal), and
    • Kinesthetic (relation to the world - movement, space, time).
    • More on this in Chapter 1.

Rhyming Worksheet

  • A worksheet provides a bank of ideas, without any expectations of structure (like a box of Lego)
  • Brainstorm ~10 key words associated with the idea (maybe from your object writing)
  • For each key word, brainstorm 10+ rhymes (in order of most to least resolved a la chords):
    • Perfect (same vowel and trailing consonants)
    • Family (similar trailing consonants)
    • Additive/Subtractive (extra trailing consonants)
    • Assonance (only vowels similar)
    • Consonant (only consonants similar)
  • LEAVE SPACE! you'll probably come back and add stuff to this later.
  • Use a rhyming dictionary (but use your brain first!)
  • (n101):
    • Skim your object writing for rhymes! You might find some interesting combos.
    • This is a good place for multi-syllable rhyming, if you start with phrases instead of words
    • Pattison's examples only really contain single word rhymes, but I think this is a great space to add in phrases that rhyme with single words too - the process brings them up, you may as well note them down. And you can always use the rhyming word separately later.

Consonant families

Plosives Fricatives Affricative Nasals Liquid Glide
Voiced b d g v TH z zh h dj m n ng l r y w
Unvoiced p t k f th s sh ch

(a few added from here)

(n101) Many Plosives and fricatives can be followed by r, l, or w consonants before the vowel in English (e.g. press, bless, tween).

Write some stuff

In the Process chapter, he starts with a partially written song provided by someone else, so the rest of this is mostly my interpretation

  • I guess the idea is to build up a few partial stanzas, and work from there.
  • Probably good to work in a "yes" mode, and create a bunch of starting points before getting critical
  • I think starting with key phrases pulled from your object writing, or inspired by it, is really useful. Think of these as targets to work towards - the rest of your writing is there to support these (you might come up with better ones as you go).
  • Look for rhyme ideas in your worksheet. It might be useful to start your worksheet with the key phrases.

  • With hip-hop especially, it's very OK to switch vocal rhythms and flow as you go, as long as each line works with the beat, and with the lines around it.

  • Once you have a bank of material, start re-arranging it into a structure.

    • I find that labelling each section/stanza with what it represents, and then writing a structure outline helps.

Analyse macro structure

  • Think about common language/narrative structures:
    • Action -> Reaction
    • Set Scene, Tension, Climax, Release
    • Macro structure based on rotating through themes, characters, etc.
  • How are your sections fitting with these structures? Can you re-arrange, or add more?
  • Are there disparate ideas? Can they be connected? If not, can the be contrasted? Or could one be removed/saved for later?
  • Analyse and reuse the macro structure from other songs.
  • Breaking the main structure for a bridge or alternative verse provides tension and contrast/interest
    • small transitional sections (micro-bridges?) can force musical development?
  • Check the narrative from multiple perspectives (first person, second person, third person) and tenses (present, future, past).
    • present tense provides immediacy
    • first person provides intimacy
    • contrasting between sections can work
  • (n101) check the narrative from each character's point of view too
  • Is this really all necessary? Could you trim any fat, and still tell the same story?
  • Develop alternative structures and compare them. (this part is probably easier on a computer)

Analyse Micro structure

  • Trigger lines:
    • Set-up lines for chorus/key sections. Powerful.
    • Last line of a verse should obviously lead into a chorus.
    • Clear connections between sections.

Tighten lyrics/rhymes

  • Stuck with clichés? Find the thing they are rhyming with, and add that to your worksheet.
  • Ground metaphors in reality - are both sides relevant?
    • Focus on providing a clear mental image for the listener. Check back to object writing.
  • Check rhyming schemes (ACAB?), are they consistent? Do you care?

General advice

  • Colour drips down, not up (Chapter 2)
    • Show before telling
    • Start your sections with evocative imagery, and let it colour what follows.
    • T.S. Elliot's Objective Correlatives - physical objects with sensory aspects that correlate to emotions