Content Writing How to Write Song Lyrics To Make Money as A Songwriter

Did you know? The recording industry revenue has grown 16.5% in 2022 from 2017. It means that the demand for writing good songs is also gaining traction. As a songwriter, you can learn how to write song lyrics and get your share from the booming music industry. ^[1]

In this blog post, we will discuss how to write song lyrics as a songwriter without being a singer:

How to Write Song Lyrics – 10 Steps to Creative Success

Songwriting is a deeply personal and highly creative process which only a few of us can truly perceive naturally. However, being a writing skill, songwriting is a skill that can be developed with some guidance and practice. Once you get past your prevailing writer’s block, the next steps in songwriting become fairly easy to follow. All you need to have are some good ideas and lots of consistency.

Start With Your Main Thought

When you are learning how to write song lyrics, get familiar with your emotions and feelings first. Get closer with your senses of touch, sight, taste, sound, movement and smell. These senses can help you create on-point descriptions of what you want to say in the song. 

Put yourself in the shoes of your listeners and find out common points of interest between what you want to say and what they want to hear. Instead of focusing on big things, choose small, intimate moments for your listeners and expand on them.

Write Musical Lyrics and Melody

Music first method is more common among songwriters nowadays. The reason is that it gives you a good idea as to which rhyme schemes you shall use to complement the musical melodies. Establish a unique melody for your lyrical verses and then start writing lyrics for pre-chorus, chorus and optionally bridge. 

Take Inspiration from Other Songwriters

Don’t just listen to songs from others, read the lyrics from other artists. It means that you must read between the lines of some lyrics from other artists. While reading, don’t forget to observe the repetition pattern, the type of language they use and the clarity of their message. 

Don’t Forget to Keep it Conversational

Conversational quality can enhance your song lyrics and make everything sound more personal to the listener. Write song lyrics just like you would talk to your listeners. Share life stories, emphasize personal experiences, and add bits about times spent with friends to ensure a conversational tone. Instead of getting too vague and poetic, good songwriters tend to stay focused, clear and more meaningful in their writing. 

Let Your Ideas Guide You

Every songwriter has a distinct stream of consciousness. Once your musical melodies are set in order, the next step is to improvise and write some lyrics for your melodies. Don’t worry, this step does not need to be perfect. You can start with writing dummy lyrics and seek some guidance from your inner stream of thoughts to guide your writing process for creating better lyrics, phrases and rhyming couplets.

Choose Your Rhyme Schemes, Phrases and Vowels

In the next phase of steps to writing a song, you need to identify and choose the vowels, phrases and rhyme schemes you like. Take your dummy lyrics and fill them with the vowels and phrases that resound alike. Build on top of your melody’s foundation and continue adding more lyrics once the chorus is finalized.

Don’t Write Lengthy Lyrics

Instead of complicating your song lyrics with tough phrases and too many metaphors, keep things simple, short and sweet. Write a simple verse of no more than 4 or 6 lines and move on to a repetitive chorus to leave a stronger impact on the listener. Remember that lengthy lyrics will only invite confusion and trouble.

Choose a Song Theme, Title and Subject

Once you have finalized your fresh, new lyrics, it is time to pick a theme, subject and song title. This step is reserved for the last in the writing process owing to the fact that the songwriting process often leads to changes in your initial song theme and subject. 

Edit and Polish Your Work

Finally, review your song and make any necessary changes. Ensure that you retain your creative originality and offer fresh new songwriting to singers, composers and their listeners.

Collaborate with Other Artists and Songwriters

You can also collaborate with other artists to get song reviews and feedback. Accompany other artists on events and similar other occasions to soak up inspiration and creative juices from the music industry.

Get The Help You Need using AI Songwriter

If you feel stuck in a writer’s block, songwriting can become a bigger challenge than it really is. In such cases, you can always take help from an AI based songwriting tool. 

How to Write Song Lyrics FAQs

How do you write a song for beginners?

Choose a melody and your desired instrumental arrangement. Next, choose a song structure and write vocal melodies for verses and chorus. Complete the song structure by writing rhyming lyrics. Add a bridge if you want and finally finish it by composing an intro and outro.

What makes good songwriting?

Good songwriting is focused on impressively portraying a compassionate story through meaningful lyrics. A good songwriter is process oriented and starts from the beginning of any theme. Great songwriting also reflects inclusive emotions, feelings, thoughts, experiences and emotions the writer goes through mutually with the listeners.

How do I become a songwriter without singing?

You can become a songwriter without singing. For the least, you can get some external help to compose some tunes that match your writing. The best way to get started on becoming a songwriter without singing is to start writing songs! The more you write and dig deeper into what people like to hear, the more capable of a songwriter you will become.

Wrapping it Up

Now that you know the best practices on how to write song lyrics, start creating song lyrics for your own composition or for others.

Reference:
[1] Music Market Focus: Sizing Up the US Music Industry – SoundCharts