Author: Keppie Coutts
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Lyric Writing: 3 Exercises for Generating Endless Original (and excellent) Lyrics
Some lyrics arrive like lightning. Most don’t. Most begin as something much less impressive: a half-formed image, a title you’re not sure about, or a feeling you can’t quite put into words. The problem is, many songwriters assume that if the lyric doesn’t flow, the idea must not be good enough, or that they should…
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How to Write Better Lyrics—Now
I’ve put together a short-and-sweet playlist of lyric-writing tutorials today. The tutorials are designed to show you—quickly and practically—that lyric writing is not a mysterious gift reserved for a special few. There are learnable tools, techniques, and exercises available to anyone with the desire to improve. Each tutorial selected focuses on a different aspect of…
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Power Positions in Lyric Writing
Power positions are lines of lyric inside your song (and any song you listen to) that naturally command more of a listener’s attention. Because of where they sit in the structure of a section, they are bathed in natural spotlights – a listener will hear them louder and clearer, feel the details you put there,…
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The most important skill a songwriter can have
Our next Songwriting Sprint is coming up, and I thought I’d share one of the 4 prompts from the current 8-Week Sprint. You’re welcome to try this yourself, and if you want the structure, support, and accountability of deadlines, feedback, and community—join us for the August Sprint! Listen Like an Anthropologist Prompt You are going…
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The 3 + 3 Chord Challenge
One of the prompts inside our current Songwriting Sprint is the “3 + 3 Chord Challenge.” The idea is deceptively simple, and we want to share it with you so you can feel its immediate impact in your own writing! The Challenge We are focusing on chords – and I warmly invite you to take…
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This Songwriting Mistake is Easy to Avoid, If…
You know how to find it. There’s a storytelling mistake that shows up in songs all the time. And it has nothing to do with rhyme schemes or chord choices. It’s this: We bury the most interesting idea. This came up inside one of our live feedback sessions this week — the real, live, slightly…
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How to Use Song Maps to Finish Every Song
Using Song Maps has been one of the most transformative tools I’ve ever learned to take any idea I have, and know how to find a pathway to finishing that song. What’s a Song Map? A Song Map is really very simple: it’s a plan for how your song will start, develop, and escalate. It…
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Beyond the 4-Line Verse: Structural Techniques for Songwriters
Writing emotional lyrics doesn’t have to be hard. Discover how lyric structure shapes feeling—and how to break free from 4-line verses.
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Why You Shouldn’t Bother Being “A Songwriter”
I was in Queenstown, New Zealand last week with my best friend from high school. We were there before setting off on a 3-night hike on one of the ‘Great Walks’ of New Zealand — the Kepler Track. Queenstown is stunning — right on a lake, wrapped in mountains, with a kind of Swiss-village energy…
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Did You Know You’ve Been Writing Lyrics Backwards? Stop Now!
Most beginners try to write their lyrics from the top down — first line, first verse, chorus later. It feels logical, right? Start at the beginning and work toward the end. But that’s actually one of the biggest reasons songs fizzle out halfway. When you start with the beginning, you’re guessing at what the song is about.…
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Learn the Ultimate Method to Writing A Chorus
You’ve probably heard it said — or even thought it yourself — that the chorus is simply the part where the lyrics repeat.But that’s not quite right. If the chorus was just the repeating part, that would be like saying your favorite TV show is “the bit where people talk to each other.” Technically true, but not remotely…
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Here’s the Solution to the Enormous Lie Beginner Songwriters Believe
“Lyrics or music?”…Wrong question. If you’ve ever asked, “Should I start with lyrics or music?” you’ve bumped into the biggest beginner lie: that there’s a single right way to start a song—and a bunch of wrong ones that will “ruin” your idea. Today’s tutorial flips that. You’ll see how experienced writers actually begin: not with fear of doing…
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You’ll Never Guess Why “Golden” Is Surprisingly Catchy
You’ll Never Guess Why “Golden” Is Surprisingly Catchy Whether you’re a fan or not, you would have surely heard of K-Pop Demon Hunters by now. Netflix’s latest movie has taken the world by storm, with multiple songs from the soundtrack gracing the Billboard with their presence. In this article, we’ll discuss the secrets hidden within…
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What’s the Most Crucial Melody Mistake Songwriters Make? Discover Now
What’s the Most Crucial Melody Mistake Songwriters Make? Discover Now One might think that the biggest melody mistake songwriters make would be something that’s directly related to melody. For example, some might think it has to do with the repetitiveness of a melody. Meanwhile, others might think it has to do with the number of…
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What’s Your Song’s Focus? Find Out with The Campfire Test!
What’s Your Song’s Focus? Find Out with The Campfire Test! Imagine you’re sitting around a campfire with a bunch of your friends. The sun is setting, and someone hands you a guitar. As you go through your list of songs trying to choose something to play, you’re also asking yourself the question “Which one of…
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Here’s 2 Simple Ways to Erase Music Theory Confusion Forever
Here’s 2 Simple Ways to Erase Music Theory Confusion Forever If you’ve ever found music theory overwhelming, you’re not alone. Many songwriters feel frustrated —bogged down by dense terminology and abstract concepts that seem far removed from the creative process. But what if you could unlock a world of musical understanding with just two simple…
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The Unexpected Secret Behind this Popular Song
The Unexpected Secret Behind this Popular Song Many songwriters think that there are only a few traditional song forms which they can use to write with. However, the truth is that song form is modular – you can write a song arranged in any way you wish. To help you understand how to do this,…
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Stuck? This One Change Made Me Write 20 Songs in a Year
A few weeks ago, I asked some songwriters here what was stopping them from writing more.Here are just a few of the painfully familiar responses: “It’s not my job. Other things constantly get higher on my to-do list.”“When I finally have time, I’m too knackered to do anything decent.”“I have 10,000 lyric snippets… and 0…
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3 Expert Tips to Write Killer Choruses Instantly
3 Expert Tips to Write Killer Choruses Instantly Crafting a memorable chorus can feel intimidating for many songwriters – even the most experienced ones. But what if you knew the formula for writing an amazing chorus? In this post, we’ll unpack three radically practical tips that will help you write a knockout chorus every time.…
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Unlock Powerful Rhythms with These 12 Fingerpicking Patterns
Unlock Powerful Rhythms with These 12 Fingerpicking Patterns If you’re a songwriter who uses guitar as your main instrument whilst songwriting, you may have run into the problem of not having enough rhythmic variation in your song. After all, strumming is great. However, when used too much, strumming quickly transforms from great to repetitive. We’ll…