How To Write Songs

Tag: songwriting tips

  • 5 Books that Are Songwriter Must-Reads

    5 Books that Are Songwriter Must-Reads As professional songwriters, we have collectively read hundreds of books on the art of songwriting. What we want to do in this article is discuss 5 of the most influential and transformative books that we personally keep coming back to as songwriters. Some of these books aren’t specifically about…

  • System #2 to Help You Make Time for Songwriting – Collecting and Organising Ideas

    System #2 to Help You Make Time for Songwriting – Collecting and Organising Ideas Songwriting is a fun process. However, it becomes frustrating when you try to sit down to write and nothing comes to mind. This can cause you eventually stop making time for songwriting. In this article, we’ll discuss how you can ensure…

  • Lyric Exercise #5 – Power Positions

    Lyric Exercise #5 – Power Positions For songwriters, crafting lyrics that captivate and resonate with listeners is both an art and a science. Lyrics have the ability to convey emotions, tell stories, and create vivid imagery. In this article, we’ll discuss power positions and how we can use them to elevate our lyrics. This article…

  • System #1 to Help You Make Time for Songwriting – Practice Daily

    System #1 to Help You Make Time for Songwriting – Practice Daily We received loads of responses from a survey we sent out to our subscribers asking “What’s your biggest challenge with songwriting?”. One of the most common responses was that it’s difficult to make time to get any songwriting done. In this article, we’ll…

  • Lyric Exercise #4 – Contrasts

    Lyric Exercise #4 – Contrasts Contrast is a powerful tool in the songwriter’s arsenal. With it, we can create amazing imagery through combining opposing elements together. In this article, we’ll discuss why contrast is important and study how it’s used in songwriting. This article is a summarised transcript of the fourth exercise in our video…

  • 3 Simple Systems to Help You Make Time for Songwriting

    3 Simple Systems to Help You Make Time for Songwriting After emailing the over 12,000 people on my mailing list and asking them the question “What is your biggest challenge with songwriting?”, one response from a subscriber by the name of Jesse particularly stood out to me. She commented on how she now has so…

  • Lyric Exercise #3 – Use Specific Imagery

    Lyric Exercise #3 – Use Specific Imagery People listen to songs so that they can be transported to a different place. To that aim, it’s important for our lyrics to help listeners paint vivid images in their mind. In this article, we’ll discuss how using specific imagery strengthens lyrics, as well as methods to practice…

  • The MAP Method – Finish Your Songs

    The MAP Method – Finish Your Songs Recently, I emailed the over 12,000 people on my email list, and asked them the question “What is your number one biggest challenge as a songwriter?”. After receiving hundreds of replies, we found that the most common problem songwriters have is finishing songs. In this article, we’ll discuss…

  • Write a Song Within an Hour

    Write a Song Within an Hour A lot of songwriters often talk about how they can’t finish songs. You hear it all the time – tales of abandoned notebooks, lone voice notes and old sticky notes on the wall. Well, this blog post will help you solve that problem by showing you a 5-step process…

  • Lyric Exercise #1 – Extending Metaphors

    Lyric Exercise #1 – Extending Metaphors A large part of songwriting is creating imagery for our listeners. By painting a vivid enough picture through our lyrics, we can draw our listener further into our story. In this article, we’ll discuss how extending metaphors can help put detail into our lyrics, and what we can do…

  • Songwriter Habit #1 – Write Everyday

    Songwriter Habit #1 – Write Everyday It’s a hard thing for songwriters to hear, but highly effective songwriters practice writing everyday. This is hard to hear because it implies that getting good at songwriting requires dedication and discipline. In this blog post, we’ll talk about how writing everyday us a habit necessary to become a…

  • 5 Easy Songwriting Exercises to Improve Your Lyrics

    5 Easy Songwriting Exercises to Improve Your Lyrics Are you tired of writing lyrics you don’t love? Maybe you constantly listen to your favourite songs, wondering how they wrote such amazing lines. In this article, we’ll discuss 5 incredibly powerful exercises for turning your ideas into lyrical gold. This article is a summarised transcript of…

  • Songwriting Tip #7 – Using Unconventional Song Forms

    Songwriting Tip #7 – Using Unconventional Song Forms In songwriting, it’s common practice for most of us to adhere to common or popular song forms such ABAB or AABA. However, this doesn’t mean that these are the only song forms we should ever use. Through analysing Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, we’ll discuss how using…

  • Songwriter Habit #2 – Revise Your Songs

    Songwriter Habit #2 – Revise Your Songs The media often portrays great songwriters as simply having inspiration strike them, then magically writing inspiring songs on their first try. In reality, a lot of revision is done between the song’s first draft and the version that the listener hears. Here, we’ll discuss how revising your songs…

  • Songwriting Tip #6 – Keep It Short

    Songwriting Tip #6 – Keep It Short A common issue that songwriters often struggle with, is how to determine the length of their song. In this blog post, we’ll learn the importance of song length, by studying Queen’s famous rock anthem, “We Will Rock You”. This article is a summarised transcript of the sixth part…

  • Songwriter Habit #3 – Collecting Everything

    Songwriter Habit #3 – Collecting Everything We’ve all been there before: You get a sudden idea for a song, and you tell yourself that it’s alright, you’ll remember it later. But let’s be honest, most of the time, we won’t be able to accurately recall what it is later. In this article, we’ll teach you…

  • Songwriting Tip #5 – Listening to Your Audience

    Songwriting Tip #5 – Listening to Your Audience As songwriters, we’re often focused on the details of our songs and the creative process. However, it’s important for us to remember that our audience deserves to feel like they’re a part of our songs as well. Through analysing Queen’s song “We Will Rock You”, we’ll discuss…

  • Songwriter Habit #4 – Getting Feedback

    Songwriter Habit #4 – Getting Feedback Songwriters are often solitary creatures. Most of us like to work away at our projects, treating them as our babies and ensuring that they never reach another person’s ears till they’re complete. However, one of the most crucial habits that distinguishes highly effective songwriters from the rest is their…

  • Songwriting Tip #4 – Turning the Chorus into an Anthem

    Songwriting Tip #4 – Turning the Chorus into an Anthem The goal in most songs is to shine a spotlight on the chorus, and really ensure that the hook sticks in our listener’s minds. In this blog post, we’ll analyse how “We Will Rock You” by Queen turns their chorus into a powerful anthem. This…

  • Songwriter Habit #5 – Stepping Away

    Songwriter Habit #5 – Stepping Away Songwriting isn’t just about writing songs. It’s about how we find inspiration and ensure that we can write not only consistently, but also regardless of whether inspiration jumps out at us or not. Here, we’ll discuss a part of that process: Stepping away. This article is a summarised transcript…

Weekend Songwriting Intensive - January 4-5

Ignite 2025 with an immersive weekend of songwriting, led by Keppie and Benny.