The Secret To Writing Lyrics

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  • Опубліковано 30 жов 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 3,1 тис.

  • @etherealessence
    @etherealessence 4 роки тому +7427

    Honestly, when I write lyrics, i find it most effective to just start writing. not caring if its good, perfectly in time or meaningful or even rhyme. It gets my mind thinking about what i want to write and the structure i want it to have. As I keep writing, i'll start re-writing sections which invariably come out better. the more i write and try to fit that structure i want, the better I get at being able to do it. The real hurdle is that first bump, the one that keeps my pen from the paper.

    • @halunkarecord
      @halunkarecord 3 роки тому +152

      best advice so far. I appreciate you.

    • @sdw-hv5ko
      @sdw-hv5ko 3 роки тому +66

      Same! I'll say certain spur of the moment phrases that I actually like and then use that as a starting point. It's good to improvise a bit and then build structure

    • @Random-yh3jl
      @Random-yh3jl 3 роки тому +8

      sameeeeeeee

    • @vivsavagex
      @vivsavagex 3 роки тому +49

      To make something good you have to first start with something. Writing is human. Editing is divine.

    • @northernninety7
      @northernninety7 3 роки тому +16

      I’ve used this method for years. Whatever comes to mind, I write it and improve it later.

  • @RÅNÇIÐ
    @RÅNÇIР4 роки тому +15663

    me: rhymes "fire" with "desire"
    my brain: genius poetry

    • @skakirask
      @skakirask 4 роки тому +567

      Don't forget "girl" and "world"

    • @sirbaguette8378
      @sirbaguette8378 4 роки тому +302

      Robert Frost: *intense sweating*

    • @eudaimonixx9909
      @eudaimonixx9909 3 роки тому +217

      believe: when i say

    • @ДимаОглы-ш7п
      @ДимаОглы-ш7п 3 роки тому +176

      @@skakirask i'm in love with the world
      through the eyes of a girl

    • @rivergrhrv6138
      @rivergrhrv6138 3 роки тому +54

      @@ДимаОглы-ш7п whos still around the morning aaaafter

  • @randomhuman4621
    @randomhuman4621 2 роки тому +1078

    lyricists really out here rhyming "virtue" and "choose" and it sounds fucking phenomenal

    • @ferdtheterd3897
      @ferdtheterd3897 2 роки тому +114

      Sir choose a few dirt shoes for your virtues

    • @jdinsomniac7504
      @jdinsomniac7504 Рік тому +67

      @@ferdtheterd3897 ch(oose) a few d(irt) sh(oes) for your v-irt-ues. it’s sounds like choose and shoes which is so cool

    • @ferdtheterd3897
      @ferdtheterd3897 Рік тому +31

      @@jdinsomniac7504 Thanks dawg i rhyme as a hobby

    • @jdinsomniac7504
      @jdinsomniac7504 Рік тому +16

      @@ferdtheterd3897 i’m just teaching myself

    • @GreenLeafUponTheSky
      @GreenLeafUponTheSky Рік тому +5

      Virchoose or something like that lol. "tue" and "oose" kind of sound similar

  • @HorribleSonofa
    @HorribleSonofa 6 років тому +10636

    My best 2 pieces of advice:
    -Read lots of good and bad lyrics, and think about out what makes any given lyrics seem bad. (Learning to recognize cliches, ham-fistedness, clumsiness, distractions, poor flow, etc.)
    -Write lots of bad lyrics. Write lyrics about stuff you don’t care about and that doesn’t matter to you. This is a great way learn to practice using language without being judgmental or letting your expectations interfere. Trying to say something you care about saying ..before you learn how to say it well.. is frustrating. The more crap you produce, the more you’ll learn how to produce stuff that isn’t crap.

    • @intergalacticpeachpatrol
      @intergalacticpeachpatrol 5 років тому +137

      Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis

    • @EasyIsHere
      @EasyIsHere 5 років тому +220

      Start a channel NOW

    • @TheBigDean18
      @TheBigDean18 5 років тому +95

      True true true, I've been writing for myself for 4-5 years now and I'm much better (too me atleast), writing songs than when I first started.

    • @saracroughan529
      @saracroughan529 5 років тому +16

      FoggyNoggin thank you for this

    • @Basu117
      @Basu117 5 років тому +88

      Same goes for all songwriting really. The first dozens of songs are gonna be garbage probably (unless you're among the 0.01% of gifted individuals), both musically and lyrically, but after that is where the good stuff starts happening. Just gotta let it out and move on to the next thing.

  • @raygunn95
    @raygunn95 5 років тому +3134

    "There's no formula for great lyrics, anyone who says differently is selling something"
    12tone, tellin it like it is!

    • @bradcoles5511
      @bradcoles5511 3 роки тому +20

      agreed... only exercises for stimulating creativity and of course learning the technical aspects like rhyme scheme, rhythm and meter, perspective. Lot's of practice and you might get good.

    • @pinkajou656
      @pinkajou656 3 роки тому +6

      is that a reference...

    • @blade7506
      @blade7506 3 роки тому +6

      funny bc i got an ad like this on the video

    • @ProdJamesCultz
      @ProdJamesCultz 3 роки тому

      Their actually is cadence algorithms that a more likely to be hits I should upload a vid about it

    • @weatherbitten
      @weatherbitten 2 роки тому +2

      life is pain, highness

  • @realAdamClinch
    @realAdamClinch 3 роки тому +696

    1. Find topics you are genuinely interested in, love is a fine topic sometimes but it's been overdone
    2. Read a lot of old and new stories/lyrics and you'll find that characters are always the foundation to some degree, so when you write lyrics, try imagining character traits that fit the type of person that's saying it all as you decide what words to use (singing style and technique play a massive role in this too)
    3. Just keep doing it, good lyric writing can take years to improve on and in the end you may not find your unique style for a long time

    • @camiloangarita5548
      @camiloangarita5548 2 роки тому +10

      love has been overdone ???

    • @camiloangarita5548
      @camiloangarita5548 2 роки тому +26

      everyone lives and experiences love in an entirely different body and perspective, love is infinitely abstract and cant be overdone, love songs and poetry will never get old bc love never gets old

    • @realAdamClinch
      @realAdamClinch 2 роки тому +17

      @@camiloangarita5548 Of course love is unique for everyone, I agree. What I meant was, the way emotions are described can either make bad or amazing lyrics. A lot of love songs play it safe and use basic phrases and whatnot, but instead of explicitly saying how the character feels, you can implicitly reference it however you'd like and the reader or listener can pick up on the implied body language, atmosphere, or whatever you use. That's where expression and personality come out in writing, which is necessary to take lyrics to that top level.

    • @camiloangarita5548
      @camiloangarita5548 2 роки тому +1

      @@realAdamClinch yea i agree

    • @PunkRockRog
      @PunkRockRog 2 роки тому +2

      Exactly

  • @reayxx
    @reayxx 6 років тому +26043

    or just have a breakup

    • @burdensofparasol
      @burdensofparasol 5 років тому +707

      REAY yeah but can you make the break up into good and original lyrics that aren’t a cliche

    • @Basu117
      @Basu117 5 років тому +386

      Not necessarily. Thousands of songs in the metalcore/emo genre are about breakups and... not many of them are good lyrically.

    • @xan230
      @xan230 5 років тому +113

      I can only think of a handful of good songs about breakups, such as She by Green Day or Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac

    • @trikks5578
      @trikks5578 5 років тому +40

      Yeet Yeet you fw lil peep ?

    • @xan230
      @xan230 5 років тому +14

      @@trikks5578 nah i found it on a meme a few months ago and I found it funny

  • @HairJordan
    @HairJordan 5 років тому +9860

    The secret: become left handed and draw backwards

    • @jebusrice1340
      @jebusrice1340 4 роки тому +57

      furry rights

    • @shwetatalwar9976
      @shwetatalwar9976 4 роки тому +88

      I agree with the one person above me.(Continue this)

    • @lua5462
      @lua5462 4 роки тому +62

      I agree with the three people above me.

    • @jbenze
      @jbenze 4 роки тому +50

      I agree with the four people above me.

    • @alexandriastewart8522
      @alexandriastewart8522 4 роки тому +40

      I agree with the five people above me.

  • @leowatley
    @leowatley 2 роки тому +379

    one thing i've always found makes writing anything better, but especially lyrics, is to remove the words 'i', 'me' and any other references to one's self - you wrote it, people assume it's from your perspective. it'll always make the writing more dynamic and allow people to see themselves in it more if they aren't constantly reminded that it's about the author. when i realized this, my writing jumped up a huge amount in quality. it's the single best piece of writing advice that i can give.

    • @paulhill6067
      @paulhill6067 Рік тому +23

      Too many songs are written in first person singular when it is just as effective to write from an objective rather than subjective stance. It gets tedious to listen to people projecting their own feelings. Having said this there are many famous songs that are written in subjective mode but over the years so many people have sung them together it feels like a global bonding between kindred souls.
      The 21 Pilots video of " I can`t help falling in love with you" is an uplifting example.

    • @leowatley
      @leowatley Рік тому +4

      @@aayush7322 you're just reinforcing my point - all those songs are specifically about the singer, keeping the listener at arms length and denying immersion. also, except for walk the line, all those songs are super shitty.

    • @johncatson6658
      @johncatson6658 Рік тому +7

      @@leowatley Really? "And I love her" is shitty?

    • @Cherri_Stars
      @Cherri_Stars Рік тому +8

      How do you do this? Like, if the song isn't from a first person perspective, is it telling the same story through a character? Using the second or third person? Or just describing things?
      I love this idea but can't figure out how to apply it.

    • @leowatley
      @leowatley Рік тому +7

      @@Cherri_Stars i find second-person ('you walk...'; 'you look...', etc.) to be effective, same goes for calling characte4rs in the song 'he', 'she', 'the man', 'a woman', or other things like that leaves a lot of room for the listener to insert whatever characters the want inside their head. it's a bit odd to write in second-person, at first, at least, but i find that if you write in the first-person, and then convert it line by line to second-person, it's a good way to figure out the hang of it.

  • @JoboostrGekkepekkie
    @JoboostrGekkepekkie 6 років тому +12448

    i am getting nervous because he is drawing from the right to the left

    • @tepe9369
      @tepe9369 6 років тому +1144

      he's left handed and doing that prevents him from smearing the ink

    • @hairyhairison2820
      @hairyhairison2820 5 років тому +44

      same

    • @bias3026
      @bias3026 5 років тому +101

      Lefty

    • @loafofearl3236
      @loafofearl3236 5 років тому +196

      Us lefty’s do that

    • @randomness200
      @randomness200 5 років тому +61

      @@tepe9369 lol...i noticed only aftr checking ur comment

  • @an_annoying_cat
    @an_annoying_cat 6 років тому +5604

    The secret:
    Obsess over love.

    • @Jill-In-The-Works
      @Jill-In-The-Works 5 років тому +16

      Lol X3

    • @TheBigDean18
      @TheBigDean18 5 років тому +22

      True some of the best stuff I've written about love.

    • @jazz98lol
      @jazz98lol 5 років тому +7

      Well thats a check for me. Lol

    • @xelio9050
      @xelio9050 5 років тому +2

      Chair Turtle Aye! I wanna hear the song

    • @jchugg2820
      @jchugg2820 5 років тому +3

      XXX Tentacion?

  • @Gaenico
    @Gaenico 3 роки тому +120

    One thing that totally changed my writing (I write in French, 'cause I'm French tho but that's a global advice I could give) : I stopped overthinking. If I wanna say something silly, or naive, I write it. If I wanna go on something more complex, or which makes only sense to me, I do it. And I stop being ashamed of the words I write.
    And, it changed everything to be honest.
    By the way, reading a lot, and developping my global culture and subjects gave me way more things to say and write about too, and a lot of new ways to express the same feelings.

  • @blacklvrboy7683
    @blacklvrboy7683 4 роки тому +2529

    It’s not the lyrics for me, it’s the melodies. I want my words to go with my melodies but I don’t want the melodies boring and basic-ya know?

    • @YamnayaSintash
      @YamnayaSintash 3 роки тому +45

      Semantic meanings in music have little to zero importance.

    • @gauravthadanii
      @gauravthadanii 3 роки тому +16

      That's the same problem with me

    • @91Definite
      @91Definite 2 роки тому +7

      That’s exactly how I feel! You wanna mind blow people

    • @dragon-kun199
      @dragon-kun199 2 роки тому +36

      Keep Listening to music, see where the melody is inclined to go. In American pop, it’s by whole notes and step and sounds smooth and used a lot of consonance. In Japanese Pop, it loves to be unresolved with half step notes and evokes power through octave switching with the melody. Japan/China loves dissonant sounds in contrast.
      Key Changes almost always gives chills to the person if done right. The more you hear, the more ideas you get about where to land your melody.
      As A song writer i know the struggles.

    • @randomleni
      @randomleni 2 роки тому +20

      Same man. Lyrics are no problem but the melody? Bye

  • @beastcoastlc5319
    @beastcoastlc5319 6 років тому +2923

    Just read Dr. Seuss books

    • @NeoNorr
      @NeoNorr 5 років тому +19

      yessssss dr Seuss books for life!

    • @yeolfilms6746
      @yeolfilms6746 5 років тому +63

      "I do not like green eggs and ham,
      I do not like them sam i am."

    • @ipudisciple
      @ipudisciple 5 років тому +74

      The way that Shakespeare writes is split in twos,
      so every other sound is soft or hard.
      And music often does this with the stress.
      The common time is often like the Bard.
      The pattern of Seuss, though, is usually threes.
      He uses an accent: one heavy, two light.
      Now music can do this as well, to be sure,
      in 3 time or when there are triplets in sight.
      Now everybody knows the line:
      "I do not like green eggs and ham",
      but this is not his normal way.
      Allow me, please, to quote some more.
      The "Sleep Book" has a lot to say.
      “The news just came in from the County of Keck,
      that a very small bug by the name of Van Vleck
      is yawning so wide you can look down his neck.
      This may not seem very important, I know,
      but it Is, so I'm bothering telling you so.”

    • @n_t_over_the_morrow
      @n_t_over_the_morrow 5 років тому +20

      You may be joking....but you have sparked my brilliance....

    • @Yeeterson2727
      @Yeeterson2727 4 роки тому +9

      Cat in the hat intensifies

  • @deejaybundst1671
    @deejaybundst1671 2 роки тому +339

    i feel like there's a lot of good lyrics out there that are just missing a voice that can get them into people's ears

    • @novanity9611
      @novanity9611 2 роки тому +31

      For real I feel as if it’s like 40% about lyrics and 60% the way they are executed in tone of voice and emotion etc

    • @TheJokerandTheJean
      @TheJokerandTheJean 2 роки тому +4

      Amd some are there with me. If anybody wants, they can have.....
      Also, there is a channel named Augustsprings, you can have the lyrics of already uploaded song, make a version of yours and upload it. Tag the channel when you make a better version than them

    • @3333218
      @3333218 2 роки тому +5

      That's something that happens often! Tons of Bob Dylan songs got more attention when interpreted by others, etc.

    • @3333218
      @3333218 2 роки тому

      Interpretation is everything. It can change the whole meaning of a song!

    • @felixputz5190
      @felixputz5190 2 роки тому

      true .. for example i dont think we would have ever heard smells like teen spirit all around the world if it wasnt Kurt Cobain who sang it

  • @perbox2123
    @perbox2123 4 роки тому +1597

    5:41 "like a loved one, a hobby or a treasured object"
    *draws heroin needle*

  • @lazarus-lake
    @lazarus-lake 6 років тому +239

    "Being able to evoke emotions and ideas indirectly is crucial." You summed up the importance of imagery in that one phrase. That's very helpful for me as a musician. Thank you.

  • @DeesNerds
    @DeesNerds 3 роки тому +68

    I really judged myself harshly on lyrics for a long time. Then one day I was listening to some of my favorite artists and realized how simple and plain spoken their lyrics were. I’ve been kinder to myself since. And sometimes a cliche is okay, especially if it comes from the heart.

  • @ThePi314Man
    @ThePi314Man 6 років тому +1546

    You just have to be a *SPIRITUAL LYRICAL MIRACLE CRIMINAL INDIVIDUAL IN YOUR SWIMMIN POOL*

  • @cailiosaegan3427
    @cailiosaegan3427 5 років тому +2688

    Me: wants to write good songs.
    Also me: ooooooh why do you hurt me whoah even tho i looove you soo ooooh leet me goo woa woaaa.

  • @easoo_
    @easoo_ Рік тому +43

    I always try to remind myself that lyrics are poetry, and that poetry doesn’t always make sense to people. I like my lyrics to be a little nonsensical with my own deeper meanings sprinkled in. I use a ton of metaphors just cuz that’s what I like, and try to connect ideas people wouldn’t necessarily think of at first. I imagine if I were to share them with people, they would find their own meaning in it and that’s the beauty of lyrics !!

  • @weebemo1144
    @weebemo1144 6 років тому +2679

    Roses are red
    Violets are blue
    But they don't rhyme with lyrics
    So what the hell should I do

    • @chensgold
      @chensgold 5 років тому +221

      Write words that don't rhyme and mispronounce it to make them sound alike

    • @mi-y
      @mi-y 5 років тому +57

      Try searching synonyms!

    • @jordantaylor2625
      @jordantaylor2625 5 років тому +23

      literally listen to roses by juice wrld

    • @mrslippyfist9155
      @mrslippyfist9155 5 років тому +36

      It doesnt always have to ryhme

    • @derdurstbursch
      @derdurstbursch 5 років тому +65

      Roses are red
      Violets are blue
      We're opposing the threat
      Making violence come true
      I just wanted to help calm down the riots
      But now am sitting in a turtle of iron
      Screaming and blindly firing
      Children and women are crying
      And on my best friends foldable bed
      Not far from here
      Lie roses in red.
      I know I'm neither Shakespeare nor Eminem, but these things can be rhymed, my dude.

  • @-1subswithoutuploadingavid621
    @-1subswithoutuploadingavid621 6 років тому +4786

    The secret is using a pen

    • @ВадимБаев-с9в
      @ВадимБаев-с9в 6 років тому +204

      Truck Boi are you trying to sell me a pen?

    • @-1subswithoutuploadingavid621
      @-1subswithoutuploadingavid621 6 років тому +126

      Вадим Баев Well I do have a cracking deal on these pens, 5o pence for one, £4.50 for a pack of 10, you'll say wiw everytimr you use these pens! Pick rm up quick! If you order now I'll thriw in an extre pen for free!

    • @Gamelunatic1992
      @Gamelunatic1992 6 років тому +32

      My brain leaked out of my ear from sudden realization of what a pen is used for

    • @mondaay2495
      @mondaay2495 6 років тому +16

      *seCRET

    • @Iceteanpizza
      @Iceteanpizza 5 років тому +4

      Omg thanks ive been doing it all wrong this whole time!

  • @one2micreview846
    @one2micreview846 3 роки тому +7

    Best lyric advice ever given to me. Record it. Play it back. If you feel embarrassed about listening to those lyrics, you already know that it’s wrong

  • @thefinstasis
    @thefinstasis 5 років тому +319

    My problem with lyrics is that I can’t really write them, lyrics just come to me like a lightning or something. When I just try to write to something, it doesn’t work at all, but sometimes lyrics just come to your head and you don’t even need to do something. It’s weird af. I guess it’s because lyrics is literally poetry, and poetry is self expression, and the most of the time you don’t really have anything that emotional to think about. Patience is the key

    • @Ciaoao
      @Ciaoao Рік тому +9

      It's the same for me too. So I just record myself saying stuff out loud then write it down after

    • @GreenLeafUponTheSky
      @GreenLeafUponTheSky Рік тому +3

      Nothing emotional to think about? Even when depressed, I find plenty of ideas

    • @hijack69
      @hijack69 Рік тому +2

      Holy Shit. I thought it was just me. I have this thing where lyrics just come outta nowhere but when I sit and think nothing just comes to my brain

    • @ironCondor623
      @ironCondor623 Рік тому

      @@hijack69 yeah, usually a specific rhyme or line just pops into my head and then i try to build a verse around it

    • @mariettamay
      @mariettamay 9 місяців тому

      saying you don't have something "emotional" to "think" about contradicts itself.

  • @hhdhpublic
    @hhdhpublic 6 років тому +317

    If one is interested in getting into poetry, I recommend the book Break Blow Burn - Camille Paglia reads forty-three of the world's best poems. It is literally that, 43 short(ish) poems and then few pages of Camilla explaining her interpration of the poem. It is great for several reasons. First of all, it teaches you how to read poetry and you learn to understand the symbolism, the rhytmh and all that. Secondly, it moves from Shakespeare sonnets into modern poetry and even to rock lyrics, so one gets a good idea on different styles of poetry, their structure, rhytmh, how they use rhymes and so forth. After all, poetry can encompass anything from very strict forms to free verse which is exactly that, verse that basically doesn't follow any pattern or structure. Thirdly, one will probably find at least few poets that they enjoy in the book and thats a good start for getting deeper into poetry. And best of all, Camilla's essays aren't theoretical or academical at all and can easily be understood by the layman.

    • @arroraseliant8482
      @arroraseliant8482 6 років тому +4

      I would also recommend Kenneth Koch's Making your own days: The pleasures of reading and writing poetry; the book goes through the subject in an impressively engaging way, how to understand the structure behind it, the way the sounds of words are connected to their meaning, how to write it, how to read it, how to develop a poetic skill and so on. He also ends the book with a large collection of poems to illustrate Koch's point with comments explaining his thoughts on them. It is genuinely the best non-fiction book that I have read.

    • @notaname8140
      @notaname8140 5 років тому +2

      Stephen Fry also did a good book on writing poetry, called The Ode Less Traveled. It breaks down pretty much all the major forms of poem (ballad, ode, sonnet etc.) as well as a few more "exotic" ones, and also the theory behind metre and rhyme, and is also written so as to be easily understood by someone who doesn't know much about poetry

    • @killitwithfire5377
      @killitwithfire5377 3 роки тому +1

      I'd also recommend "SET ME ON FIRE - a poem for every feeling". It's an anthology by Ella Risbridger and it came from of a conversation with a friend of her's who doesn't get poetry. It's just a collection of her favorite poems with a focus on ones for beginners. Most of them have little notes where she explains what she loves about this poem and her enthusiasm is absolutely contagious. Additionally, the poems are sorted by emotion, which is great as a starting point for an interpretation. Risbridger put particular focus on diversity, both in poetry style and identity of the writers, so it really is a neat little summary of the world of poetry with a very charming guide.

    • @FoodStampHero
      @FoodStampHero 3 роки тому +1

      Y’all gonna have to narrow it down, I’m not buying 4 different books on the same topic 😅

    • @isabellamorris7902
      @isabellamorris7902 3 роки тому +3

      @@FoodStampHero Paglia is really really good. Recommend.

  • @vronika1052
    @vronika1052 3 роки тому +12

    I love the tips and the advices you gave ..I've been writing for more than a year now and I can tell you the only way you get better at it is just to keep on writing everything you feel.Whether you are so hyped or whether you are so down ,trust me the words and melodies will just start exploding right out of nowhere.

  • @Spacecat2
    @Spacecat2 4 роки тому +402

    One thing I was taught in college that has stuck with me to this day is that the kinds of things that make good poetry don't necessarily make good song lyrics. Songs tend to use much simpler and concise language than poems.
    If you write lyrics as if you're writing poetry, you're likely to end up with something like "MacArthur Park" or "Elusive Butterfly" (or something much worse than either of those). And whether or not songs like that are bad is matter of taste, but so is whether or not it's bad to emphasize the "RET" in "secret."
    And just as it's a useful rule of thumb to not accent unaccented syllables (unless you have a good reason to), I've found that it's also a useful rule of thumb to generally not use flowery poetic language when writing songs.

    • @pikasfed
      @pikasfed 3 роки тому +26

      I agree. I believe being a good lyricist really comes down to identifying your own style, your own way of looking at something and describing it, and finding the right musical style that complements that view and personality, and just expanding on that, without forcing a style that for others may come really easy but for you it's really unnatural.

    • @romaneingram8922
      @romaneingram8922 3 роки тому +16

      You have to hide your education and write as if your reasoning with the average man

    • @jules8159
      @jules8159 2 роки тому +5

      Well I mean The Beatle were pretty flowery at their beginning and Daniel Johns based Neon Bllroom on poems so

    • @welikerosafloyd
      @welikerosafloyd 2 роки тому +1

      Tell that to Luis Alberto Spinetta

    • @JacobCookMusic
      @JacobCookMusic 2 роки тому +2

      I mean yes. Unless your an indiefolk artist.

  • @bonecanoe86
    @bonecanoe86 6 років тому +402

    For me at least the effectiveness of lyrics is very subjective. Very often I will find lyrics that don't stand out in any objective measure but hit me in a particular way. Sometimes it is because I can relate to the lyrics, but not always. Sometimes I will even find myself saying "I have no idea what they're singing about but I love these lyrics".

    • @threenplustwo9105
      @threenplustwo9105 6 років тому +24

      Sometimes lyrics make no sense (or they aren't meant to) but just sound good.

    • @ImamuraCross
      @ImamuraCross 6 років тому +3

      Some tracks from Persona 3 come to mind o_o

    • @morganadamson5466
      @morganadamson5466 6 років тому +14

      Nirvana... 🙄😂

    • @hairohukosu433
      @hairohukosu433 6 років тому +1

      Origin of Symetry...

    • @e.hhampsen4508
      @e.hhampsen4508 6 років тому +3

      I believe the key to being truly expressive in your music is to write things that make you feel, deeply and also through stuff together because it sounds nice and why not. One of my favorites, Janelle Monae does this a lot. Her occasional silliness is empowering in its own way

  • @anshikakashyap2000
    @anshikakashyap2000 10 місяців тому +8

    "The fire of my desire never exhausted,
    It kept me burning like a forest,
    All I knew was her denial; the sounds of my heart pounding and my dials."
    Great Video!!

  • @yaj126
    @yaj126 6 років тому +92

    "There's no formula for great lyrics, anyone who says differently is trying to sell something"
    AMEN

  • @LSSTmusic
    @LSSTmusic 4 роки тому +452

    i've been writing songs for about ten years and i kind of discovered most of this on my own, which really drives home the idea that just working at it and practicing WILL make you better. i remember when i realized that the accents of my lyrics were all awkward, i felt like i was on some galaxy brain shit at that point ahaha.
    i think it wouldn't have taken me so long to get to a point where i was happy with how i wrote if i had learned more about poetry, but for me... i still really can't stand poetry. i just don't enjoy poetry. to me, poetry feels incomplete, like someone started writing a song and just forgot to make the song part. i know that's not really a fair way to look at it, but i've never been able to shake that feeling. i definitely respect the people who mastered the craft, just isn't for me.

    • @mariamandure867
      @mariamandure867 4 роки тому +12

      I want to write a song

    • @identifierat
      @identifierat 4 роки тому +12

      I agree with you, I think that it's easier to publish a song than a poem because for a poem you don't have any nice rythm to disguise what you are saying, and also if people don't like the lyrics at least they might like the way it sounds, but it's not like that in poetry.. It makes me unconfortable to say things so directly without anything to conceal it with, and it's not that I even need to, it's that writing only a poem feels strange for me, I would feel quite exposed just sharing my feelings like that hahah
      (I've never written a song but that would be a nice thing to do).

    • @kryzs_kornhell
      @kryzs_kornhell 3 роки тому +6

      @Hash Kushum But not all poetry is songs.

    • @1900rugrat
      @1900rugrat 3 роки тому +2

      @@kryzs_kornhell factual

    • @1900rugrat
      @1900rugrat 3 роки тому

      i had the same reaction to this i feel like you discover rhyme patterns by actually just writing and your craft becomes way more unique when you develop knowledge of cadence and wordplay over time

  • @gabs7102
    @gabs7102 2 роки тому +7

    All this explanation just make me respect producers and song writers even more than before

  • @Firewalkerbg
    @Firewalkerbg 5 років тому +197

    “That’s what drummers are for”
    I mean, they’re usually fit. They’re clearly meant to carry heavy stuff, like my keyboards for example. Don’t give them any crazy ideas, please.

  • @Solozolo_
    @Solozolo_ 5 років тому +31

    This was literally sent to me from the universe. I've always wanted to write and sing my own music and I have a lot of good ideas for songs but I'm not good at tying the words together to make it sound good. I've never looked up anything about song writing before and the fact that this is in my recommended could not be a coincidence. I'm thankful

    • @LukeElectric
      @LukeElectric 2 роки тому +2

      I have been writing and recording music in my basement. I have yet to write lyrics for the new songs. I haven't looked up anything involved with music writing...
      ...and here is this video, out of the blue, for me to see. I must've needed it.
      Thanks, Universe!

    • @Noitisnt-ns7mo
      @Noitisnt-ns7mo Рік тому

      Cosmic.

  • @WCmoon36
    @WCmoon36 3 роки тому +31

    I felt good about myself when I said “practice makes perfect” before you said the secret is practice. I’ve been doing this everyday for 6 years

  • @domc3040
    @domc3040 6 років тому +506

    So the main thing I took away from this is.. diatomic nitrogen has a triple bond?

    • @12tone
      @12tone  6 років тому +139

      The strongest triple bond of any single element, if I recall correctly.

    • @snewcomer22
      @snewcomer22 5 років тому +3

      @buzz magister your comment should have way more likes!

    • @theologicalmonochromaticbo7290
      @theologicalmonochromaticbo7290 4 роки тому +1

      @buzz magister poetry. oh, indeed. From woe is me, to golden peaks.
      Either known to read, or spoke with speech that glows to thee who overhears.

  • @lautreamontg
    @lautreamontg 6 років тому +322

    Ah, finally an episode in my wheelhouse.
    I'm a published poet, and I've spent most of the last decade working with formalist poetry, some forms pretty well known, some rather forgotten. That said, in college I competed in slam competitions and most of the stuff I published was free verse I wrote when I was younger.
    Of all my time spent writing poetry, I think outside of writer's copies, I've maybe been paid around 100 bucks in prize money from local competitions and 20 dollar gift certificate to a book store, so Imma play a tiny violin when a gigging musician complains about how little money it makes ;-)
    So as a poet, let me get on the one thing that grinds my gears a bit and why written poetry is so marginal now compared to music and written prose respectively. Somewhere, during the mid-decades of the 20th Century, the emphasis on genuine self-expression of emotional or intellectual content as the most important metric for poetry became paramount. Form was seen as impeding budding poet's voices from emerging. Hence it could be dispensed with.
    Heck, take any writing class. A student will rightfully get graded down if their essays are not constructed with strong arguments, or their short stories have muddled trite plots with paper thin caricatures. But poetry? A teacher will tell a young poet clumsily constructing moon/spoon/June rhymes with a clunky metre to discard that and just try "to get at what you're feeling".
    Honestly, to me, telling aspiring poets to go straight to writing free verse is like telling freshman band students that the best way to get really good at music is to forget about practicing scales and writing simple compositions, but instead to go straight to improvising free jazz, because it's all good so long as it's truly heartfelt or raw.
    So what do we end up with? Purple prose aphorisms arbitrarily sliced into lines, somewhere between a Hallmark card and a confessional post on Instagram.
    Oh, people still hunger for the metrical spoken word. Heck, that's what rhythm and flow of hip hop evokes in people. They just aren't going to learn it in any school nowadays.
    That's just my old fusty opinion, though. I'll admit it's not popular.

    • @Aleph_Null_Audio
      @Aleph_Null_Audio 6 років тому +22

      This is great. You've got to know the rules before you can break them, right? Then you can break them on purpose and with intent.
      As a composer, I do enjoy the challenge of working with odd metered lyrics or incomplete stanzas. It can break you out of four and eight bar phrases and that can open up novel melodic or harmonic structures.

    • @columbus8myhw
      @columbus8myhw 6 років тому +6

      I bet more people know Reddit user poem_for_your_sprog than any other contemporary poet.

    • @columbus8myhw
      @columbus8myhw 6 років тому +3

      I bet more people know Reddit user poem_for_your_sprog than any other contemporary poet.

    • @lautreamontg
      @lautreamontg 6 років тому +4

      Read him/her just now. It's not bad, certainly better than Rupi Kaur (the other famous social media era poet) technically speaking. I can see why they're popular and the person is obviously aware and *ahem* well versed in poetic devices and techniques. It's just too arch for my tastes, but then I'm a giant fuddy-duddy who would wear tweed suits every day if I didn't live in Hawaii. YMMV.

    • @WhimsyHeath
      @WhimsyHeath 6 років тому +3

      Too 'Arch' for your tastes? what do you mean by that?
      But yes, the dispensing of meter ahs been a real shame, metered poetry is difficult but very rewarding. I seem to remember that "The love song of J Alfred Prufrock" was one of the early free verse poems, and it was incredibly powerful because that destruction of structure and fragmentation of meter was just like modernism itself, and it's combined with a lot of uncertainty in the character's actions and expressions. Of course, that may be wrong, it's only my recollection.
      I need to get started writing poetry again, Other than the advice in the video, do you have any advice for practicing it? Especially metered and formal poems, since meter, as you are saying, is difficult.
      Also, since you think the hunger is there, do you think that poetry could see a revival? Or is the hip-hop genre precisely a transformative revival?

  • @hannahmichaels9992
    @hannahmichaels9992 Рік тому +2

    Been struggling writing music lately, and lyrics are a super important factor to me. I’ll watch this again in the future and practice these, this was a nice reminder that writing stuff I’m proud of again is possible

  • @joeyhardin5903
    @joeyhardin5903 4 роки тому +28

    for writing poetry, try setting yourself some limitations. once i had a specific rhyme scheme, a limited number of syllables per line, and the first letter of each line had to be specific. it ended up being one of my favourites because the restrictions end up forcing you to be creative and clever and stuff

  • @luliby2309
    @luliby2309 5 років тому +33

    This is an awesome lesson on lyrics. Thank you!
    I also remember this tip I saw on Ultimate-Guitar once about trying to "detach" your lyrics. IE...don't be super literal and/or specific with what you're writing about, write about the associated emotions and thoughts and such to get something where more people can relate to it even if they haven't had the specific experience that made you feel/think however you did. Nice little tip for less experienced writers. More experienced poets and lyricists probably don't need that though.

  • @Jerry_Fried
    @Jerry_Fried 3 роки тому +28

    The two best points I can make about lyrics are 1) choose a single theme and make sure every single line in the lyrics supports and advances that theme and 2) learn to recognize clichés and to avoid them. A corollary to this - and this is true across the board regardless of the art form you're practicing - is to be absolutely ruthless in your self criticism and to delete anything that is in the smallest detail less than it could be. Don't allow yourself to be substandard. I've known many artists who thought their every turd was a golden nugget, making it impossible for them to improve.

  • @wanderfra42
    @wanderfra42 4 роки тому +19

    Nice to see that my approach to songwriting found by trial and error, anxiety, breakup, crisis, hard study, reading and practice finds support in your analysis! xD

  • @nani5230
    @nani5230 6 років тому +524

    The secret: Be left handed

  • @MasterEth
    @MasterEth Рік тому

    I love rhyming the middle of words the most, the amount of creativity you can from that is astounding. With that logic, Rhyme, Benign, define, and lies, work well together.

  • @midsummerlightone5336
    @midsummerlightone5336 5 років тому +15

    I got you on my browser search by using the words, “how to write a song when you know absolutely nothing.“ But I can write poetry. Some good some bad. Probably just like everybody. I am a 35 year English teacher so that helps.
    I love your advice. I agree with the people on here who say you should have your own channel. Thank you very much

  • @Iceteanpizza
    @Iceteanpizza 5 років тому +195

    *talks about how to write lyrics*
    *starts drawing*

  • @whoathatsalotofdamage3718
    @whoathatsalotofdamage3718 3 роки тому +22

    Hot take, Matt Bellamy does an amazing job of writing lyrics that have a consistent "sound" without necessarily rhyming. The more I listen to the lyrics, the more I'm convinced Matt doesn't necessarily care what the words are, and care more about how they sound

  • @Vanguard448
    @Vanguard448 6 років тому +187

    I can recommend flipping this on its head and doing poetic structure breakdowns of popular songs or songs you like, as well. It's a pretty useful exercise. Plus it's fun, or at least it is to the grown-up version of the kid who spent lunch breaks reading William Blake when he was 12.

    • @kylelanger8611
      @kylelanger8611 6 років тому

      Vanguard448 we had to do this in my English class my senior year of high school, it was great

    • @Smoothaltheleet
      @Smoothaltheleet 6 років тому +5

      Vanguard448 Would you mind elaborating on this with an example?

    • @SeeEmPunk
      @SeeEmPunk 5 років тому

      Example?

  • @RMoribayashi
    @RMoribayashi 6 років тому +91

    My favorite lyric rhyme is from Elvis Costello's Every Day I Write The Book. It's a song filled with literary rhymes but at one point he abandons the song's rhythmic structure to squeeze in the lines:
    *_Even in a perfect world where everyone was equal_*
    *_I'd still own the film rights and be working on the sequel_*
    Damn, that's cool.

    • @forestcochran4196
      @forestcochran4196 6 років тому +7

      It's a good illustration of how accent is more important than the number of syllables. That song is nice because the melody and meter don't have a chance to get old with all the variations.

  • @JonesJr876
    @JonesJr876 2 роки тому +4

    6:13 "There is no formula for great [ insert anything here, see: lyrics], anyone who says differently is selling something" that's an amazing quote 12tone!

  • @RonnocFroop
    @RonnocFroop 6 років тому +23

    One aspect you didn't talk about that I find particularly interesting is vowel progression. Lyrics sound much better when the vowels all move in the same direction. The first time I realised this was in the difference between "Mars Flame Shooter" and "Mars Flame Sniper" (not at all related to music), where the latter sounds much better because of the rising vowels, while in the former they go all over the place.

  • @EchoHeo
    @EchoHeo 6 років тому +1395

    Writing lyrics
    Fighting with Eric
    Rhyme without possessing spirits
    Memer bones
    Wiener owns
    How the heck do I write lyrics

    • @diegocano5756
      @diegocano5756 6 років тому +119

      Beautiful

    • @Vanguard448
      @Vanguard448 6 років тому +128

      Man, why you gotta bring Eric into this? Don't have to fight the poor guy.

    • @kevin_dasilva
      @kevin_dasilva 6 років тому +42

      This is amazing as it is, don't know what you mean

    • @ShaunCollins
      @ShaunCollins 5 років тому +7

      Weinerville lol

    • @hollicide1
      @hollicide1 5 років тому +14

      Why you want to fight me, my guy?

  • @JohnPaul-oq6ud
    @JohnPaul-oq6ud 2 роки тому +1

    For me the coolest part of this video is finally putting legitimate terminology to word structures I have found while listening to music.
    Basically, when I really like the rhythm, percussive, and melody of the phonetics of a song, I dwell why it sounds good. I'm still working on it.
    I'm also working on understanding song meaning - implication/inference. So far my favorite is saying something without saying it directly. Something like "her face was wet" = she was recently crying

  • @prysmakitty
    @prysmakitty 6 років тому +37

    I think poetry is a useful foundation for other things involving wordsmithing. This isn't quite the same thing, but the parallel struck me. I'm an indie novelist - and some of the best advice I ever got on writing came from a poet, many years ago. He showed me how to look at the patterns and sounds of what I was writing, not just the technical meaning of the text. From that short lesson, I learned how to listen to the rhythms of the individual words and phrases, think about the connotations and not just the definitions, and also look for boring repetitive sentence and paragraph structure. I learned to show (tears trickled silently down her cheeks as she lowered her eyes) instead of telling (she was sad). I always read a new manuscript out loud to a friend midway through the editing process, to check the rhythms. All of that has made an enormous difference in making my writing more fluid and expressive. Conclusions? None really, I just thought I'd toss this in as another way learning about poetry is invaluable even if you aren't writing "poetry" as such.

    • @e.hhampsen4508
      @e.hhampsen4508 6 років тому +3

      I love this because one of my biggest pet peeves reading my peers writing is they have no concept of rhythm. Your sentences should flow. Don't use the same word twice in a paragraph (generally) sometimes the same sound in two connected sentences turns your writing from prose to tongue-twister. Get me?

    • @elletangere8964
      @elletangere8964 5 років тому

      Writing to show has been the number one tip in writing though.

  • @ConfoundSound
    @ConfoundSound 6 років тому +17

    Ah, the divine essence of rhyme
    Your presence online enlightens the mind
    to bless us refined, insightful and prime
    lessons inspire to repay in kind
    Thank you, 12tone

  • @DavidKahnSings
    @DavidKahnSings Рік тому +1

    thank you. *musician who struggles w writing lyrics here*

  • @coleemmersonhallman5329
    @coleemmersonhallman5329 6 років тому +260

    An 80 has perched itself upon my wrist,
    A 100 has mimicked it.
    Demar DeRozan,
    Fourth letter flower,
    D Rose.

  • @firstlast-wg2on
    @firstlast-wg2on 4 роки тому +13

    I found a great thing I use and it speeds up writing a lot even though it sounds boring; imagine the lyrics like an essay.
    Your chorus is your thesis, your ultimate statement, the thing you want to say as the message/concept of the song.
    Your first verse is the introduction, your first statements that create the basis of your arguement.
    Your pre-chorus is optional but if you have one it's simply some supporting statements regarding your thesis, perhaps leading into it.
    Thesis. Your statement.
    Second verse would be your supporting arguements for your thesis, so generally maybe a little more informative.
    Pre-chorus, and thesis again.
    Your bridge are oversights, maybe devils advocate arguements, or simply a climactic point of your arguements (in that case, you'd want it to be more personal!)
    Then your chorus.
    So as an overview, without actually being written as lyrics yet, let's say the concept is that Keanu Reeves is a cool dude. (I dunno, feel free to reply with your lyrics, if you want).
    Verse 1. Remember all these movies that star Keanu? Well guess what he's a nice guy! Let me explain why!
    Pre-chorus. Of all the guys, you should know that Keanu takes the crown, cause he's different to other celebrities and we love him for it.
    Chorus. (Nice, simple lyrics of some kind that are immediately repeatable), Keanu is a cool dude!
    Verse 2. Point out his philathropy, general niceness, maybe a cool story about him being nice to randoms etc. etc.
    Pre-chorus.
    Chorus.
    Bridge. Sure, we don't know him personally because he lives a private life, but that's just because he's humble as fuck, and when you look in his eyes you know he thinks that YOU'RE BREATHTAKING!
    Last chorus.

    • @happyguycmb2883
      @happyguycmb2883 Рік тому

      I really like this method to build the basic structure of a song. With this, every opinion someone has can be made into a song. The opinion is the chorus. 3 reasons you have that opinion are the verses. Opposing opinions are the bridge.
      A bonus is that this effort in lyric writing forces you to examine the strength of your opinions. Are there 3 reasons or examples to support them? What does the other side say?
      Perhaps that object of your affection you're pining about and writing about can't stand up to such scrutiny. Then you realize you can and should move on.
      You turn out happier than when you got involved with trying to write lyrics.
      Even if you never were able to complete the "He Was So Wonderful" song due to lack of content.

  • @Nicholas32906
    @Nicholas32906 2 роки тому +1

    What I find works for me is to look at the lyric structures of your favourite lyricists; mine is W. S. Gilbert, who (generally) puts large emphasis on rhyme. He will do direct rhyme, but sometimes he will delay the resolution to a rhyme by putting in a new line to have a rhyme with. You also want to think of getting intellectual with your word choice-sure you could use regular words that everybody recognises, but you could also use larger words. Gilbert will even mispronounce or misspell words for the sake of rhyme-he also would create new words, or rhyme with words from other languages. Another thing that he will do for ballads is: in one verse he’ll take a hypothesis and come to one conclusion, then in the second verse he’ll take another hypothesis and come to a conclusion opposite the first.

  • @geoffreytester3815
    @geoffreytester3815 5 років тому +44

    A quote from the book thief “if your eyes could talk what would they say”
    Don’t write what thing is but what it represents to you
    I was always inspired more by the metaphysical style of writing as it’s adds grace intelligence and is very thought provoking.
    It opens limitless ideas as anything can be a metaphor for something else.
    Also has different meaning to each person making it more relatable to there own life’s with out making it a pity party
    That’s not to say that standard literal worded songs don’t have there place depending on how there written.
    The flaw is there very limiting.
    Also I have heard songs that actually rhyme very little.
    The soul destroying thing as a lyricist is that people focus more on the melody but couldn’t careless about the words

    • @lisaia7877
      @lisaia7877 4 роки тому +2

      Geoffrey Tester thank you for this. I’ve been trying to write raps now (started with normal song lyrics and poetry) but I’ve found emotional rap seems harder than normal song writing/poetry. Your comment makes me remind myself of an aspect of writing not to forget when expressing the self and how to make it more colourful without a struggle. Sometimes When writing raps, I get lost in the literal interpretation and standard cliche of expression if anything and forget how to make it colourful without making it overly complicated.

  • @baltpit2439
    @baltpit2439 4 роки тому +63

    When i write lyrics for a song i always tend to use the same words & rhymes that i used in past songs. It just comes naturally but sometimes frustrates me cause i can’t break from the habit.

    • @Klatyno256
      @Klatyno256 2 роки тому +3

      Its because you not experiencing new things

    • @Wolta
      @Wolta 2 роки тому +5

      If pop punk can make a career out of one topic, I'm sure you can to :) The way they do it is instead of speaking about a specific topic as a whole, example: breaking up. Talk about a specific experience that you had within that. "girlfriend slept with my bestfriend" and try and exaggerate the story. Try making different versions of the same story, a serious one with serious words, or a playful comedy one (pop punk uses comedy a lot, or at least the music will sound boppy) with comedic words and rhymes.
      I think it's fine writing about the same thing as long as there's variation. Look at all the Star Wars medium, all about the same thing, all different stories.

    • @DiogenesNephew
      @DiogenesNephew 2 роки тому +1

      Read poetry and classic novels. Work your brain.

  • @ReformedRedpill
    @ReformedRedpill 3 роки тому +1

    I have 5 processes I use. I get mixed results with all of them based off of my own subjectivity. Most of it I'm too busy to record.
    1. Write chord progression
    2. Write multiple haikus and sonnets about your sarroundings and how they make you feel.
    3. Transfer them into lyrics and then create the bassline and drums. Make adjustments need be
    2nd process
    1. Freestyle
    3rd process
    1. Frantically write in fits of passion
    4th process
    1. Search through my journals and think about the entries
    2. Draw a picture based on how you feel
    3. Put words to the picture.
    5th process
    1. Pick an emotion
    2. Think of things that make you feel said emotion
    3. Write a progression that enhances the emotion
    4. Let the words flow
    5. Fix what you need to fix
    I often feel like having a good progression and a rhythm or groove makes it easier to write. And remember, only a quarter of your work is actually salvageable and put of 25% of your music only 1% of it even has the possibillity of out living you. And don't be afraid of criticism of your work. It's all buisness.

  • @lowercase_ash
    @lowercase_ash 4 роки тому +1466

    Me: **writes poetry**
    Me: **wants to write song lyrics**
    This guy: Practice poetry!!
    Me: **cries**
    edit: thank you to everyone in the replies, you're all so helpful

    • @LJesse722
      @LJesse722 4 роки тому +47

      If you got the words then you’re basically there, just manifest it into whatever instrument you were thinking about combining it with

    • @alexandertownsend3291
      @alexandertownsend3291 4 роки тому +49

      Just sing your poems in whatever way sounds the most natural to you. The worst thing you can do is overthink it.

    • @manigupta2299
      @manigupta2299 4 роки тому +12

      Same 😂
      I too write poetry but really don't know how to write songs. Hope this video will help!

    • @tot4ldisfuckery
      @tot4ldisfuckery 4 роки тому +16

      just practice writing over beats

    • @tot4ldisfuckery
      @tot4ldisfuckery 4 роки тому +5

      write with the song

  • @itsdragonman6174
    @itsdragonman6174 5 років тому +171

    Lil pump : what is this thing called lyrics?

    • @ed-xq5jd
      @ed-xq5jd 4 роки тому +1

      Dragonmanthefire Is that a Clickie I see??? ||-//

  • @jerrysbrain
    @jerrysbrain Рік тому

    I have a notebook in my room, and I’ll just spend however long i feel before bed just writing thoughts, rhyme schemes I’m thinking of, just anything that comes to mind. I’ve felt it’s helped with just coming up with ideas and having words in the bank

  • @domenicdicarlo1165
    @domenicdicarlo1165 6 років тому +62

    My boy Watsky got a mention!!! Cardboard Castles is my favorite song of his right now! This is excellent!!

    • @e.hhampsen4508
      @e.hhampsen4508 6 років тому

      Not to dork on your parade but are these good places to look for rhyme?

    • @tobistein9787
      @tobistein9787 5 років тому +1

      The Sweet Shop yup.
      I’m in my room making
      Cardboard castles with shoestring rope
      Soup spoon drawbridge tin foil moat
      Cardboard castle; soup spoon; drawbridge: consonance
      Shoestring rope/tinfoil moat: slant rhyme, improved by accent
      Two lines, three examples of consonance, one example of assonance. The guy is damn good at this stuff.

    • @hentailover3659
      @hentailover3659 5 років тому

      I see your a man of culture as well!

    • @howtomeetwomen-
      @howtomeetwomen- 5 років тому

      I just found out. Brave New World is, like, amazing.

    • @howtomeetwomen-
      @howtomeetwomen- 5 років тому

      ua-cam.com/video/42fitHaHTRU/v-deo.html

  • @nacoran
    @nacoran 6 років тому +9

    Another thing I think is worth mentioning about lyrics is cliches. I'd like to say to never use cliches, but lots of popular music these days uses cliches. They'll straight out steal common phrases and use them as a hook... and sometimes it actually works. Country music and pop are particularly egregious offenders, and rarely in clever ways. A lot of popular music is about repetition- trying to get the lyric to stick in your head, and using popular phrases gives you a head start. But 'popular' and 'good' aren't always the same thing. If you are going to use a cliche as your hook try to turn it on it's head.
    "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink" is a terrible song line. It's got a nice meter, it says something profound... but it's been done to death. "You can baptize me in the water, but I will still drink", well, now maybe you've done something creative with the cliche.

  • @American-Dragon
    @American-Dragon 2 роки тому +2

    Mosttly this. Sometimes I go back and forth on 2 chords and keep huming until some words come forward for a starting point

  • @wordwatcher9495
    @wordwatcher9495 6 років тому +46

    You should read Stephen Sondheim's Finishing the Hat book. He talks about his rules and preferences for lyric writing. He does take the trouble to make a distinction between lyrics and poems. Lyrics are written to be set to music which has effects that can make or break a lyric. For instance "Oh, what a beautiful morning" would sound terrible poem and "In Flanders Field" makes a terrible lyric.
    Music underlines the lyric and makes it obvious. A good lyricist will know to make the lyric concise and simple to retain subtlety (Which isn't to say a lyric can't be cogent or even wordy; we are talking about Sondheim after all). I suggest reading it.
    His "three laws on lyric writing" are 1) Content dictates form, 2) Less is more and 3) God is in the details. Those are all in service of clarity.

    • @lautreamontg
      @lautreamontg 6 років тому +4

      A good case study of rule #1. Tell students to try to write a solemn limerick.

    • @matthewjohnson427
      @matthewjohnson427 6 років тому +5

      Funny you mention Finishing the Hat. I'm a Sondheim fan, so he was the first guy I thought of with regards to the whole "playing around with language" thing. I know there are videos breaking down the use of motifs in Sweeney Todd, but I'd kind of like to see 12Tone take a look at his work. I don't care if it's a full Sondheim score, or just a single song.

    • @Narumi4918
      @Narumi4918 5 років тому +1

      @@lautreamontg Does Humpty Dumpty count as a limerick? Because I would argue that it's pretty solemn.

  • @TimelessBlizzard
    @TimelessBlizzard 6 років тому +86

    I can write, but the thing is I don't know how to compose my lyrics , it's in my mind, but I don't know anything about making chords or melodies

    • @tergsankian7440
      @tergsankian7440 5 років тому +1

      Freestyle

    • @tergsankian7440
      @tergsankian7440 5 років тому +12

      Even of you aren't trying to rap, and even if you sound a lil wack. I had the same issue when I used to do vocals for a metal band when I was like 14, but when I started freestyling a few years later I found my grasp of the structure of all genres of music was boosted immensely

    • @SynthApprentice
      @SynthApprentice 3 роки тому

      Don't worry about that when you're just writing lyrics. The main thing you want to focus on is rhythm, and how your lyrical lines fit into the bars of the music. That's what I struggle with.

  • @Kuhmuhnistische_Partei
    @Kuhmuhnistische_Partei Рік тому +2

    Lyrics are poetry set to music and poetry was originally set to music. The term lyric comes from Ancient Greek Lyric poetry which was usually accompanied by a lyre (or cithara ect.).

    • @tdesq.2463
      @tdesq.2463 Рік тому +1

      Yes. Apollo's Lyre. Good call!

  • @Gary9ine
    @Gary9ine 4 роки тому +4

    This video is great. If you're new to writing you still might be a little lost. basically just write whatever you want regardless if it sucks or not. I like to go back and read Kendrick, Cole, biggy, Kanye, Eminem lyrics to see how simple the stuff they're saying is. It's high level stuff but you'll feel less discouraged when you read it like it's a story or something

  • @Ultrasonix3
    @Ultrasonix3 5 років тому +24

    My fav'rite poem?
    Oh, definitely haikus
    They're really clever

    • @BeyBattleBoy
      @BeyBattleBoy 5 років тому

      The first line is 6 syllables.
      My fav.o.rite po-em.

    • @Ultrasonix3
      @Ultrasonix3 5 років тому

      @@BeyBattleBoy fixed

    • @BubbaJ18
      @BubbaJ18 5 років тому +4

      @@Ultrasonix3
      Oh neat
      Haikus are like feet
      They smell
      It's easy to tell
      But limericks are like meat
      I like limericks

  • @Umar092
    @Umar092 3 роки тому +1

    It's so hard to get it right,
    When I don't know what to do.
    But I'll try it for once tonight,
    Seek the answers through and through.
    Thank your for the knowledge,
    And that special note from you.
    Now I'll go back inside my cave,
    And figures out what I can do...

  • @SeanTBarrett
    @SeanTBarrett 6 років тому +61

    Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (1977): "when the rain waSHES you clean you'll know" - Number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

    • @JacksonDreyer
      @JacksonDreyer 5 років тому +7

      Sean Barrett the exception is not the rule, however. This song is so great that one prosity error is not detrimentally distracting

    • @joetroutt7425
      @joetroutt7425 5 років тому

      Damn ! It was that easy?

    • @GalenWill
      @GalenWill 5 років тому +11

      Great example. Terrible prosody, but the song is so special it apparently overcomes it. Why do we have to go and make things so complicáted?

  • @The3baconboys
    @The3baconboys 4 роки тому +27

    I’m too distracted from the drawings. I forgot I was watching a video about lyrics.

  • @OmniphonProductions
    @OmniphonProductions 2 роки тому +1

    Thanks for your mention of Hip Hop with regard to complex rhyme schemes. "Hamilton" is filled with such examples. In fact, there's a section in the opening number that contains a word, "...squalor,"...that is then followed by _thirteen_ rhymes in rapid succession. I wrote a Hip Hop piece once; my longest rhyme chain only had _five_ total links. As a songwriter, I _agonize_ over getting my lyrics just right...including rhythmic/melodic accents, storytelling, and emotional expression...so I respect artists whose poetry is on a level I would never even attempt.

  • @kalpanadeka5018
    @kalpanadeka5018 6 років тому +360

    Lyrics? Writing
    Stress? Gone
    Brow? Snatched
    Hi? Sisters
    Hotel? Trivago
    Thank U? Next

    • @NDabria
      @NDabria 5 років тому +3

      I SEE U BOO (THANK YOU NEEEEXT)

    • @yomamas1559
      @yomamas1559 5 років тому +13

      Yee? Haw

    • @mickeynotmouse
      @mickeynotmouse 5 років тому

      T mamaste

    • @Guest1_213
      @Guest1_213 5 років тому

      😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

    • @privcraft_
      @privcraft_ 5 років тому +3

      I just imagined someone snatching my eyebrow and it was terrifying

  • @icantthinkofanamesothisisi7814
    @icantthinkofanamesothisisi7814 5 років тому +14

    him drawing is literally my entire page in my school books

  • @karterstage9507
    @karterstage9507 3 роки тому +1

    obviously this isn't going to apply to everyone but one thing i have found is as an emotional or even just a creative person, it's easiest to focus on a very intense emotion. more specifically, an emotion that makes you feel all poetic. go off of feeling and write everything down!! and once that emotion goes away and your head is more clear and logical, go and edit it to your liking to make it more structured.

  • @DannOfSteel
    @DannOfSteel 6 років тому +44

    Came for the music theory analysis, stayed for the BNL reference.

    • @GammaFn.
      @GammaFn. 6 років тому

      ...and kept staying for the Princess Bride reference

  • @wuhuislandnewspaper5675
    @wuhuislandnewspaper5675 3 роки тому

    It’s so nice to watch videos about music, knowing you’re going to be a great artist on the future.

  • @miscellaneousfarrugia
    @miscellaneousfarrugia 6 років тому +11

    I recommend the book The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry as an intro to writing poetry.

  • @jeffrey322
    @jeffrey322 5 років тому +6

    Great lyrics can be interpreted on 2 or more levels and general enough so that the receiver can relate to them.
    The exception might be the lyrics of Queen or Steely Dan, who have many "inside lyrics."
    My favorite lyrics: Jethro Tull and Moby have good lyrics.

  • @dice.brain.
    @dice.brain. 3 роки тому +1

    I screamed “YES” when you mentioned Watsky. Thank you so much

  • @cyperus4589
    @cyperus4589 3 роки тому +3

    Sandy Pearlman gave Blue Öyster Cult both of their names (They were formerly Soft White Underbelly) from his own poetry. Alot of their lyrics tie back to his poetry.

  • @honestalex5790
    @honestalex5790 3 роки тому +6

    I just say how I feel and make it rhyme, then add more to it. Usually write within the spark of the moment

  • @greenhousesubs
    @greenhousesubs 2 роки тому +1

    how i write music which is kinda similar to this video:
    1) make a title depending what you want it to symbolize or something that relates to the song
    2) make a poem, 4-5 lines
    3) go back and add inbetweens in the poem so it’s longer and not ‘basic’ and cut short
    4) say it as a poem and then add a beat, start to sing it and BAM you have your song

  • @Torthrodhel
    @Torthrodhel 6 років тому +9

    I was waiting... and it never came. I thought you might cover it with the poetry link, as it's much more commonplace in poetry than in lyrics... but no. What? This: You don't have to rhyme at all. Yes, it's true in lyrics too. It can be quite refreshing, in fact. Just because rhymes, due to being usually so good to music, are overused; often put where they don't need to be, due to an almost nervous tic of an instinct to think everything must rhyme. But it doesn't have to, and sometimes it's better not doing so. Bit like how you don't have to fill every bar of every instrument with sound, and silence is sometimes better. Everything with judgement, nothing automatic. :)

    • @jakebailey4120
      @jakebailey4120 5 років тому

      SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT im not reading that :)

  • @SynthGirl64
    @SynthGirl64 Рік тому +5

    I personally think the best way for your lyrics to stand out is to just use words that you don't hear often.
    "Flow so sick, and I'm talking straight rancid,
    Sumn machiavellian catch me plottin like I'm Manson,
    Clique stay tight I stay posted with my bandits,
    Move in four four, we be marching like the band did"

  • @blocksbuilds_
    @blocksbuilds_ Рік тому

    When i was in middle school I wrote a LOT of poems. In the beginning of highschool I wrote a LOT of storys and fantasy's. Now ( almost finished highschool ) I write a LOT of songs and I use everything I have learned from writing poems and storys. It really helps me with putting a verse or a chorus together.

  • @v.a2282
    @v.a2282 5 років тому +7

    People showing off their skills,
    I am jealous by reading.
    Just reading them... I am thrilled.
    How are they all succeeding?

    • @pinkajou656
      @pinkajou656 3 роки тому +1

      Pages of elegant prose,
      Words that can capture emotion.
      I read and wish I could know
      The secrets of lyrical motion.

    • @YOURFAVORITEDOOMGUY
      @YOURFAVORITEDOOMGUY 3 роки тому

      @@pinkajou656
      The motion is like the ocean
      Let it flow it come and go
      You will know one day
      It will show and you will grow

  • @danielbarth
    @danielbarth 4 роки тому +7

    Omg, he's the Abed of writing song lyrics!

  • @KingNiallGT
    @KingNiallGT 9 місяців тому

    idk if this was intentional but the way 12tone drew the pictures from right to left as he spoke actually does something cool. reread the pictures from left to right and you may notice a lyrical flow

  • @lucasmac190
    @lucasmac190 5 років тому +25

    I mean, the answer is clear... WreStLe wItH JImMy

  • @john8214
    @john8214 5 років тому +15

    #1: Listen to The Beatles
    #2: Think about life
    Now write!!
    And also make sure your lyrics make sense and mean something

  • @shanelarue8162
    @shanelarue8162 Рік тому

    Very cool and useful analysis. The lack of pauses kinda hurts my brain but u really crammed a ton into this vid

  • @IsabellaGentile
    @IsabellaGentile 5 років тому +20

    after 5 minutes of watching this, I realized he's left-handed... lol

  • @hailey3418
    @hailey3418 5 років тому +13

    I’ve always been pretty good with coming up with melody and harmony but lyrics are super hard for me

    • @anitanaseer1007
      @anitanaseer1007 5 років тому +2

      Opposit for me, and im still watching this.

    • @bsinatra145
      @bsinatra145 5 років тому

      Make the lyrics fit the inflection of your melodies,boom.

    • @ipudisciple
      @ipudisciple 5 років тому

      Elton John is the same way - find someone to write lyrics for you (before you set them to music).