JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum Ande's Lyric Writing Tips

Hi

I have just read this whole thread, yes really! - Ande posts a useful set of well tried and widely accepted song-writing tips/guidelines, then ends up getting slagged off for his trouble. This is a tip sheet on how to improve lyrics. It's a useful list, some may want to check against other may not, what's the big deal? Just because Ande may have a one or two cliches in his lyrics does not make him a hypocrite; Any more than if I suggested to someone that they should keep a diary if they want to manage their time better, when I don't use one myself. Does that make me a hypocrite? Does my advice become bad?

A more constructive thing would be to work out how we can add to the list (if lists are your thing) or discuss exceptions to it, and why they work. My personal view is if you get too obsessed with checklists, syllable counts, structure etc, your lyric runs the risk of losing soul and originality. Maybe some want to take the painting by numbers approach to extremes but if you want a good song, it will need soul to connect with the listener’s psyche and it must feel right.

Nige