Writing Better Lyrics

Chapter 1: Object Writing (Art of the Driver)

- pick an object and focus your senses on it (treat it as a diving board launching you
into vault of senses. Write as much as you can about it (no rhyme, rhythm). This
can be useful in group writing
- 7 senses
o Visual
o Smell
o Feel/touch
o Sound
o Taste
o Organic sense: awareness of inner body sense (heart beat, pulse, tension)
o Kinesthetic sense: sense of relation to world around you (drunk = blurry)
- 5 “W”s
o Who: character development (who is the character)
o What: what is the song about, what is the character trying to say
o Why: be specific using sense images to tell about character
 Practice using other people’s perspectives and ask yourself
questions about this person (does he/she play golf?)
o When: can be seasonal, a time of day, or a special occasion
o Where: can be anywhere – that’s its strength
o How: may be useful (learning how to ride a back, forging a sword)
- Catalogue Ideas as they come to have a bank of information to draw on scraps and
pieces

Chapter 2: “Rusty’s Collar” - Show and Tell

- YOU CANT TELL UNLESS YOU SHOW FIRST

o Showing makes the telling more powerful because your senses and your
mind are both engaged
- Example
o Showing before you tell
 All the things we used to do,
Those dreamy teenage nights
Nothing matters like it did
Back when you were mine
o Telling before you show
 Hot rod hearts and high school rings
Those dreamy teenage nights
Nothing matters like it did
Back when you were mine
 o think of “Hot rod hearts and high school rings” as a bag of dye - you hang
it over the section and let it drip downward onto the other lines giving
them more interest and depth – colours drip down, not up
o even if Rusty’s collar is just a little later, in the verse, it is still colourful,
but not as affective
 Nothing matters like it did
Back when you were mine
Hot rod hearts and high school rings
Those dreamy teenage nights
- when writing, its fine to just let things flow. However, always be alert for
potential “collars”. Show before you tell.

Chapter 3: Making Metaphors

Metaphors
- metaphor is a collision between two ides that don’t belong together
- they must be literally false
o if the things we identify are the same (eg: a house is a dwelling place)
there is no metaphor, only definition
- conflict is essential – put things in the same room that don’t belong and watch the
friction
- 3 types of metaphors
o expressed identity metaphor: comes in 3 forms
 “x is y” (fear is a shadow)
 “the y of x” (the shadow of fear)
 “x’s y” (fear’s shadow)
o qualifying metaphor: uses adjectives to qualify nouns, and adverbs to
qualify verbs
 “hasty clouds”
 to “sing blindly”
o verbal metaphor: conflict between the verb and its subject and/or its object
 “clouds sail”
 “he torched his clutch”
 “frost gobbles summer down”
- Words can be grouped together like music keys and put into a group of words that
are related
o Example: words diatonic to tide: ocean, moon, recede, power, beach
- there are many of other keys tide can belong to
o Example: Power: Rocky, avalanche, army, tide
 An avalanche is an army of snow
- Essentialy, metaphors work by revealing some third thing that two ideas share in
common
o What does my idea (“tide”) have?
o What else has those characteristics?
 - Exercise to create all 3 metaphors
o 1) make a list of 5 interesting adjectives - for each one find an interesting
noun that creates a fresh, exciting metaphor
o 2) make a list of 5 verbs – for each one come up with a terrific verb for
each one
o 3) make a list of 5 interesting verbs – for each one track down a noun
o 4) make a list of 5 interesting nouns – find an adjective for each one
o 5) make a list of 5 nouns – for each one find a noun. Use whatever form of
expressed identity works best
Similes
- metaphors transfers focus from one object to another; an army is a rabid wolf. It
takes the 2nd term seriously because the attention shifts to that. Its what everyone
ends up looking at
- similes don’t transfer focus; an army is like a rabid wolf.
o we sit waiting for an explanation while the army stands out before us in its
full uniform. You don’t need to commit as seriously to the second term in
a simile because the attention still remains on the first term regardless.
- Rule of thumb: When you have a list of comparisons in mind, use a simile.
When you’re using only one comparison and you want to commit it
throughout the song, use a metaphor. It only grows when its on the vine

Chapter 4: Learning to Say No: Building Worksheets

- writing lyrics is like a gig: if your grateful for any idea that comes along, you’re
probably not getting the best stuff
- A worksheet contains to parts
o A list of key ideas
o A list of rhymes for each one
- 3 stages to building a worksheet

- 1) Focus your lyric idea as clearly as you can

o find interesting angles on what you want to write about
o brainstorm the idea, and create the world the idea will live in
o Example: writing about homelessness - could be a cold hearted song about
her, could be an emotion (feeling sympathy for homeless people) –
whatever the idea is, dive deeply into your vault of senses and create
world for it

- 2) Make a list of words that express your idea

o use a thesaurus
o example: title = risky business - look in thesaurus under risk. Find all
sorts of words in the “key” of danger – shadow of death, crisis, etc – and
flow out with words, metaphors, ideas.
 o Scratch off words until list is trimmed to 10 or 12 words with different
vowel sounds in their stressed syllables – put them on blank sheet of
paper, # them, and enclose in a box
o Guidelines:
 If working with title, be sure to put it in list (“Risky”)
 Most words should end in stressed syllables
 Put any interesting words that duplicate vowel sound in
parenthesis beside words
 Example: risk, business, left out, freeze (wheel, shield), storm, dull
(numb), night (child), change, defense, home (hope, broken, coat)

- 3) Look up each word in a rhyming dictionary

o Perfect rhyme
 Syllables vowel sound are the same
 Consonant sounds after vowels are the same
 The sounds before vowels are different

o Family rhyme
 Syllables vowel sounds are the same
 Consonant sound after vowel belongs to the same phonetic
families
 The sounds before the vowels are different
 Important consonant families
Plosives Fricatives Nasals
Voiced (T) BDG V TH Z ZH J M N NG
Unvoiced (N) P T K F TH S SH
CH

 Each of the three boxes form a phonetic family

 When a word ends in a consonant in one of the boxes, you can use
other members of the family to find perfect rhyme substitutes
 Example:
 Rub/thud/putt/bug/stuck = members of plosives
 Love/Buzz/Judge/fluff/fuss/hush/touch = members of
fricative
 Strum/run/sung = members of nasal family
 Say you want to rhyme “I’m stuck in a rut”
 a) look up perfect rhymes (cut, glut, gut)
 b) look at “t”s relatives
o B, D, G, P, K
 c) now look at its relatives (ub, ud, ug, up, uk)
  d) your word bank is now 5X the size
 because lyrics are sung, the ear wont even know a difference. Do
not get caught up in perfect rhymes

o Additive Rhyme
 The syllable’s vowels are the same
 One of the syllables add extra consonants after the vowel
 The sounds before the vowel are different
 Guideline: the less sound you add, the closer you stay to a perfect
rhyme
 1) voiced plosives (least sound) – ricochet + paid
 2) unvoiced plosives – free + treat
 3) voiced fricatives – fly + alive
 4) unvoiced fricatives
 5) nasals (most sound)
 you can add consonants even if there are already consonants after
the vowel (example: street + sweets)

o Subtractive Rhyme
 Essentially the same as additive, but instead of adding consonance,
you take them away
 If you start with fast – class is subtractive
 If you start with class – fast is additive

o Assonance Rhyme
 The syllable’s vowels are the same
 The consonant sounds after the vowel are unrelated
 The sounds before the vowel are different
 Assonance = furthest you can get away from a perfect rhyme
without changing vowel sounds
 Example: satisfied; life, trial, crime, sign, rise, survive, satisfied
 Remember to use these as they open many more doors to get
across what you are trying to say
- Rhymes and Chords: Can think of the strength of rhymes a lot like the strength of
chords
o Perfect Rhyme
 A lovely day to have some fun,
hit the beach, get some sun (a lot like C in root position)
o Family Rhyme
 A lovely day to have some fun,
hit the beach, bring the rum (a lot like C in 1st inversion)
o Additive/Subtractive Rhyme
 A lovely day to have some fun,
hit the beach, get some lunch (a lot like C in 2nd inversion)
o Assonance Rhyme
  A lovely day to have some fun,
hit the beach, fall in love (a lot like C with no bass)
o Consonance Rhyme
 A lovely day to have some fun,
hit the beach, bring it on (a lot like E minor in key of C)
- expanding your rhyming provides 3 tools
o multiplies the possibility of saying what you mean and still rhyming
exponentially
o guarantees rhymes wont be predictable or cliché
o most importantly, it allows you to control – like chords do – how
stable/unstable the rhyme feels, allowing you to support and even create
emotion with your rhymes

Chapter 5: Clichés: The Sleeping Puppy

- Treat clichés as guitar licks; it is an excellent way to learn, but there is a next step
– finding your own voice. Clichés are other people’s licks, they don’t come from
your emotions. They come effortlessly to write and string them together. They do
say something, just nothing startling
- Cliché rhymes are often perfect ones – another reason to dive into other rhyming
families
- The best way to avoid clichés is to dive into your own pool of senses and
communicate with the audience what an object is to you. “what did your lover
say” “where were you”, etc.
- Use old clichés to your advantage and put them into a new context
o Substitute “Ill be seeing you” – usually meaning so long – in a new
context “I’ll bee seeing you” as if it’s the first time

Chapter 6: Clichés: Productive Repetition

- Basic Rule of songwriting: keep your listeners interested throughout the entire
song. Get them from the beginning with a strong line then keep them with you the
rest of the way
- In most songs, you will repeat a refrain or chorus twice/three times. The danger is
that once your listener has heard something once, it will get less interesting every
time they hear it – similar to a joke
- Think of a song as a stack of boxes that are connected to one another, each one
getting progressively larger. Use the idea “I’d just like to know”
o 1st box begins the flow of ideas, introducing us to the songs world
o 2nd box continues the idea but from a different angle, combining the
weight of the first box with the weight of the second
o 3rd box builds from the first 2, introducing its own angle and combining its
idea with the first 2 and weighing the most
 often the “why” of the song – why Im saying all this to you. It
weighs the most
- Verse Development
o Verses are responsible for keeping listeners interested. They develop your
idea (basic tool to advance your concept, plot, or story). They prepare us
to hear the chorus/refrain – they control the angle of entry and way we see
repeated elements. Like paragraphs of an essay, each one should be based
on a different idea.
o Example:
 Verse 1: The sheriff is the toughest man in town
 Verse 2: He is obsessed with a beautiful woman
 Verse 3: She is married to the weakest man in town
- Repetition
o When you add repetition to these verses (a chorus), development becomes
even more important
o Stagnant verses will make your repetition stagnant too
o Example:
 Box 1: the sheriff is the toughest man in town.
Beware, all hands beware
 Box 2: He is very strong and has a fast gun
Beware, all hands beware
 Box 3: Everyone in the town knows the sheriff is tough
Beware, all hands beware
o Repetition suffers from the same disease as the verses: stagnation – they
don’t go anywhere
o The boxes are all the same size
o Example 2:
 Box 1: the sheriff is the toughest man in town.
Beware, all hands beware
 Box 2: He is obsessed with a beautiful woman
Beware, all hands beware
 Box 3: she is married to the weakest man in town
Beware, all hands beware
o now each verse gains weight. When it attaches to verses that develop the
idea, it gains impact and dances
- Placing Ideas into separate boxes is essential for developing verses
o beware of these techniques and don’t let them become a habit, they are
just a helpful tool
o 1) “You-I-We” formula for lyric development
 take each verse from a different perspective
o 2) “Past-Present-Future” formula for lyric development
 try a new tense each new verse
o 3) just because you write 1 verse first, doesn’t mean it has to be your first
verse
 try asking yourself, “what happened before this”
o Remember to always keep the bridge as it allows the music to breathe and
introduced new harmonies into the piece
 - Lines within Lines
o While songwriting, keep your eyes peeled for something you can repeat
o Isolate part of a line and give it new meaning
 Example:
Only with your laughter can you win
Can you win?
Can you win?
Chapter 7: Verse Development and Power Positions

- Power Positions
o Opening and closing lines of a verse are in the spotlight
 important lines in the spotlight, or verses aren’t as strong
 Each verse should set up its special view of the chorus
o Can also be wherever you create special effect with structure
 shorter, longer, or extra lines
o Pay Attention where you put them and place something important there

Chapter 8: Travelogues: Verse Continuity

- Verse Development
o Verse development = verse relationship
o Lyrics accumulate power when they work together
o Analogy: if you go up to mountain and role three separate snowballs, it
wont come close to the damage if you go up to the top and role one big
snowball down
o Make sure the verses flow into eachother (last line of first verse into first
line of second verse, etc.)

Chapter 9: Stripping Repetition for Repainting

- Make sure refrain/chorus can also be recoloured (just like the verse)
- Depending on which tense you use, it can be a challenge
- Neutralizing Tenses
o Example:
 He lost the human race
 He’ll lose the human race
 He loses the human race
3 ways to controlling tenses
o 1: use the –ing from a verb. Leave out any helping verbs (just use “losing”
instead of “was losing, is losing”
o 2: use the “to” form of the verb and leave out the main verb (“to lose” and
not “I hate to lose”
o 3: Omit verbs all together
o Example
  1) Losing the human race
 2) A loss in the human race
 3) To lose the human race
o use all 3 and pick whatever feels best

- Neutralizing POV (point of view)

o When you neutralize the verb, it also accepts all forms of pronouns (I,
You, She)
o When using 3rd person with present tense, you have to add on an “S”
o Different POVs are used throughout different verses to add variation
o If you have neutral chorus, this makes more logic when using different
POVs

Chapter 10: Perspectives

- Point of View: Camera Angles

o Most intimate (Close-up: Feelings)
 1) Direct Address
 2) Second Person Narrative
o Most Objective (Long Range: Facts)
 1) First Person Narrative
 2) Third Person Narrative
- Third Person Narrative
o Singer acts as narrator to a world neither he/she or audience is a part of
o Pronouns
 Subject
 He, she, it, they
 Direct object
 Him, her, it, them
 Possessive object
 His, her, its, their
 Possessive predicate
 His, hers, its, theirs
o Both the singer and audience turn to look at song’s world
o Example: Sentimental Lady
- First Person narrative
o Pronouns
 Subject
 I, we
 Direct object
 Me, us
 Possessive object
 My, our
  Possessive predicate
 Mine, ours
o Have some level of intimacy with singer, but still are observers to the rest
of the songs world
o Example: My Daddy Loved the Greyhounds
o Narrator tells the story, but includes him/herself in it.

- Direct Address
o Singer (I) is talking to you (me/audience)
o Close up, and most intimate
o Pronouns
 Subject
 you
 Direct object
 you
 Possessive object
 yours
 Possessive predicate
 Yours
o Listeners often think
 Imagine singer is singing to me
 I watch singer sing directly to someone else
 I can imagine that singer is someone I know
 I can identify with singer and sing to someone I know

Chapter 11: Second Person Narrative as Hangmen

- Sometimes lyrics seem to be talking directly to you, but they are telling you what
you already know
- Example:
o “I met you on Saturday”
“Your hair was wound in braids”
- Verse is trying to do two things at once: Tell audience facts, while carrying on a
conversation with You
- First or Third narrative is more effective
o “I met her on Saturdey”
“Her hair was wound in Braids”
or
“He met her on Saturday”
“Her Hair was wound in braids”
- If you must stick to Second Person narrative, there are two options
o 1) Include personal information:
 “I never felt something so strong, as I did when I met you that
Saturday night”
o 2) The ‘I still Remember’ trick
  “I Still remember, I met you on that Saturday night

Chapter 12: Second Person As Narrative

- Can be a tricky combination between using third person narrative and a direct
address
- “one” gets substituted for “you”
- it actively forces us to say “this character could be me”
Chapter 13: Dialogue and POV

- First Person Narrative

o Singer tells us conversation he had with some third party
o Example:
 I asked her, “What gifts can I bring”
o If the singer is ‘I’ in the story, he/she better have a significant reason for
telling it
- Direct Address
o Singer is talking directly to us
o Example:
 I asked you, “What gifts can I bring”
o Total disaster – secondary hang man (I asked you…) telling somebody
what they already know
- Third Person Narrative
o Singer isn’t in the story and neither are we
o Example:
 He asked her, “what gifts can I bring”
o Nifty, not always the answer, but usually works the best

Chapter 14/15: Meter: Something In Common/Spotlighting

- In Western music, longer/short/long/short voyage in meter is common

o Mary Had a Little Lamb – 4 stress
o whose fleece was white as snow – 3 stress
o Every where that Mary Went – 4 stress
o The Lamb was sure to go – 3 stress
- Since common meter is based on strong stresses, it doesn’t matter where the
unstressed syllables fall
o It was Mary who Had the Littlest Lamb
o With Fleece just as White as Snow
o O and Every Where that Mary Went
o The Lamb would most Surely Go
- Common meter is a great starting point, but not a goal
- You can add surprise and a spotlight on something that builds the listeners
expectations, but leaves them hanging – Deceptive Closure
o For example
 4 stress, 3 stress, 4 stress, 2 Stress
  4 stress, 3 stress, 4 stress, 4 stress
 4 stress (a), 3 stress (b), 4 stress (a), 4 stress (a)
- Both Rhyme and Rhythm place spotlights upon lines
 4 (a), 3 (b), 4 (a), 4 (a), 4 (a) * sets up no expectation, possibly a
very important line or title/course?
o If line is this deceptive, possible perfect rhymes to keep the ear on track

Chapter 16/17: Meter – Two by Two

- think of lines as a traffic cop; it tells you when to stop and when to go. Matched
line lengths are stable. Unmatched lines create instability and make us move
forward, looking for a place to rest. When you rhyme matched lines, the stop is
even strong
- couplets (2 and 2) are common in songwriting as well, and can be varied
- you can use an odd number of couplets, but an even number of lines to create a
slightly unstable verse
 Claire had all but given up
When she and Edwin fell in love
She touched his face and shook her head
In disbelief she sighed and said
In many dreams I’ve held you near
Now at last you’re really here
o interesting verse structure, used to create strong sense of centre, yet raise
expectations that something else is coming
- you can also take the 4th couplet of an 8 couplet system and make the first 3
rhyme and the 4th stand out, and then rhyme the 4th line with the 8th to create unity
- off balance stressed lines have an urgent push forward, while balanced stress lines
are very free and flowy
- you can build very interesting stuff with couplets and compound meter combined
together
- Managing couplets
o Too many couplets make a song feel stale, and long
o TIP: the more words there are in your lyrical section, the larger your
structure should make it feel. If you have couplets in your verse, you can
extend them to make them larger – size makes all the difference
 Chapter 18: Prosody
- structure should match feeling. Example in “Cant really be gone”, though the
character is giving us evidence she isn’t gone for good, the verse structure feels
funny and something is unstable (building our expectations something bad is
going to happen)
- Great works of art contain Prosody – unity (all things working together)
o Between words and music: minor key = sadness
o Between syllables and notes: appropriation between stressed syllables
and stressed notes – when aligned, shape of melody matches natural shape
of language.
o Between rhythm and meaning: obvious examples like “you gotta stop”
…pause… look and listen. Or writing a song about a horse in a galloping
feel
- The first question of all in songwriting is: is the emotion in this section stable or
unstable?

5 Elements of Structure
Every section of every lyric you write uses five elements. They act as a film score to
create motion. Motion always creates emotion – despite what is actually being said.
Ideally, structure should create prosody. 5 elements:

1) Number of Lines
2) Length of Lines
3) Rhythm of Lines
4) Rhyme Scheme
5) Rhyme Type

Number of Lines
- every section you write will have either even # or odd # of lines
- odd # = off/unstable.
- even # = resolved/stable
- a message can promise stability, but a motion creates instability. This creates
Irony (like a sunny day of a horror movie with a suspenseful theme of music –
something is going to go wrong)

Length of Lines
- traffic cop in your lyric; two lines of equal length tell you to stop
 - lines of unequal length tell you to keep moving
- length of line isn’t determined by # of syllables, but by # of stressed syllables
because it helps determine # of musical bars
- it would be even more stable if the two balanced lines rhyme as well

Rhythm of Lines
- “preserving the natural shape of language” = unstressed syllables belong with
unstressed notes
- balanced rhythm will create a stable feeling
- unbalanced rhythm will create an unstable feeling
o Da DUM Da DUM Da DUM Da DUM
o Da DUM Da DUM DUM Da

Rhyme Scheme
- songs are made for listening – we hear them rather than see them
- Rhyme is a sonic event made for listening – providing our ear with road signs to
guide us through the journey of the song
- Resolved rhymes stop us: on the floor, by the door
- Unresolved rhymes feel a push forward: on the floor, not that one, by the door…
- our ear feels lost – just like the hero, in Cant Really Be Gone

Rhyme Types
- List of Most Stable to Least Stable rhyme types
o Perfect, Family, Additive/Subtractive, Assonance, Consonance
- This also adds to stable vs. unstable

Chapter 19: Understanding Motion

Motion creates and supports emotion
- Lyric Structure
o Can move us forward with excitement, anticipation, or expectation
o Slow down to create a sense of holding back or unresolved feeling
o Draw attention to specific word, create surprise, delight, humor, or any
important emotion
o Resolve, creating feeling of stability
o Leave us hanging, create a feeling of instability

Rhythm of Lines
- Regular rhythm creates stability
- Irregular rhythm creates less stable motion
Rhyme Structure
 - earliest a rhyme is heard is by end of second line
- sometimes its not until 4th line (xaxa) rhyme scheme
The Number of Lines
- because you wont hear how many lines in a section, it is the last two determiners
of motion
- strong expectations have been created by rhythm, rhyme scheme, line length, but
we still don’t know how the section will end
- in stable section, final line delivers resolution. (expectations set up by the section
are revealed
- in unstable section, the final line could create a surprise/feeling of discomfort
because expectations are not fulfilled
- odd number of lines = discomfort
- the final line could lead into the next section (in many cases to contrasting section
like the chorus)
Rhyme Types
- more stable a rhyme, more stable a section feels

Examples
- longer line followed by shorter line feels less stable than shorter line followed by
longer line
- you can leave an AAB section in the prechorus with the a word in the chorus to
rhyme with B
- AAAA
o Lots of stability
o Doesn’t move much, stops you in the middle
o Spotlights aren’t as bright – if this were chorus, great opportunity to put
title in the first and last line
- AABB
o Stable
o Still a complete stop at the end of line two
o Stronger push forward
- ABAB
o Stops dead, common metre
o Fully resolved, but full of motion
o ABA raises strong expectation for B to complete it
- XAXA
o Missing “big rhyme push forward” at line 3
o The length pushes, but without momentum of the rhyme
- ABAA
o Deceptive resolution
o Great way to draw attention to the last line
o Make sure theres something there worth looking at
o Handy way of putting title in top or bottom
o Can target something in verse to rhyme with chorus (similar to AAB)
- XXAA
 o Surprise – no expectation
o Resolved, but with less momentum to get there
o “resolution out of chaos” – can be used to support content
- XAAA
o With shorter A lines, sequence leans forward a bit (less stable)
o With longer A lines, creates more stability
o Because there is a mismatch of elements, it feels like more of a “floating”
feeling. We aren’t sure, but we think A is arrival point.
- ABBA
o Longer line at beginning and end section makes it more stable
Chapter 20: Form Follows Function

Form follows function

- think of rhyme as a cars accelerator = closer the pedal is to the floor, the faster the
car moves
- the closer they rhymes are to each other, the faster the structure moves
Principle of Contrast
- when you move from a verse to another function (ie: bridge, chorus), the form
should change also
- all verses should have the same rhyme scheme
change the rhyme scheme when you get to the chorus
Stop and consider what you need, and then build it. Have an effective, interesting
structure ready for any occasion

Chapter 21: Song Forms (Part I)

Song form should be your friend, helping you deliver message with power. Consider it
carefully before you choose because often it weakens message, weighs it down.
- Song Form example: v/v/ch/v/v/ch
o repeats melody, chords, phrase lengths, and rhyme schemes four times (a
lot)
o risks boring the listener. Verse – especially 4th – better be very crucial
o if message is powerful and compelling, v/v/ch/v/v/ch form shouldn’t get in
the way
o there are 3 Risk Avoidance techniques to use
1) Dumping a verse
- not as easy as it sounds. Try selecting the verse with the most important stuff
and distill 1 verse from 2
- resulting v/v/ch/v/ch is more streamlined, giving 2nd chorus a boost because of
the early arrival
2) Turn 1 verse into a bridge, making form to fit: v/v/ch/v/ch/br/ch
- be careful with this one, bridge is contrasting section in both structure and
content
3) Keep all lines, but restructure verse into single unit
 - doesn’t just mean leaving a space on lyric sheet; it means changing form of
verses so they don’t repeat each other

Chapter 22: Song Forms (Part II)

- another common form example: v/ch/v/ch/v/ch
o 3rd v/ch may fall flat – not because of content, but because we have heard
the structure 2 times previous to it
Option 1)
- most obvious boredom clincher is to insert a contrasting section between second
and third system; a bridge
- when writing a bridge, it should contain different rhyme scheme, number of lines,
and line lengths – also, saying something different
- when writing a bridge, start by looking at what you’ve already said, and search for
a missing piece
Option 2)
- if you cant translate your 3rd v into a bridge, try a verse form that thrives on three-
idea development: the AABA verse/refrain form
- AABA form is so strong because it creates strong sense of resolution when it
moves back to the 3rd verse
 Chapter 23: PROCESS
Objective writing
- not that you have to use it all/or any of it, but process helps you understand what
you have to offer from own, unique sensory experiences
- the closer you stay to your senses, the more real and effective writing will be
Creating a worksheet
- before lyric, make condensed worksheet for additional stimulation, looking for
sonic lay of keywords so far
- Narrow down the words
o on words like “sea” that have no final consonant, you will look for perfect
rhymes, then additive rhymes
 pass on three syllable adverbs like “breathlessly” because 1) im
not a real fan of adverbs in lyrics and 2) rhyming secondary stress
with primary stress is just awkward
 “free” is used too much. “referee” is tempting, but takes you
somewhere you don’t want to go in the song. “Refugee” is terrific.
Found two exact rhymes that can be additive/subtractive –
refugee/debris
 *remember: the less you add, the closer the rhyme is to a perfect
one. Least possible sound comes from voice plosives; b, d, and g.
“Recede” is nice, maybe “Seaweed”, or “bleed”. Following this,
is unvoiced plosives; p, t, and k. Perhaps “streaked” or
“deep”/”sleep”.
o So here are our rhymes for sea: debris, refugee, recede, weeds, bleed,
deep, sleep, streaked, retreat
o Now, we will look up perfect/additive rhymes for swell
 “hell” = too dramatic, perhaps “Carousel”
 “withheld/help” = all that came up for additive
 Now, try consonance rhymes for the letter “L”. stay with closely
related vowels, (either short-a or short-i)
o Here’s our rhymes for swell: swell, carousel, withheld, help, chill, spilled
o Follow the same process for the words sand, tide, shore
- Here is our abbreviated worksheet
1) sea: debris, refugee, recede, weeds, bleed, deep, sleep, streaked, retreat
 2) shells: swell, carousel, help, chill, spilled
3) shore: roars, pour, storm, outworn, torn, blur searched, submerged, curled
4) tide: glide, slide, inscribed, flight, harbor light, sacrifice, still life, revived,
arise
- Use the worksheet for reference. Remember, its main purpose is to get additional
ideas and pictures – it is a brainstorming device, not a rhyme-finding device.
Rough Draft #1
- make sure the ideas of the verses are in logical order: action before the reaction
- it is best to keep chorus simple and streamlined at first
- look at lines before the chorus (“trigger lines”) and be sure there is a connection
to the chorus. It is important to work on these lines, always take time to check
them – the earlier the better.
- Pay close attention to similes and metaphors and be sure to ground them in reality
Rough Draft #2
- be sure to make it clear who “the character” is. If there is a “she” in your song of a
mother and a daughter, are you referring to the mother or are you referring to the
daughter?
Rough Draft #3
- see if the lines could be more elegantly stated
- insert a bridge; possibly changing the feel of the song
- be sure the bridge is not in the same form as the verses/chorus, add contrast to
your song!
- check to see what the song would sound like from different perspectives, and in
different tenses
o to compare closely effective views/tenses, look at each verse side by side
to see a complete comparison
- make a list of pros/cons and pick the one that wins
Rough Draft #4
- finally, check out form to see how effective it is in delivering the message
- right now, form is v/v/ch/v/v/ch/br/ch
o when we get to the 4th verse, we’ve seen the structure 3 times previously –
making it a hazard of feeling too long
- Option 1
o : dump verse 4 (or 3), giving us a streamlined effect of v/v/ch/v/ch/br/ch
o in these lyrics, this is not possible due to the core messages in all 4 verses
- Option 2
o : combine verse 3 and 4 into one effective verse
o in this case, drama is still missing
- Option 3
o : Rather than identical verse structures, change the structure of verse 2 and
4 so that the same structure doesn’t repeat 4 times
o This provides each verse with a nice contrast
o The structures are related, but verse 2 develops and will force musical
development as well
- Option 4
o : change verses 2 and 4 into transitional “pre-choruses” to go between
verse and chorus
o transitions have a strong opening for developing musical content