5 Secret Exercises for Writing Emotional Lyrics

Becoming a great lyricist means getting in touch with your inner thoughts, absorbing the art you love and the culture around you to tell a story.

But learning how to write great lyrics is incredibly hard—it’ll take time and practice to one day write great lyrics.

But, if you get started now you’ll learn how to express yourself better and better.

Believe it or not, you’re not the first artist to ever struggle with penning good lyrics.

In this video, our talented cypher and lyricist Peggy Hogan shares her tips, advice and general philosophy for writing meaningful lyrics that evoke emotional responses and vivid imagery.

You’ll discover a handful of lyric writing exercises—the hidden glosa technique, random rhyming generator and the layover technique.

With these lyric writing tips and a look into Peggy’s writing philosophy you’ll have the basic tools you need to write something truly powerful.

00:00 Introduction
00:50 Tip 1: Writing exercises
05:13 Tip 2: The layover technique
06:12 Tip 3: Be a sponge
07:19 Tip 4: Show don’t tell
08:39 Tip 5: Less is more

#lyrics #lyricwriting #howtowritelyrics
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[richardlee]

Begin your lyric with the "hook" (which is both the lyrical and melodic center of the song). Once you have the hook, it acts as a "thesis" (a summary of the meaning or point of the lyric) and you can write the versus around it (the verses are the support for the thesis). After you have the hook you can use the exercises she mentions. But if you begin with the verses you will likely not get to the hook organically and run the risk or writing yourself into a corner as you've already created the gist of the song through the verses which is why I suggest add the verses later. They should come much easier when you have the hook. I also suggest getting away from your instrument to write because you will tend to get into your habits. I find it best to just sing melodies in silence. How to come up with a good hook? That is magic. But you're more likely to be open to the muse when you are quiet.

[DanielDunn]

I'm still new to this practicing to practice professionally, though I was a kid my grandma would use these magazine like books where we would transpose and replace words just like you did, so I'm exited to get started. One of the things that's made me go professional is that I already have a lot of emotional and meaningful stuff to share with people, it's "just" finding or letting the right words find me. Thank you for sharing I hope to be rich enough to buy you a jet someday so wish me luck! :)

[sabrinainlove]

so good. also love the editing and your personality!!

[clevelog]

Thank you. Looking forward to your next presentation.

[kanibadavi-lbkz]

Best video that I have seen on whole Youtube!

[sedecasinada]

Time hits like air in my face
Your lips, something I won't regret
Those eyes, and that beautiful smile
Are something, something yours and mine

Thank you for the vid!

[frankzelazko]

Cheers Peggy, I'll try those tricks

[ianstockdale]

Great nice to see Peggy omg she amazing 👏😍 great teacher 👏 👍 her laugh omg lol 😆😄😂 great content 👏 keep it up

[NICK]

Thanks alot Peggy 🙏 you're a genius

[dimple_music_org]

keep calling my number
i want u to feel it again
keep calling my number
i want you to be the same

even if u say we had love
i want you to be the same

oo hunt me now
i gotta time for loving life
i gotta tell you something now
baby gotta take you far away tonight
but last time in this life
cause i have done with you enough
already made a song...releasing next month

[Cooldudehero]

silence overcomes the roads
of the city we used to call our own
blurry vision, stupid decisions
no longer able to find
the memory of our lives intertwined

[mrvron]

Study the language and expression of the culture you want to talk to
study the dictionaries and learn expression

[abdulkareemfathiu]

Am an Afro beat artist but am good to go just want to work on my melody

[curtisbarnett]

My song is "TOPSY TURVY" So Ms. Hogan, what do you recommend for this Verse & Chorus part I wrote.

VERSE:
She wants Him
He wants her

she wants love
he detests
but in time
they will find
Love and Hate
Don't relate
I see the future
U and I
Side by side, Superstars
Upside down, Rightside up
Sometimes down, Sometimes up

CHORUS:
(Girl U turn me, Turning me)
"TOPSY TURVY"
(Boy U turn me, Turning me)
"Topsy Turvy"
(I'm feeling like inside, outside ur, Turning me)
"Topsy Turvy"

[Sound-Lord]

Not being your fan is too hard. I've been trying for 15 years. Now I give up. I'm your fan sorry x)

[pappysheart]

I bet Eminem does this. 😂
"spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti!"

[BigMTBrain]

Created before ChatGPT, but still valid and a good practice for getting the joy out of creating the lyrics yourself. Same with the music -- AI is here now and ready to write your entire composition for you. But just because it's here, it doesn't mean you have to use it. I've considered it, but I'm under absolutely no time pressure to produce songs, so I'll just go with my own creativity at my own pace. You, however, you do you... if you ARE under time pressure to produce, especially if you see other writers and producers, even most writers and producers, using AI, then it's your choice to make whether you use AI or not. I really don't see it as a negative. In fact, AI can be a great pathway to new ideas and possibilities. On the flip, when an increasing number of people do use AI to do the bulk of their creating, the world we'll be creating is a world with less creativity and more AI creativity. AHH, but where did the AI learn the languages and how to write lyrics creatively? That's right!... from all the human expression on the internet. In a way then, we are all bits and pieces in the creative works of AI.

[zepetolover]

I see the way u look at her
I know u have been fake with me
The moments, our love is gonna
She may be a 10 but please don't be happier... If it's not Deja Vu then tell me what?? My song name: Deja Vu hurts 😭