5 Ways to Make Your Lyrics NOT Sound Terrible

In this video, I address a really common issue for lots of musically-oriented songwriters: feeling like all the lyrics you write a boring, or cliche. I go through 5 different exercises that you can do to both get over the feeling that your lyrics are bad, but that can very quickly get you writing GREAT lyrics.

00:00 Introduction
00:22 Tuning into the 'helpful' critic
03:33 Getting better at anything
03:55 70/20/10
04:58 Exercise 1
06:56 Exercise 2
08:09 Exercise 3
13:01 Exercise 4
15:04 Exercise 5

[YourFavouriteColor]

"you can't rise to the level of your taste" I've never heard it put that way. Really insightful and SO TRUE.

[gcvrsa]

The biggest mistake that beginning songwriters make, in my opinion, is attempting to sound profound, clever, or "edgy" in their lyrics. One of the things that was most helpful to me as a young songwriter was consciously attempting to express meaningful emotion in as concise and timeless terms, in as few terms, as I possibly could, without being overly simplistic or trite. Cleverness and profundity in lyrics doesn't come from forced sentiment, but from revelation, from surprise. You'll know you've written a good song when you look back on something you wrote 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years ago, and you still want to get up on stage and tell it to the world.

[garygimmestad]

There’s a cartoon from The New Yorker from decades ago showing a struggling writer’s dilemma. On on shoulder there’s an angel saying (paraphrase), “Just one more page” and on the other shoulder a devil saying, “How about a ham sandwich and a beer?” It’s a different stop/go scenario but I’ve always loved it.

Your exercise suggestions are great. I have a Notes page with random song ideas. Some are just evocative, single words or phrases; some are conceptual. I looked at that page after watching this video and saw possible connections among ideas which came from various sources - the news, a book I’m reading, etc. Now I see the possibility of connecting them even if they don’t appear to be alike on the surface. Thank you!

[Nik.No.K]

3:00 ish, I feel this so much. When I was like 12 I listened to dark side of the moon for the first time and my life was forever changed. From that point on my one and only goal in life has been to make an album as good as DSoTM. What followed was many years of frustration with myself for not being able to create at that level. The guys in Pink Floyd were nearly 30 when they started making their best stuff. Low and behold, it took me until about 27/28 before I finally started writing material I think is truly great. I think it would have been easier if I hadn’t put expectations on myself to create an album on the level of DSoTM when I was 17. I think people just starting out today should try to have fun with it and don’t expect to write the greatest music of all time by year 3.

[Nik.No.K]

My lyrics were (mostly) bad and stupid for at least the first ten years of writing. It’s been my biggest struggle when it comes to songwriting forever. I finally feel like I figured it out a couple years ago and I’m writing some stuff I’m really proud of but it took a long time. If channels like this had been around back in 2010 maybe it wouldn’t have taken me a decade 😂🤷‍♂️

[doliver]

Because of this channel, I got serious about spending time writing everyday. Thank you, Keppie and Ben!

[mariajosedelrio]

First time I even post a comment in Youtube in 15 years, but I had to thank you. kind, smart and self-aware. You really helped me to find the fun on the "getting better at..." game. Very appreciated

[stephanmayer]

Thanks to this channel I feel like I have finally arrived in a community of liked-minded people who just love words and music and want to hone their craft and vocation. Just brilliant.

[VoxRox]

Shane gave a very clear statement of the problem. Keppie's empathy for the feelings inside the statement of the problem led to some compelling exercises that I will try for myself. Thank you both.

[iamrjdennis]

These are great exercises! Thank you for sharing all your wonderful lessons. Much love! 💛

[KyleJon]

I suck at metaphor and similie. My songwriting bud just pulls the most magical stuff out of the air, and I’m left watching, as the drool cascades down my chin, forming a puddle on my shoe. 😢

[ShannonMarie_aguafiestasvlogs]

I absolutely loved how you answered that question! Also, the Artists Way is great. I'm currently starting week two. On my fourth day of doing morning pages, I started producing music again! I love your videos and channel. Thank you

[tammieschiller]

Excellent!!! keppie I'm beyond stoked finding this community and can't wait to join the songwriting group, ofc I'm waiting to get better first, most likely a silly counter intuitive idea., I stayed up until 1am doing all these exercises! Can't wait to see you Oct 21!

[KarrsonHeumann]

Wow. This video literally just unleashed a whole nother part of my brain as far as creativity goes. Now I have similar creativity to when I was a kid, yet slightly refined.
This is your best video. For so long this part of me was locked up due to self-critique and the critique of others. It's important to recognize that you don't always have to be critical.
Sometimes recognizing what ideas are on the table involves writing with no filter and now I can actually do that and it's surprisingly good. Thank you very much!

[junkyardfrog]

This channel has become a great source of inspiration! Thanks so much, Keppie!!! Also, the candid name for the little a-hole on my shoulder: I’ve been calling him that for years 😂! appreciate you sharing your knowledge! 👏🏽🙌🏽

[keithmoreau]

Thank you for the encouragement! It really helps

[suefauziyah]

Thank you! I will definitely be trying out some, likely all, of these exercises. Watching this video makes lyric-writing seem like something fun to do, rather than a chore. Exactly what I needed.

[katieblack]

Your enthusiasm and commitment to helping others is totally infectious and inspiring. It has honestly changed the way I think of myself as a musician and beginner songwriter. I hope it never stops because I just want to continue to follow it and learn every day., So many thanks.

[NEOmda]

This was fun to do. I was skeptical about a channel called how to write songs but honestly you have a lot of helpful stuff to try!!!

[jbela]

My situation was trying to get a head start, your tips defenitely opened up for me! I have tried the early morning pages, which i tried years ago and back again with results. The image stacking and the odd rhyme pairs helped a lot too. Thanks so much!