I found this link while browsing around on Twitter, and I thought you guys might be interested. It’s called “8 Cures For Lyric-Writer’s Block”
Here’s a sneak peak:
Lyric writing can be a frustrating, nail-biting, paper-crumpling experience. Getting just the right words to tell a story and convey emotion while conforming to the cadence and rhythm of a musical piece can be a harrowing exercise in patience. Here are 8 tips to inspire and help you get through the roughs spots in lyric writing.
1. Let The Music Set The Scene
For most of us the music (or some version of it) comes before the words. Use this to your advantage. Music is adept at painting complex emotional landscapes. In fact, music often tells a compelling story without any words at all. Even if all you have is three chords on a piano or guitar, record it (every songwriter should have a hand held recorder). Try to listen objectively. Listen to it over and over. What emotions does the music stir in you? A slow minor progression might conjure feelings of lost love: a romance. An upbeat and major chord progression might produce feelings of vigor and challenge: a hero’s song. Let the music reveal to you what kind of tale it has to tell.
2. Discover Your Story
Story is at the heart of any great song. A great story is usually more engaging then fancy prose and rhyme (Bob Dylan often sacrificed the latter in order to tell his stories without compromise). Fret not. Stories are neither mysterious nor hard to find. All you need is a character with desire, and suddenly the whole pantheon of fables, myths, and tales from across the globe are at your disposal. People desire love, money, fame, safety, and many other things. Story is created when a character wishes, dreams, risks, acts, or dies in pursuit of one of these things. When you listen to the music you are working on, do you feel a yearning for something? Then you’re halfway there!
Check out the rest of the article by clicking here
