Below you’ll find a complete list of songwriting tips and techniques published here on The Lyric Writer’s Workroom – starting with the most recent and going all the way back to 2009. Enjoy!
Recent Posts
- Use These “4 Strategies of Creativity” to Write Better Lyrics and Music
- Which do You Write First: Lyrics or Music?
- Song Lyric Ideas: 9 Things to Write About in Nature Songs
- What’s the REAL Difference Between a Poem and a Lyric?
- 4 Scary Songwriting Milestones (and How to Survive Them), Part 2
- 4 Scary Songwriting Milestones (and How to Survive Them), Part 1
- The Lyric Idea Sketch: An Easy Way to Finish the Songs You Start
- How to Listen like a Songwriter
- What are Your Top 5 All-Time Favorite Pieces of Writing?
- How to Escape Conformity and Write a Song Tonight
- Songwriting Prompt: Write an Answer Song
- Hit “Mute” on Your Inner Critic and Write Better Songs
- 11 Ways to Find Fresh Song Ideas When You Haven’t Got a Clue
- Rediscover Your Songwriting Groove, Part 2: Organize Your Audio Files
- Welcome to a fresh start for Song Written.
- Rediscover Your Songwriting Groove with a New Lyric Writing Notebook
- Your Favorite Songwriter Was a Beginner Once, Too
- How to Write a Chorus That Your Listener Will Want to Hear Again (and Again, and Again…)
- To Write Better Lyrics, Read Poetry
- “Inspiration” is a Myth — Stop Procrastinating and Start Writing Songs
- 4 Steps to a More Focused Practice or Songwriting Session
- Is Your Song Stuck? Finish That 1st Draft With a “Songwriter’s Palette”
- 13 Love Song Ideas That Listeners Love
- Have You Mastered all 7 of these Basic Rhyme Schemes?
- The Sunday Songwriter: Why a Tough-Guy Punk Rocker Grooves to Madonna
- The Sunday Songwriter: Dracula, Jesus, and Marilyn Monroe — Nick Cave’s Influences
- Sunday Songwriter: 4 Links That’re Worth Your Time
- The Sunday Songwriter: 10 Rules for Creative Songwriting From a Nun in L.A.
- The Sunday Songwriter: Feeling stuck? Get your hands dirty.
- How to Attract an Audience While You’re Still Learning the Craft
- Four Lessons in Songwriting From Sylvia Plath
- 10 Surprisingly Easy Ways to Waste Your Practice Time
- How Did John Zorn Write 300 Songs in 90 Days?
- Here’s How to Write 14 Songs in 28 Days
- An Easy, Little-Known Rhyming Technique That Your Listeners Have Never Heard Before
- Write Better Love Songs (with the Help of Ancient Roman Convicts)
- Death of a Naturalist: What Seamus Heaney Can Teach Us About Compelling Poetry
- Here’s one way to invent song ideas at will
- Is a great songwriter born, or made?
- Art of Daily Practice announcement
- Diane Warren on Writing 1 Great Song Per Week
- A Simple Way to Write Fresh Songs on Any Stale Topic
- How to Disappoint Your Audience (in the Best Possible Way)
- An Easy Way to Write a New Song Lyric Tonight (Even if You’ve Got Writer’s Block)
- 33 Ways to Make More Time in Your Life For Music-Making
- Unravel the Methods of Master Lyricists with an Ordinary Notebook
- Your songs are not for everyone. Here’s why that’s a good thing.
- Maybe We Only Have to Hear You Once
- Where the Concept of Bridge Sections Came From–and What That Might Mean for the Future of Songwriting
- Want Faster Progress? Practice Slowly.
- The Piano is a Monster
- The Mix Tape is Dead. Long Live the Mix Tape.
- Dave Brubeck isn’t dead. He’s not even retired.
- How to Give a Spot-On Song Critique
- Receiving Critique Doesn’t Have to Feel Like a Strip Search
- 3 More Ways to Write Lines That Really Roll Off the Tongue
- Two Worlds
- The Story of the Band That Wrote a Hit Record on Live TV Within Minutes of Meeting Each Other
- Generate Ideas Through Object Writing
- “How Do I Know if I Have What it Takes?”
- Literary Jukebox
- How to Write a Melody For Any Lyric
- It Feels Like My Skull Changes Shape
- How to Use a Rhyming Dictionary Without Sounding Like a Tool, Part 2
- Edit: How to Use a Rhyming Dictionary Without Sounding Like a Tool
- How to Use a Rhyming Dictionary Without Sounding Like a Tool
- Songwriting Through a Microscope and a Telescope
- The Music Hidden in a Single Word
- When the Muse is Late to Her Own Party
- Use Touch Imagery to Give Your Listener Chills
- Draw Listeners Deep Into Your Lyric With Taste and Smell Imagery
- Sounds Good: The Art of Describing Ambient Sounds in Lyrics
- The Visual World: How to Create Breathtaking Imagery in Your Lyrics
- For Better Lyric Imagery, Wear a Blindfold
- Dedication
- How to Craft Tempting, Bite-Sized Song Titles That Leave Us Craving More
- 7 Ways to Be a Fascinating Songwriter
- What’s Your Current Songwriting Headache?
- What We Can Learn About Songwriting From Auto Tuned TED Talks and NASCAR Prayers
- How to Own Any Stage You Walk Onto
- 48 Quick Thoughts on Songwriting
- 6 Ways to Maintain a Steady Stream of New Song Ideas
- Push Your Comfort Zones and Write an Album of Original Songs by February 29th, 2012
- Burn Your File of Song Ideas and Start Over (I Dare You)
- 13 Questions to Ask Yourself in the Harsh Morning Light of 2012
- 20 Compelling Song Titles (and Why They’re So Memorable)
- Stale Scotch and Cheap Cigars: a Conversation With Phil Swann
- Are You Strangling Your Best Songs?
- Bored? Try These 8 Song Structure Tweaks
- New Article: How Contrast Makes Any Song More Interesting
- The Emperor’s New Clothes
- The Halted Clock Gives Thanks For…
- Use a ‘Timepiece’ to Mark Passing Time in Your Song
- Songwriting is Like Working Out
- Structure: Tools and Discipline
- Investigation and Obsession
- Focus.
- Two Literate, Insightful Songwriting Authors You Should Check Out
- Video Post: Correcting Some Misinformation Spread by a Well-Known Songwriting Author
- Write the Songs You Were Born to Write.
- What Webster Isn’t Telling You About Strawberries
- It Doesn’t Have to be Pretty to be Poetic
- A Songwriting Reference Book I Found in the Garden Shed
- When Applause Feels Wrong
- The Last Batch of American Radio Babies
- Compelling Scenes and Characters in Lyrics
- Pat Pattison’s “Songwriting Without Boundaries” Now Available For Pre-Order
- Your Lyric Might Not be a Lyric
- Happy Birthday, Leonard Cohen
- 22 Song Titles. Which Do You Like?
- Surprise and Delight in Songwriting
- Lack of Feedback Does Not Equal Bad Feedback
- Is it a Crime?
- Even if You Give Your Songs Away for Free, You Might Never Get Heard
- Finding the Kink in Your Song Hose, Part 6: What Are You Holding Back?
- Finding the Kink in Your Song Hose, Part 5: Keep Those Melodies Coming
- Finding the Kink in Your Song Hose, Part 4: Three Basic Strategies for Composing
- Finding the Kink in Your Song Hose, Part 3: 13 Ways to Round Out an Incomplete Lyric
- Happy Birthday, Jorge Luis Borges
- Finding the Kink in Your Song Hose, Part 2: Make Sure the Hose is Attached
- The Halted Clock Video Episode #002: Finding the Kink in Your Songwriting Hose
- If You’re Not Messing Up—Often and Well—Something’s Wrong
- You Could Lose All of Your Songs Tomorrow.
- Do You Care Whether Your Lyrics Read Well on a Page?
- Why You Should Join the “50 Songs in 90 Days” Challenge Right Now
- Life Cycle of a Summer Song, Part 4: An Attempt at Self-Criticism
- The Scaredy-Cat’s Guide to Writing and Performing Your Own Songs
- The Halted Clock Goes to Britain!
- Are You Moving Your Audience to Tears… or BORING them to Tears?
- The Mr. Rogers Guide to Rock Stardom
- Life Cycle of a Summer Song, Part 3: Why Songs Are Like Sandcastles
- Amy Winehouse Dead at 27
- Comments Fixed!
- Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters
- Just Because it’s Fun to Play Doesn’t Mean it’s Fun to Hear
- “Is Songwriting Mostly Inspiration or Perspiration?”
- Songwriting Lessons from Dante’s Inferno
- Breath in Songwriting
- 6 Inspiring Terms Added to the Gears Index
- Insights from Co-Writing with a 7-Year-Old
- 4 Fast-Paced Songwriting Methods
- Is it Better to Write Songs Quickly, in One Sitting?
- 6 More Songwriting Pitfalls
- Writing Prompt: Every Man Should Know How To…
- 8 Bad Habits That Hinder Your Songwriting
- Songwriting vs. Roommates
- The Halted Clock
- Advice on Melodies: Sing Everything You Play.
- Coming to Terms with the Great American Songbook
- Moving Beyond Chord-Centric Songwriting, Part 2
- Motives for Playing Music
- Moving Beyond Chord-Centric Songwriting
- 17 Great Songwriting Tutorials From Around the Web
- Shake a Tail Feather: How to Use Body Language in a Lyric
- Who Are You Trying to Impress?
- A Collaborative Object Writing Exercise
- Tom Waits Inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Ryan Adams on “Prolific” Songwriting
- Mr. Rogers on Catharsis
- When You Sing, Sometimes I Don’t Believe You
- “Hey Kid.”
- NEW! The Kitchen Sink for Songwriters
- Write Better Songs with John Braheny
- How to Make Any Month “Album Writing Month”
- Why We Listen to Love Songs
- Why I Love the Beatles Too Much to Worship Them
- FREE ebook: Songwriting Lessons From Dante’s Inferno
- Please Send Me Someone to Love
- Every Love Song Ever Sung
- Why I Like it Rough
- 31 Days Sample Chapter: Finish a Song
- “31 Days” Sample Chapter: Confront Your Fears
- Your Songwriting Journey: Contrast on Every Level
- On Writing Lyrics: Make it Quick
- February is Album Writing Month (FAWM)!
- Songwriting Prompt: The Scariest Words Ever
- Songwriting Tips from Tom Waits’s “Don’t Go into the Barn”
- Fiona Apple on Writing and Performance
- How to Write Lyrics for an Instrumental Track
- Are “Universal” Songs Meant for Nobody in Particular?
- Ain’t Been No Crystal Stair: Suggestions for Writing “Universal” Songs
- Even Liszt Had Trouble Sitting Still
- Getting Naked with John & Yoko
- Your Hands Are Like Dogs
- A Great Art Song: Der Erlkönig
- The Three Ways Schubert Set Words to Music
- Songwriting Tips from Dante’s Inferno: Get to it!
- Focus and Finish Your Song by Deciding on a Clear Key Message
- Songwriting Tips from Dante’s Inferno: ‘Offensive’ is Subjective
- Songwriting Tips from Dante’s Inferno: If it’s Important Later, Introduce it Early
- New Page: Table of Contents for the Dante’s Inferno Series
- Lyric Writing Exercises: a 5-Day Workshop
- What’s Your Songwriting Goal for 2011?
- Your Impact as a Songwriter
- Regarding the Current Huckleberry Finn Hubbub
- The Art of the Listener
- Songwriting Tips from Dante’s Inferno: Sensory Images and Vivid Horror
- Songwriting Tips from Dante’s Inferno: Structure Controls Pace
- Songwriting Tips from Dante’s Inferno: Rhymes Should Sound Natural
- Songwriting Lessons From Dante’s Inferno: Write Conversationally
- What is a Hook?
- The Key to Being a Truly Great Songwriter:
- A Simple Idea Songwriters Can Steal from Visual Artists and Sculptors
- Did you Miss Practice Today? Quit Hitting Yourself.
- Choose One for Better Songwriting: Put Down Your Guitar, Step Away From the Piano, or Shut Your Mouth
- Is Your Notebook of Song Ideas Holding You Back?
- An Unintentional Songwriting Lesson From Barack Obama
- Stepping Back: an Introduction to Rewriting Songs
- Commercial vs. Non-Commercial Songwriting
- Are Your Lyrics Worth Living?
- 9 Simple Object Writing Tweaks
- How to Select Big, Juicy Object Writing Keywords
- Writer’s Block or Building Blocks?
- Songwriting Prompt: Reach Out to a Listener
- How to Write Vividly Descriptive Lyrics
- Having Trouble Writing a Chorus?
- Book Review: Zen Guitar by Philip Toshio Sudo
- Tom Waits on Songwriting: Beautiful Melodies Telling You Terrible Things
- How to Make Any Musical Performance Horribly Awkward
- Why Songs are Like Dreams: Andrew Bird on Melodies and Songwriting
- Archive Revision Roundup #3: Backward Rhyme Schemes and Lonely, Lonely Legos
- Three Essential Lyric Writing Tools
- What Songwriters Can Learn From Three-Act Stage Plays
- Life, Hit me with Whatever: an Interview on Songwriting with Fiona Apple
- How to Pull off a Great Circle-Back Ending to Your Song
- Chorus or no Chorus? a Songwriting Interview with Ryan Tedder
- Archive Revision Roundup #2: Quit Yer Cryin’ and Listen Up
- Musical Self-Inventory
- What I Learned About Songwriting From A Crazy Guy In Liverpool
- 5 Lessons from my First Month of Musical Self-Employment
- Archive Revision Roundup: A Guitar Monster, a Mathematical Genius, and Robots Made of Yarn
- Know Technology, and You’re Holding an Ace Against the Major Labels
- Why it Pays to Have a Songwriting Buddy
- The Rainy Day Activity Guide for Songwriters
- A Word of Encouragement from a Master Musician and Theoretician
- Giant Steps Visualized
- Simple Storytelling Through Song
- 17 Killer Intro Ideas for Your Songs
- Dividing Space, Part 2: Two Common Song Sections that Add Interest
- Dividing Space: Making Sense of Song Sections
- The Songwriter’s Compass: How to Set a Course and Make Progress Every Day
- Getting the Most out of Your Practice and Writing Time
- Bust out of a Rut with Creative Self-Sabotage
- Transcript: How the Haiku can Improve Your Songwriting
- Book Review: Popular Lyric Writing by Andrea Stolpe
- Is it Okay to “Borrow” Chord Progressions?
- Six Powerful Structures for Lyric Phrases
- Four Easy Ways to Begin Writing a New Song
- Try Index Cards for Non-Linear Songwriting
- Tickets to Write: Songwriting Prompts Inspired by the Beatles
- A Berklee Professor’s Fifteen-Minute Method for Creating More Natural Rhymes
- How to Finish Writing the Songs You’ve Already Started
- More Songwriting Lessons from Joanna Newsom’s ”Bridges and Balloons”
- Songwriting Lessons From Joanna Newsom’s ”Bridges and Balloons”
- Songwriting Prompt: an Effective and Little-Known Rhyming Technique
- The Seductive Dangers of Moleskines
- Sensory Songwriting, Part 3: Pluck at a Corner, Pull out the World
- The Practice of Ear Training
- The Songwriter’s Compass: Finding a Sense of Direction and Purpose in Your Art
- Sensory Songwriting: Take Your Lyric to the Optometrist’s Office
- Sensory Songwriting: How to Write Lyrics that Capture Your Listener’s Imagination
- How to Sing as Naturally as You Speak
- Nels Cline & Norton Wisdom: The Courage to Paint Over Your Own Paintings
- Your Next Move (No Shortcuts)
- The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Kicking Ass at Everything
- Good Aural, Part 2: How to be a Hot Listener
- Tip Hat Curios
- 5 More Ways to Deal with Unsupportive Friends
- How to Survive Your Unsupportive Friends
- Rut Buster: Stop Writing Such Depressing Songs
- Bridge
- Ghost Melody
- Good Aural, Part 1: Twelve Common Causes of Poor Listening
- Good Aural: An Introduction to Listening for Pleasure
- Music Theory Will NOT Make a Robot of You
- Destination Writing
- Object Writing
- Idea File
- Verse
- Song Cycle
- Track Positioning
- Second Verse Hell
- Instrumental Chorus