Ideas for developing song lyrics by Sam George (Youth Band Leader on The Junction project at Base Studios)

LET IT FLOW, LET IT FLOW, LET IT FLOW!

Often, when writing lyrics, the most difficult part of the process can be right at the beginning. Some of us may be lucky enough to have ideas emerge as soon as we pick up a guitar or pen - while others may struggle for weeks or even months to have any inspiration at all. This first exercise can be a very useful tool for when that initial spark just isn’t coming.

Step 1 – Pick up a pen and a piece of paper Step 2 – Set yourself a time limit (not too long so that you run out of ideas) Step 3 – Try to write non-stop until the time runs out. You don’t have to write about anything in particular – it doesn’t even have to make sense! Step 4 – Pick out any words or phrases that stand out and try to start building ideas around them.

The idea behind this exercise is to try to tap into the subconscious and to get the pen flowing as fluently as possible. By encouraging students to write freely, this will hopefully get them over the initial hurdle of starting a song and make the entire process feel a bit more natural. By taking away the pressure of writing things that are “good” straightaway, this allows students to write creatively and with confidence.

A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS

Using a picture can be a fantastic way to inspire creativity! Particularly when suffering from writer’s block, using an image can be a great way of prompting an emotive response and providing a starting point for writing lyrics.

Firstly, set a time limit and then simply ask your students to write down what they think is happening in the picture. Try to encourage students to be as descriptive as possible as this will hopefully lead to a more colourful set of lyrics.

For the next stage of the exercise, ask your students to imagine that whatever is happening in the picture, is happening to themselves. This will allow to lyrics to come from a more personal perspective, from which students may find it easier to write emotively.

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU

Have you ever started writing a song that you have been unable to finish? Are you one of those songwriters with a notebook full of incomplete lyrics? If so, then this exercise can be a very useful tool for re-igniting that initial spark and picking up where you left off.

Firstly, you need to establish the theme of your song - if there are several themes throughout the song, then repeat this exercise for each section where the theme changes.

Next, write down as many words as you can that are associated with this theme - this could be in the form of a spider diagram, a mind map or even just a list.  

Once you have a list of words that you like, try to start piecing them together to create a new set of lyrics. You could also try to see if there are any secondary themes within these new words or even try relating them metaphorically.