writting lyrics in the style of....

[cloud90]

Hi Guys,

I want to try and experiment with songwriting. I have this idea where if i were to try and imitate my favorite songwriter's lyrics (a huge variety of artists, e.g. john mayer, frank ocean, bob dylan etc), i will be able to take different techniques from each artist in order to contribute to my own unique songwriting style. What do you guys think? However, i am finding it hard to like write in a similar style as the artist.

Any tips., guys? I know, i will never be able to produce songs exactly like them and neither do i want to. I just want to improve my songwriting styles.

 

[Xdrummer]

I've read some articles that suggest you take a chord progression from a cover song and then try to write new lyrics (just to get the muse flowing). I suppose you could also take lyrics taht already appear in a cover song and perhpas try to change the lyrics a liitle to better reflect your sensitivity.

At the end of the day, we are all influnced by other artists (even if we don't make a concentrated effort to write like them) - however, at some point, you do need to find out who you are as your own artist and write lyrics that refelct your experiances, etc.

Perhaps you could take a subject that one of your fav songwriter's have written about and try to tell that story in your own way.

Hi Guys,

I want to try and experiment with songwriting. I have this idea where if i were to try and imitate my favorite songwriter's lyrics (a huge variety of artists, e.g. john mayer, frank ocean, bob dylan etc), i will be able to take different techniques from each artist in order to contribute to my own unique songwriting style. What do you guys think? However, i am finding it hard to like write in a similar style as the artist.

Any tips., guys? I know, i will never be able to produce songs exactly like them and neither do i want to. I just want to improve my songwriting styles.

 

[ido1957]

I've read some articles that suggest you take a chord progression from a cover song and then try to write new lyrics (just to get the muse flowing). I suppose you could also take lyrics taht already appear in a cover song and perhpas try to change the lyrics a liitle to better reflect your sensitivity.

At the end of the day, we are all influnced by other artists (even if we don't make a concentrated effort to write like them) - however, at some point, you do need to find out who you are as your own artist and write lyrics that refelct your experiances, etc.

Perhaps you could take a subject that one of your fav songwriter's have written about and try to tell that story in your own way.

I couldn't agree more. I prefer to write about my experiences/feeling/whatever in my own words using my own skills as a writer. I figure I've learned enough about songs after playing covers for years that I could write something decent on my own. Sure we use things we've learned from others - people have been doing it for years.

 

[DM60]

I've read some articles that suggest you take a chord progression from a cover song and then try to write new lyrics (just to get the muse flowing). I suppose you could also take lyrics taht already appear in a cover song and perhpas try to change the lyrics a liitle to better reflect your sensitivity.

At the end of the day, we are all influnced by other artists (even if we don't make a concentrated effort to write like them) - however, at some point, you do need to find out who you are as your own artist and write lyrics that refelct your experiances, etc.

Perhaps you could take a subject that one of your fav songwriter's have written about and try to tell that story in your own way.

I couldn't agree more. I prefer to write about my experiences/feeling/whatever in my own words using my own skills as a writer. I figure I've learned enough about songs after playing covers for years that I could write something decent on my own. Sure we use things we've learned from others - people have been doing it for years.

They say there is nothing new under the sun, I suspect this is true with song writing. I was watching a video of Tony Rice, he is a great guitar player and he was telling how he was trying to sound like some guy. Not matter how hard he tried to sound like that guy, he just couldn't, but discovered along the way, he created his own style.

Trying to do something like someone isn't always bad and in the end can help you create your own unique style. It is as good a place to start as any.

 

[rayc]

Print off a set of fav. lyrics and replace them line by line or word by word.
Follow the rhyming scheme, metere and phrasing.
It's an interesting exercise and can yield interesting results but is an exercise.

 

[cloud90]

Print off a set of fav. lyrics and replace them line by line or word by word.
Follow the rhyming scheme, metere and phrasing.
It's an interesting exercise and can yield interesting results but is an exercise.

That sounds like a good idea. When you say, replace, do you mean replace with a line just as similar as the one used in the sentence of the lyric?

 

[Greg_L]

Here's an idea - write your own song. If you're honest and earnest, it will be all yours and your influences will show without you having to blatantly copy them.

 

[cloud90]

Here's an idea - write your own song. If you're honest and earnest, it will be all yours and your influences will show without you having to blatantly copy them.

I am not aiming to copy them or make songs just like them..

 

[Greg_L]

I am not aiming to copy them or make songs just like them..

You said you want to "try to imitate" your favorite artists. No? I get it, you think you might learn something. What do you expect to learn? Just write your own song. You're not Bob Dylan, or John Mayer. They write the songs they write because that's just how they write songs. You're "cloud90", whoever that is. You be "cloud90" and don't worry about anyone else. Suppose you do write a song just like Dylan or Mayer? Then what? You just defeated the purpose of trying to improve your own "unique" writing style. What is it about your own songwriting style that you want to improve? What's wrong with your songs now?

 

[fritsthegirl]

Yeh, whatever you do, practice in your own style more than anyone else's. There's no point to practice like someone else when you could be spending that time improving your own style. There are heaps of lame & boring exercises for writing that supposedly increase and enhance your creativity but nothing beats writing what you want, when you want. You've got to feel what you're writing before you can write something meaningful, or not, at the very least something that's totally you. Imitating someone else's style is not your feeling and emotion, so I don't see how it would help much really, I think it will just frustrate you.

In my view, nothing beats picking a topic that gets you excited and writing everything you can feel and think about it. Then try to break it down into the most important chunks and make it fit into the format of a song. Pick some interesting words and make it rhyme. And undo/redo every word about 500 times until it's really good.

Easy.

Not really.

 

[Greg_L]

Yeh, whatever you do, practice in your own style more than anyone else's. There's no point to practice like someone else when you could be spending that time improving your own style. There are heaps of lame & boring exercises for writing that supposedly increase and enhance your creativity but nothing beats writing what you want, when you want. You've got to feel what you're writing before you can write something meaningful, or not, at the very least something that's totally you. Imitating someone else's style is not your feeling and emotion, so I don't see how it would help much really, I think it will just frustrate you.

Yup, this.

 

[miroslav]

I have this idea where if i were to try and imitate my favorite lyrics...

However, i am finding it hard to like write in a similar style as the artist.

Well....first off, you can't isolate just the lyrics when trying to write songs in someone else's style. It's a "song"….that includes the style of the music too. So if you write lyrics like John Mayer, but set them to music that is totally different from his music style....it still won't sound like John Mayer, and the lyrics may not work with your music style.

It's not a bad thing to analyze songs that you like and wish you had written yourself...and probably the reason you like them is because they ARE very unique and unlike anything else.
I think a better approach would be to simply listen to a lot of music that you want to emulate.....then go off and write some songs, and let that connection happen subconsciously, rather than consciously trying to "sound like ______". Eventually your own style will emerge, and it will be unique if it comes all from you....which is the best thing.

If you are not happy with your current songs....you might get more mileage by simply writing more songs and/or reworking the ones you have. Beat on it until you start getting songs you like. Analyze what it is about your songs that needs improvement, then work at it.

 

[Mr Clean]

If you are not happy with your current songs....you might get more mileage by simply writing more songs and/or reworking the ones you have. Beat on it until you start getting songs you like. Analyze what it is about your songs that needs improvement, then work at it.

Great bit of advice right there

 

[robgreen]

You said you want to "try to imitate" your favorite artists. No? I get it, you think you might learn something. What do you expect to learn? Just write your own song. You're not Bob Dylan, or John Mayer. They write the songs they write because that's just how they write songs. You're "cloud90", whoever that is. You be "cloud90" and don't worry about anyone else. Suppose you do write a song just like Dylan or Mayer? Then what? You just defeated the purpose of trying to improve your own "unique" writing style. What is it about your own songwriting style that you want to improve? What's wrong with your songs now?

Yeah, agreed. I can see why there might be value when you're just starting writing stuff in copying the structure of a song you like ie. 2x4 line verses, 1x3 line bridge, 2 line chorus back to verse or whatever, but that's really just setting up a framework that someone else has made that works and then doing completely your own thing within it. I struggle to see what I'd learn from imitating them stylistically though, other than making a poor reproduction of whatever it is that they do.

I find the best way to learn is to keep hacking away at whatever original ideas you've got until they do work. The phrase about polishing a turd is often used and has an element of truth in it, but it doesn't mean you have to just discard something when it doesn't work. Find an element of it that does, strip away all the stuff that doesn't and work at it again. If you're not getting anywhere, then put it to one side for a while, work on something else and come back to it at a later date.

I personally think that the best way to find your own sound is by not playing anyone else's songs. I couldn't play a single cover of a song from start to finish, as being able to reproduce something exactly doesn't interest me enough to invest the time in trying to remember it. When I have tried in the past, I find that you practice enough on someone else's song and you find that their sequences start finding their way into your own stuff.

Doing cover versions of other people's songs in your own style can be fun though. More interesting than a reproduction and tests out your creativity within a pre-existing framework. I'd do that if you want to improve - find a song by someone you like and cloud90-ify it.

 

[RJMJ87]

To improve songwriting style: 1) talent, 2) practice, 3) time. Inspiration from others can help give you ideas (like hey, maybe I should throw in an odd word here or there, or maybe I should try this rhyming scheme, or maybe I should tackle this subject matter too, etc.), but there is no quick fix to becoming "better" and this should not be forced or constantly compared. Treat your originality very preciously and be careful what you allow to influence it. If something is a good, like-minded influence, it will flow super well with your own style and will not be difficult to incorporate at all. It takes a lot of the 3 I mentioned earlier to become a better version of YOU. Happy writing!

 

[grimtraveller]

I am finding it hard to like write in a similar style as the artist.

A greater blessing God could not confer on you in terms of songwriting. I have an almost allergic reaction to the notion of being like someone else in anything.

I have this idea where if i were to try and imitate my favorite song writer's lyrics (a huge variety of artists, e.g. John Mayer, frank ocean, bob dylan etc), i will be able to take different techniques from each artist in order to contribute to my own unique songwriting style. What do you guys think?

I think you could actually emulate someone else's style and write songs like 'them'. But what would be the point of that ?
Let's face it, lots of writers have done that in the past. And you should read their retrospective views of the stuff they did before they found their own voice......
You're actually quite fortunate that you live in an era when it is not unusual to arrive with your own style intact. That wasn't always the case.
As has been already said, the writers that you like, their stuff influences you even if you're not aware of it. The problem that I see is when you want to consciously do as they do rather than be obliquely influenced by them.

I just want to improve my songwriting styles.

You never did answer the people that asked you what it was about your writing that you feel needed to improve.
But no matter what advice we give, what tricks we pass your way, what formulas we formulate, the bottom line I suspect you already know. It takes time, hard work and practice to flow in songwriting. I would also add that you need to not be fussy either. For me, a number of songs should probably have never been continued. But I had to get them out. They're like trapped wind. They come out or I feel ill.
Eventually, I grew to like them. I worked hard enough on them !

 

[fritsthegirl]

It's weird how people seem so enthusiastic about something for about a day, and then they never come back to respond or talk about it some more. I spent quite a bit of time copying exactly what Greg said, and I'm feeling kind of hurt.

 

[Greg_L]

It's weird how people seem so enthusiastic about something for about a day, and then they never come back to respond or talk about it some more. I spent quite a bit of time copying exactly what Greg said, and I'm feeling kind of hurt.

Get used to it. When you tell someone something they don't want to hear, it can go two ways:
1) They get butthurt and run away forever.
2) They get butthurt and a hilarious multi-page internet war flares up.

This guy chose option #1. And it's probably for the best. Anyone that can't spell "writing" correctly probably can't write a song worth a shit anyway.

 

[miroslav]

Anyone that can't spell "writing" correctly probably can't write a song worth a shit anyway.

There are a lot of guitar players who can't spell “rhythm”….but they can play it.

 

[grimtraveller]

There are a lot of guitar players who can't spell “rhythm”….but they can play it.

Ah, yes, but then, they don't need to !