5 Ways to Make Your Lyrics NOT Sound Terrible

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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.
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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.

[@zekielrodriguez5229]

Then what’s point if we’re all just doomed to make shitty music

[@YourFavouriteColor]

@@zekielrodriguez5229 the better you get, the more you can create things that are of a similar quality to your taste. it just takes a long time and a lot of practice/experience.

[@ahmki52298]

​@@zekielrodriguez5229I think I the point is we hear someone and go wow that's what I'll do then we can't do it and are discouraged. When In truth we all will find our own style striving for what we like. Just realized what you like is most times harder than you are good.

[@opdrummer]

as you write better, your taste gets more refined too. it's good to always aspire to something better, no? @@zekielrodriguez5229

[@bigmatt94]

@@zekielrodriguez5229 you need to find enjoyment in the process of improving. If you're just solely focused on the end result then you'll never find fulfillment in making music

[@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.

[@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.

[@doliver5447]

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

[@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 😂🤷‍♂️

[@garygimmestad4272]

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!

[@mariajosedelrio1482]

First time I even post a comment in KZbin 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

[@stephanmayer6600]

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.

[@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. 😢

[@zoltannemeth8864]

I know the feeling, I suck at similie too. Like a gardener that can only grow weeds….

[@robertrussell9336]

" we used to be so candid, now it's hard to believe.............Time has been a bandit, stole our memories " From (Long time no see) original song. Just keep writing and know that every artist puts them selves in to a vulnerable position , to varying degrees. Will they like it? will they relate to it ? will they turn off ? or on ? Just use your own musical compass to boldly step out there. Get the crappy stuff out of the way until the better and good stuff begins to arrive. Believe that improvement is subtle and hard to measure accurately. Just keep swimming :)

[@PeterSykesMusic]

Good stuff as always Keppie🤘🏻😎

[@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!

[@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.

[@tammieschiller397]

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!

[@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! 👏🏽🙌🏽

[@garyashford]

Your videos are always great, but this one has been the most helpful to me personally! Thank you for your great tips!

[@DadRockAndGuitars]

Lots of good suggestions! Your videos are always really helpful. Thanks!

[@Angela-jy8um]

Your videos are great. I love the suggestions and the resources you share. Thanks!

[@keithmoreau710]

Thank you for the encouragement! It really helps

[@normhult3554]

This video is so spot on!

[@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!!!

[@ArtbyJoeH]

Just brilliantly compelling , absorbing tips delivered with passion. Thank you 😎⭐️

[@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

[@thepolymaths7158]

so much value in this video! thanks a lot!

[@spoonophosese2450]

Thank you, this was fantastic, not just for song writing, but life as well

[@iamrjdennis]

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

[@marcemelgar]

your the best Keppie. Thanks again for all the knowledge you share. 🤘

[@wscme]

Hi! I'm new to your channel. I was recently asked to start songwriting. I'm definitely excited and terrified at the same time. I have been watching you now for about a month and I have learned so much. I want to say thank you for all the knowledge that you share!

[@DeanDong2]

You are the BEST ! Thank you K .

[@ulfsvensson9710]

Good and inspirational clip as usual!

[@gog_magpie]

Wow, that's exactly what I needed, really appreciate it

[@timball8429]

Some awesome tips there, Keppie! 🙏

[@katieblack6537]

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.

[@lilgreenmomo]

This is great! Fury is a noodle instantly sparked. "Anger got me tangled" for me. I'm going to try this exercise more fully.

[@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!

[@tsunami979]

Wow! I'm still at the second exercise and already mind blown. You make me think, you make me laugh and, frankly, I really wanna give you a hug. See? I'm already writing lyrics, thank you!

[@markfletcher4579]

This is so excellent. Thank you!

[@elreyabeja4539]

Another brilliant video. Easily one of the best channels on KZbin.

[@jesikaontherise]

Thank you for these tips!

[@donahvanhollis9652]

So grateful 🙏🏾 I don’t know wtf I been on that I stop practicing when I truly love this stuff and gifted to do it. This a new year for me..new level of frequency

[@keepthechange3363]

Really interesting and inspiring yet also practical!

[@CaptnChardonnay]

Some really great tips and exercises here Keppie. Thanks! I’ve done a short course with Keppie folks and she’s honestly the best teacher I’ve ever had the pleasure of being taught by.

[@nyrman]

you know what keeps me from ever writing lyrics? i can write really good, but the song theme i where i just give up. like, i cant just tell lies, it would feel stupid, i can't tell the truth, it would be boring. than we are left with love songs, i hate generic love songs, and weird cool ideas like some gorillaz or 21 pilots stuff. and i'm not that good a writer really... hahahahah keep these vids up, i always get something from them :)

[@74kevin1]

Keep a list of potential song titles, and when you have a song going, try to point them towards one of the cool titles from the list. You'd be surprised how often this works.

[@nyrman]

@@74kevin1 hey thats really a creative way to think about that. I can do it even now that I upload instrumentals. 👍 gonna try it 💯

[@KL-xv5gj]

You are good! You know the stuff. Real PRO.

[@AllThatRemains5]

WOW. I've been writing songs since I was a kid and after all that time there are only a couple songs that i feel proud of and feel unique. Wasn't expecting to stumble across a total game-changer today but sooo glad I found this video and your channel!!!!

[@dnisbet71]

14:35 wonderful sentiment, thankyou 😊

[@eh2254]

I ❤ your ‘Run towards the schlock’ advice

[@MikolaiStroinski]

This is great. Thank you.

[@user-ck3lw8rn9m]

Thank you so much for this very inspiring and uplifting video :)

[@PaulaJimena]

I can't thank you enough! I'm a songwriter and have been stuck in a writing slump for months now. I did the metaphor collisions exercise and the lyrics just started flowing! Most of it is just word vomit but there are some beautiful and evocative lyrics in there! I can't wait to turn them into an actual song! I'm so happy and so so grateful

[@DrKevGuitar]

Exercise 2 reminds me of a young Italian guy who asked for my help with his songwriting. He used the word “lady” prolifically and flatly refused to change it for girl, babe, woman, love, honey, or anything less awful. The cringe factor was beyond belief! He also never paid me. Can’t remember his name right now which is probably a good thing cause I would call him out here if I could! 😂

[@samuelaseolas]

You are an absolutely brilliant teacher and youtuber. holy shit this has helped me so much!

[@emilianogln]

sooo good. thank uuuu so much

[@Khyron9]

Wow. Great tips thank you!

[@Drawingve]

Great, great lesson👍🏻

[@WizardOfArc]

Yay! Make more stuff!!🎉❤

[@daltonhobson6982]

you are so good at explaining this, I wish you were around about 50 years ago I could have been a contender.but who knows maybe I can still leave a good one behind.Good stuff thank you

[@ThomasLiljeruhm]

Exercise 3 sounds really creative and good. It's kind of what I like to do in my lyrics. I called them "themed lyrics". where I either try to match two different subjects or where I try to describe something in a totally new way.

[@DanielOakfield]

I am so grateful for this channel, thank you. So much useful information is shared in a professional way - would that make me a better song writer? Not sure, but certainly will help me not giving up - again.

[@phcz6717]

Good advices. And no 3 is also fun 🙂

[@jmoses580]

I can listen to her all day! I somehow ran into her videos yesterday and I'm so glad I did! Very enjoyable and so darn much talent and knowledge but she has a way of sharing it on a level that even a moron like me can learn so much!!! And so enjoyable to just listen to and absorb what she is sharing!!!!

[@robertkadar6856]

Excellent lesson - thank you. For me, lyrics are the toughest part of songwriting. I can come up with chord progressions and melodies all day long.

[@col2281]

This is very helpful. I enjoy Jeff Tweedy's How to Write One Song too.

[@Bastikovski99]

Also, revision is even better than inspiration when it comes to writing a great song. Just get down the basic structure first. You can always go back and change words. I put parentheses around the words I don’t like. Then break out the Thesaurus

[@schoontube]

Thanks!

[@OurgasmComrade]

Fury is like a noodle... brittle when dry, floppy when wet

[@kirstiegregory9740]

Brilliant thank you. I find it difficult to decide the right rythmn or pattern to sing the words in to sound good if that makes sense. Like distribution of notes to change a word into one syllable or two.

[@jurafa]

Theres so much bad lirycs in popular music today. Try to finish the song before the feeling that inspired it its gone. If you have some of the melody then try singing it with whatever words come to mind until you find the right ones.

[@juannlohan3943]

Great video! I have a silly saying: "some songs I write and some I fight". My best songs usually fall in the middle.

[@lightninjim787]

My first attempt at ex.3: Grief is an apple That grows on a tree Whose roots grow so deep In old memory Joy is a dome That makes me feel safe Sheltered from the gathering storm Crossing a desert On a camel of bliss Sorrow is a handkerchief I must put away I’ll fold it And stick it in my pocket Regret is a driveway Where I park my heart

[@theowl6141]

This seems amazing... Simple yet deep

[@theowl6141]

Grief is like the thirst you feel Even while standing in the rain You wanna catch every drop of joy But they slip as pain

[@That.NOT.DepressedKid]

The 5th one is actually really good for poets, I'm not a rhymer or poet at all, and I still managed to make what I believe to be a pretty good poem

[@michaelsoto4933]

I'm a few months in to really swinging at song writing after years of touch and go, but I'm actually just about finished with my first complete song, with other concepts and rough drafts in the queue. It took several rewrites over the course of like a month or so, and it's evolved but I'm happy with it. I also love what J. Cole said in an interview when it comes to first writing something, "Instead of thinking what you write is corny, write it down anyways. It's a first line. Trust that it will lead to a second one, and then the third, and so forth."

[@theowl6141]

You're way of explaining everything is really catchy and understand. Thank you. I'm not a writer or song writer. It really makes me excited to be able to come up with amazing lyrics or sentences. However, I can hardly match things or pick up ideas no matter how much i try. But I often write down things that comes in my mind. Is there any way of sharing few things that i wrote with you?

[@Birkguitars]

Number 4 reminds me of the idea in scriptwriting "show don't tell". The idea is create an image on screen that advances the narrative and don't rely on a character saying it. Think of the difference between a character looking out of a window at the rain running down the outside of the glass, dripping off the roof and pooling outside the door. Then think of someone just saying "it's raining". The image is so much more powerful than the words. The image that I picked up on was the water bottle always being full. It encompasses both kindness and diligence. It's not a one off event. It has persistence. And it is an incredibly intimate. It is such a personal thing shared between two people. This video has also got me wondering what goes through the mind of the elephant in the room. Does it wonder why everyone is ignoring it?

[@kerryhsu7903]

super helpful

[@toddshook1765]

Morning Pages sound a lot like “brain storming”. Just something yo get the brain activated. As you mentioned that anyone can do anything with practice. I started learning the drums last year at 59 and it just takes time to better. Thanks so much for your teaching and insight and sharing experience.

[@marsfortune8412]

Brilliant 👏 👏 👏 👏

[@jim4588]

Great stuff Keppie! I have a follow-up question: ever since a friend of mine pointed me in the direction of The Artist's Way, I've had a morning pages appointment on my calendar. I skip it almost everyday even though I know it's good for me and often fun. Do you have any idea what the psychology is behind that choice? It feels like an easy way out to claim it's fear of success or something, but I'm guessing I'm not the only person out there who's got this issue.

[@sfreestyle]

Nice! And haha to the little a

[@statueofliberty1132]

My self criticism doesn't shine a light on the flaws I need to work on. It shines a light on everything. It's the sun 🌞

[@allsoulsinapocalypticlilac]

this video sounded a lot like my therapist :} music really is therapy

[@th1426]

Thanks 🫡

[@dnisbet71]

0:56 cool editing! What software/ resources do you use to do this with the cool cartoon characters?

[@KatrinaTapio]

honestly I think sometimes creatives will mistake their own uniqueness or "flavor" for mediocrity or see it as a flaw somehow, I've made art and music for a long time but decided not to release or, have released but later deleted it, but only to later realize that the very things that I hated about those artworks was the very thing that people enjoyed the most, the "flaws" that made them unique

[@minstrelofMir]

i have been writing song since i started my first band age12 in 1976,,1st i find odd a young person could do these vids,,since i have learnt over my 47 years,,,i also have 4 generations of guitar playing singer song writers in my family..now i just make disney sort of songs as im encouraging my granddaughter who we have on youtube making up a song and trying to play guitar all the way through at age3,,now age15

[@joeldcanfield_spinhead]

I learned somewhere to give the mean voice on my shoulder a silly name, so I remember to NOT pay too much attention, but also, NOT be mean in return. (Mine is named Sparky. "Thank you, Sparky. I got this.")

[@HerrPapa]

I just had a therapy session!

[@ramilopez6921]

Hi, I'm a long-time subscriber of your channel. I have written songs through the years, but once I had a long period of writer's block that lasted almost 10 years. I would like to know if you've addressed writer's block previously on a video lesson. If not, if you could make one. I would really appreciate that as well some of your viewers. Thank you for all your work.

[@seanwelch71]

My writing rule: only sing your lyrics. Do not read aloud like a love poem.

[@sallymwalr]

more people need to discover this woman

[@amandaforshort]

Haha I like the analogy about the asshole and helpful guide.

[@liveanadventure429]

Hi, can you please help me with a way I can take what I want to say on to paper, I have titles, I know what I want to say but I’m clueless on how write it down, I’m perhaps overthinking it, I’m thinking maybe I need to learn how to structure verses? Do you have any tips of what I need to do with each verse so the song progresses Thank you 🙏

[@risengrind6268]

Could you do a Video, about "how to write great singing melody"? Cause to me that´s the biggest struggle in writing a great song. I start with a lil melody, but at latest at the chorus (or sometimes the other way).I can´t bring it somewhere good. Is there a secret formular to write topline melodies?

[@jonnyosteo5984]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/onOtnqp-obl6rJY - just a thought

[@tomcrosthwaite4735]

Wow!

[@ahmki52298]

Personally ive noticed my vuggest issue is connecting music melody and words and sometimes even just creating a diverse vocal melody

[@CoryPrior999]

awesome, this channel is the BEST, thank you this whole channel, thank you guys :)))))

[@michaeldoherty9722]

Enjoyable content as always! Nonetheless, I think it's worth keeping an eye and an ear out for the random phrase's and occurrence's that sometimes present themselves, however stupid or ridiculous they may initially seem. Apparently when lyricist Sammy Cahn was in the writing room working on getting idea's for what would become 'High Hopes'; a song that would subsequently turn into a classic of it's era, he looked across at an adjacent office space where a man bringing in a rubber plant tripped: 'Whoops there goes another rubber tree plant!' He clearly had a lot of fun extrapolating the rest of the lyrics!

[@neetneilson]

the intro and outro chords are the hardest for me. do I take part of the verse, part of the chorus, or something different? I'm always stumped.

[@BradExample]

I always struggle with the second verse curse... always.