The Secret Lyric Writing Technique That Pros Use (and you should too!)

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Great lyric writers know that half the work is not what you say, but how you say it. In this video, I take you through a simple but powerful lyric writing technique that is amazing for both exploring ideas when you don't have many - but equally for finding the 'how' when you know what you want to say.
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WHO AM I?
We are Keppie Coutts, and Ben Romalis, two professional songwriters, performing artists and teachers with over 40 years of collective experience in the music industry.
We have studied and taught at some of the best contemporary music colleges in the world including Berklee College of Music, Sydney Conservatorium, the Australian College of the Arts, the Australian Institute of Music, the LA School of Songwriting and JMC Academy.
Our goal is to help people write better songs! Our belief, having worked with thousands of songwriters (many going on to find careers and success in music), is that your songwriting, like all things, can get better with meaningful and deliberate practice. Our intention is to share the skills, knowledge and ideas that we've had the privilege of gathering with others who embrace the art and craft of songwriting.

[@jessicalee333]

It all made sense and sounded like a good technique, but once I heard the actual examples I was blown away! I wasn't prepared for how good it would turn out. It really does feel like magic.

[@FosukeLordOfError]

Reading comments waiting for adds to clear I clicked the wrong video and thought this was dual of fates sm64 sound font and this was a confusing comment

[@erhtsee]

LOL @@FosukeLordOfError

[@NeilMcGrath]

Can't start a fire without a spark, even if we're just dancing in the dark.

[@GabeWilliams]

Love this technique! Here’s my first go at it; The sadness pooling in her eyes The light inside that slowly died An angel weeping, softly cries; Nothing lies like memory

[@dnisbet71]

Great hookline

[@falaghsepehr5504]

I really like the last line. Impressive!

[@badlydrawn7476]

Great point about surprising the listener with unexpected familiarity. By the same principle, I love it when an album isn't named after one of the song titles (gives that one song too much power and makes the others seem inferior) but after one phrase in a verse. That tiny moment of recognition just before you get the chorus (extra points if it's the second chorus and you were already anticipating familiarity - but it comes one line sooner than expected) is almost like that snapping-into-place feeling of solving a riddle

[@ynezmadden]

yeah, its like finding the title of the book while your reading

[@TheRealJoeNathan]

I like title tracks, but they definitely give it more power and make the other songs sound inferior. This is why on my first two albums, the title tracks are both one-minute instrumentals that open the album and set up motifs that come later in the album, which makes them a bit redundant. They still add to the album, but this reduces their power and draws your attention more to the other tracks.

[@badlydrawn7476]

@@TheRealJoeNathan That's a great use of track/album title, too. I was gonna correct myself that it CAN make one song too important and hurt the others but I guess I was thinking of a case where that song is already the most famous/catchy one. One of my favorite albums is The Soul Cages by Sting and that's also the title of a song on it. But it's one of the less catchy songs, I kinda had to work a little and give it a few tries before I liked it. In that case it was cool that the album title was pushing me to give it another listen. It's also repeated in at least one other song on the same album and two more on a later one.

[@loveslayer718]

I love when that happens! Reminds me of Ceremonials by Florence and the Machine. It feels so special when the title drops during the opening track.

[@RadioactiveSushiOnMercury]

Selfish Machines and The Sky Under The Sea by Pierce the Veil (very close at least)

[@marveludus]

I feel like the way I could tell this was an amazing technique, is that, during the example of "Places we won't walk", my mind immediately went to "places" and started coming up with ideas. A technique so simple, intuitive, and yet effective, that even a total beginner like me started to pick up on it after hearing it explained once.

[@user-bu3vt5bz8s]

I love that you mentioned Bruno Major. He's very underrated, and I love his songs

[@slartibartfast1268]

The core truth you mention around the halfway part also applies to rhythm, as well as in your case, rhyme. With rhythm we establish a basic, straight beat for the "comfort of familiarity" and then use syncopation to "delight with surprise."

[@adamsatur7277]

Or place familiar rhythmic figures in varied ways, starting on different beats to keep things fresh while familiar.

[@shelby142]

It's pretty much the formula for making art that is interesting but accessible. It can be applied to pretty much any aspect of creating music, stories, etc. But yeah, using it to spice up the rhythm is certainly one of my favorite applications. I tend to have a hard time getting into music that doesn't do that. It also doesn't necessarily have to be a "basic beat" vs "syncopation" thing. It's just as effective to play a syncopated rhythm by default (even if it's unusual, repitition will make it familiar), and then suddenly hit on the beat. Or even just changing the dynamics, playing a different parts of the kit, etc. Again, it's *really* general in its potential applications.

[@TheNinjaJizz]

I had an idea for a doing today around the line: Everything Magic is Cursed. So, I'm going to try this technique with that

[@lanceblake8458]

This and the lady herself are so cool

[@soop5050]

this is such an amazing tip, i've always really struggled with lyric writing and have tried many methods that i feel haven't helped me very much, but this one seems so promising, especially since it focuses on exercising creativity and thinking outside the box of what would be expected already, so it may help think of better words to implement into a set of lyrics. i thought back to some of my favorite songs while watching this and realized that a lot of those songs do this method too. i'm super excited to try it out

[@swampfoot1971]

This channel is so great. Thanks for all the tips!!!

[@andrewhertzberg6889]

Great. Really love this channel. Tons of work and care goes into each of these. Massive appreciation for all that.

[@petegdula4749]

Wonderful lesson! It's already opened up a few more avenues between brain cells in this worn out grey mass in my skull. Glad I found your channel! Looking forward to future exercises that will challenge me. Much Peace.

[@suefauziyah]

That's a really helpful process. Can't wait to try it out. Thank you!!

[@James-Stark]

I am so grateful for you and your wisdom!

[@beans1979]

The melody in the example was waoh!❤

[@SongwriterPorshia]

I absolutely LOVE this technique 🤗 I’ve used it without trying it’s great to actually dissect it. Your videos are AWESOME!

[@lwood7901]

Thanks for this! Also, you HAVE to finish and release that "dancing with fire in the dark" snippet!!

[@snakedietswitzerland8089]

i think you have one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard.❤

[@tomcoryell]

I have to agree. Wonderful timbre!

[@hayleycomet8029]

You're an amazing teacher, this has me excited to write something, I've ever been stuck rhyming last words, you just opened another door I didn't know existed... thank you! ❤️

[@bradsimpson7369]

Excellent instruction! It really makes sense. Thank you!

[@davidsdeb]

You teach with clarity and empathy. Thank you.

[@mdmorris6193]

Thank you Keppie. I love writing AABA structure. This technique will work brilliantly.

[@Jeronimo365]

Great stuff, as always. Thanks. 🙏❤️😎

[@Chaddilaculus]

Thank you so much for this! I just wrote something that was so good it made me openly weep as I wrote it. I’d love to share it here but for the reasons of copy protection I may need to keep it to myself. You’ve earned yourself a new subscriber today!

[@tomcoryell]

Hi Keppie, thanks for all you do!

[@aka4146]

Good stuff now if I can get that into my thick head and use it wow ,just think of the possibilities. Thank you

[@BrianOboylemusic]

Love these … thank you !!

[@smallships]

Brilliant lesson. Thank you!

[@peterdavenport5882]

Hey Keppie, great lesson, you’re the best!

[@timothyreynolds6255]

Once again, Keppie, you totally stimulated (and overturned my preconceptions) my desire to write lyrics that are more interesting using this Sonic Targeting technique.

[@Raggo12345]

Thank you so much! I'm learning a lot from you!

[@Wvbeek]

Thanks Keppie! This will definitely help me meet our Sunday songwriting deadline.

[@robertrussell9336]

Surprise is entertainment ! Brilliant insight and we've seen it but maybe didn't realize what we were seeing? I love the nutz and boltz of these lessons. Thank you Keppie.

[@Lanraymusic]

What a technique!!! I never paid attention to this method, this deep. Thanks a lot:)

[@joezagame5598]

Great lesson from a gifted teacher. Thank you. 🙏

[@johnlind5819]

Really fun, interesting and educational video. Your videos are always "must see" for me and they always motivate! Thanks, John Gig Harbor, WA

[@akimyoung8507]

Bruno Major is the truth. Thank you for this technique. I will incorporate it into my next song…hopefully lol

[@fennellovin]

Thank u very much ma'am. Because of you everytime when I write the lyrics I don't feel cringe by the lines .Hence I am also getting creative now.I want to know if you have any other book than the one online.I am looking forward for a new song from you .

[@RayBadham]

THis is such a great tool! Thank you

[@charlesvachon5838]

You have such a great voice and inspiring style.

[@diosadeamore]

You sing so beautifully !!!!! 👏👏👏

[@kodeshe8643]

this was really helpful! thanks so much!

[@xraycreative741]

24K gold. Thank you!

[@dextercox3304]

Songs I am writing feel more like stories, thank you for your help😊. Now I have to revisit them and change them around a bit.

[@philljombs1151]

Thank you for this well put lesson.🙏

[@garygimmestad4272]

Interesting. I realized I had used this technique in a song I wrote for a musical and thinking I had jumped the rhyme and broken some rule. There was some discussion about it - shouldn't it be the last word that rhymes? I won and it stayed 'wrong' as I'd written it. But there was a different and more fundamental issue in the song. I had a great metaphor but I had shoe-horned it into a narrative that it didn't quite match. Audiences loved the song but I've always had this niggling sense that I'd used the wrong image for this moment in the character's life. So, I ran the exercise as you prompted and came up with a much better storyline - one that doesn't fit the musical at all but makes the metaphors shine in a much more relevant context. It's now a story about three characters who all had bad beginnings but different paths forward. The story structure is like Bonnie Rait'ts 'Nick of Time.' And I'm definitely keeping the sonic cue. Thank you!!

[@anthonycrothers5420]

Superb content as usual, really helpful, thanks for sharing. 😎😎😎

[@losalamos666]

This was a really useful and interesting concept. Can’t wait to give this a go

[@charliejoseph6465]

I'm somebody who always writes melody first, so my issue with lyric writing is fitting them into that melodic structure. I find I always fall for the trap of counting syllables, but realising when it comes to sing it that the stress of the words don't fall in song the same way they do in speech. Bad examples I'd like to avoid are Katy Perry singing "Uncondi-TION-ally" instead of "uncon-DI-tionally", or the Disney song Lava they sing "VOL-cano" instead of "vol-CAN-o"

[@mdmorris6193]

That’s the graft of lyric-writing, Charles. Yes…counting syllables is important. But not near as important as prosody. Sheila Davis has some excellent books on crafting lyrics where she explains word and syllable stress. Well worth checking out if you haven’t already!

[@charliejoseph6465]

@@mdmorris6193 I have not checked them out. Thank you for the recommendation. I hope on the first pages she tells me what prosody means

[@mdmorris6193]

Sorry, mate. Prosody is what you alluded to in your post. It’s the pattern of stressed-unstressed syllables in the way we speak. Volcano goes “da-DUM-da” stress on middle syllable. The way Disney did it is a bit off, but not nearly the Katy Perry howler. My gold standard for prosody is how Freddie Mercury sang “Another one bites the dust”…it’s exactly as you would speak it!

[@charliejoseph6465]

@@mdmorris6193 Nice. I will strive to pay more attention to lyrics. They’re always an afterthought to me. I think actually the Disney one is VOL-ca-NO so it actually stresses both the unstressed syllables and vice versa

[@joslinhuron9335]

Absolutely brilliant

[@ElectroAnnie]

I didn't go looking for this, but I've always wanted to write songs, and felt like I wasn't "getting" it. This is amazing information!

[@GaiaCarney]

Thank You for sharing this lyric writing technique! I have several songs I’m going to rework with sonic targeting in mind! I love Paul Simon, too ☮️

[@jamesankiewicz3141]

Love ur singing voice!

[@yt_blank_hank.]

The examples… well the formula makes sense *thx this is helpful i need videos about writing song lyrics*

[@ozzyogkush]

Interesting stuff, I'll definitely keep it in mind for the stuff I'm working on now. I still have a small section ending the verses in my current project that could be better, and another song where I need to actually finish the lyrics. I was debating whether I should make it an instrumental, but this might be a good exercise to use on this one.

[@Jacklloydmusic]

This is incred, thanks!

[@KarlCoatesMusic]

Very interesting! Thank you.

[@VipinMishraProject]

Thank you! This just helped get over a block..

[@DoodleDabble]

My goal this year is to write 40 songs, and most so far have been in English. So, I decided to try this exercise on the second language I want to write in professionally, which usually takes much longer. However, this tip has revolutionized that. It makes it go so much faster and the lyrics already sound so much better! Thank you for saving my New Year’s resolution 😂

[@gasparucciox9706]

really xcellent vid K!

[@woodybrison]

Not sure about all this yak yak but you have a gorgeous voice!

[@ProdbearUK]

This channel is so good 👋

[@poerava]

Love your voice Haunting And deep

[@BrendaBoykin-qz5dj]

Thank you,Maestra⭐🌹⭐

[@ergkj]

Great stuff.

[@majorfeelgoodrecords2740]

Thank you🎼🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@schoontube]

Thanks!

[@Vesper_Songs]

These are great tips and gave me a lot of food for thought and some ideas on different approaches to lyric writing. Thank you!

[@dnisbet71]

5:05 the ideal version of this is when it is totally unexpected, but inevitable when it occurs, like a whodunnit - everyones a suspect, but no one fits the bill - until the least likely becomes the most convincing, the actual culprit.

[@charleskafula1897]

This is actually good i have learnt one or two things.....Cool

[@deepanjalisharma8749]

I've recently discovered your channel and honestly you're helping me a lot. Would love to see you break down the songwriting style of Louis Tomlinson, who is a brilliant songwriter in my opinion. Both of his albums, Walls and Faith in the future are filled with lyrical masterpieces 💙

[@jbela]

Yes, a Louie here, he is an excellent songwriter,and lyricist. That would be great review!🤘

[@petervad]

thanks!

[@Egotrippade]

I feel like ive mastered this technique in my practice. Next target, humility and a lessened need for validation😛

[@andrewmc147]

Needing validation really kills your art. Don't go that way

[@Egotrippade]

@andrewmc147 Validation is also a tool to stay sane and on track in the world so unless I want to just float in the tranquility of detachment it is a need I have not yet found substitute for. Or maybe the inner peace is all the validation necessary and the external stimuli is just noise to be filtered out. But why then endeavour in artistic expression at all? Any suggestions?

[@andrewmc147]

I'll speak from my experience of this so far. But I'll start with your last question. "Why make music at all if not for validation?" Well first let's see if that's true for you. If everyone in the world died and you were the last person to exist, would you still make music? If the answer is no, then that means you are most probably just doing it for validation. If the answer is yes, then that means the motivation to make music is coming from a genuine self interest. I answered "yes", i would still make music if I was the last person on earth. I enjoy the process of it. Validation ofcourse is a vital part of human evolution and existence, but that doesn't mean it needs to be a driving factor, we have evolved past that point and can now choose wether we want to observe our need for validation and where it comes from or not. I used to have validation as my main driving factor too, and when I think back to those times I can remember how heavy it was. Wanting appreciation from other people instead of giving myself that appreciation, what a difficult place to be. We can't control wether someone appreciates our art or ever will appreciate it, but I can definitely get to the point where I value more my opinion on my art than others. This might take some questioning at first, to see why it is you need validation of others. Sit with the question and be honest with yourself. You'll soon know why and then when you know why, allow yourself to let it go and begin to give yourself that validation. Then use this approach in all other areas in your life, and your self compassion will flourish like never before :) Ofcourse, appreciation from others is always nice, but when you value your own opinion of yourself more than others, then their appreciation just becomes a nice cherry on top and not something that you need at all or find necessary for your own well-being. There is nothing dissociative about any of this, infact, this is pure objective observation and having respect for yourself by being honest with yourself:)

[@andrewmc147]

In the end we're all just a bundle of beliefs, and these are beliefs that we didn't even realise we took on. So yeah, if you just try to feel inner peace in order to "feel good", I'd say there's detachment there. But if inner peace comes as a by-product of being honest with your self and uncovering beliefs which drive negative emotions/behaviours then I'd say that's the opposite of detachment/disassociation

[@Egotrippade]

@andrewmc147 Thank you for sharing your beliefs and perspectives and with such eloquent language at that. Whilst I do believe in being something beyond the bundle of beliefs, I have not figured out how to communicate that outside of the realm of beliefs, maybe it cannot be shown but merely perceived by experience. Either way its definitely in the realm of beliefs for me at this moment ,as I write this from the perspective of within my beliefs. What did you mean by pure objective observation?

[@SumOfThePartsBand]

Great content! Was there a Step 3?

[@grantwalkersound]

Randomly stumbled on this video. This will likely be really useful to new songwriters, and this is something most great songwriters I know and I myself do instinctually. Probably because every good songwriter I know is allergic to cliches. Never knew it had a definition so that was interesting to learn. There is an issue with the example lyric that bothers me though... Grammatically it shouldn't be "we're" dancing... Shouldn't be "I'm dancing" because your partner is the "only candle" and thus that means the only light source or fire. Not only does it make more sense grammatically that way, but it also adds a layer of fragility and risk to it because candles can easily be blown out by wind which is created when dancing. So if you are dancing with your only candle... your only light source... It implies that the love is fleeting, fragile, or maybe the partner doesn't have long to live. It then implies throwing caution to the wind and embracing the short lived love in front of you. Carpe diem in a way... Whereas using "we" contradicts the previous line and projects strength and confidence which is far less emotionally compelling in this context. Also as a side note using "I'm dancing" instead of "we're dancing" will also help prevent people from thinking you're ripping off Springsteen. Sorry not meaning to be picky, I am a music producer and can't help myself when I see tiny adjustments to lyrics that can easily benefit them in subtle ways.

[@Pcoxproductions]

7:31 Sonic Targeting lyric writing exercise Step 1 Pick a compelling title that is worth repeating through the song that is 6 to 8 words with three strong different vowel sounds Step 2 Pick the one of the vowel sounds that is not at the end of the line to rhyme with Step 3 Generate a list of rhymes including slant rhymes which are matching vowel sounds

[@northsongs]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the lyric writing of Jason Isbell. Thanks for your immensely helpful videos.

[@htws]

He is probably in my top 3 faves of all time.

[@GameOnShanny]

I'm so excited! Thank you but i have specific question. Is there an email to ask you?

[@pansoffeUncensored]

Joni Mitchell feel at the start there ;) nice

[@user-wt5zq9dc2p]

Great

[@ducalebien-aime2038]

Hello!!! I want that you answer me a question, please!! So, I want to know if it is possible to put more than one syllable on a quarter beat without subdividing the beat. In other words, can I put two syllable🎵 into a quarter Beat while the beat is not subdivided???

[@nacoran]

I'd argue that in Places We Won't Walk it still uses end rhyme by repeating that line at the end of each verse. A A A B C C C B D D D B E E E B It's using that end line repetition to rhyme the stanzas with each other, while using the first 3 lines of each stanza rhyming to make each stanza its own discrete things. Very nice examples. I tend to use variations on old blues formats... line, repeat line with tiny variation, resolution. That's largely an adaptation for me though. Easier to remember the lines. I used to write much more freeform but I found a tighter structure made it easier to remember the lyrics. :p

[@newbiegamelover4767]

I've been going through these videos that explain how to write songs and/or lyrics, but most of them seem to focus on radio songs, whereas I'm trying to write lyrics for showtunes songs (as in for musicals). Is there any significant difference between writing general songs and writing showtunes?

[@Euphoria_Jk]

Wait- i write my poems like this😳

[@DoodleDabble]

How did you know I was just trying to figure out what to make my A rhyme in my chorus??

[@RachaelGrey]

Sadly, I've been writing like this my entire life and I'm no professional. I always thought of it as alliteration, like in poetry, and I've come to feel like people don't want to hear me repeating vowel sounds and using near-rhymes and internal rhyming. I've been here on KZbin for almost seven years, and I only have 28 subscribers, so you can see why I might feel this way. I always thought that this was the key to great catchy lyrics, but now I'm having doubts as my listener base remains so small. It is a good idea, though, and I appreciate you sharing it and validating how I felt about it, it just didn't seem to work out for me. 😢

[@that.neurodivergent]

Do it for yourself, that’s the only way to be truly happy with your art ❤ don’t worry so much if you don’t “blow up”, this world is full of artists and not everyone gets so lucky. Just focus on why you like it and what it does for you as a person!

[@RachaelGrey]

@@that.neurodivergent Yeah, I know, and thanks, it's just a little discouraging sometimes. It was never meant to be mainstream anyway, it's much too dark.

[@that.neurodivergent]

@@RachaelGrey totally, completely understandable! Just know that this internet stranger is rooting for your happiness 🥰

[@RachaelGrey]

@@that.neurodivergent Aww, thank you. ❤️

[@RachaelGrey]

@@that.neurodivergent I enjoyed your videos, why did you stop making them?

[@danpreston564]

The examples given here all seem to follow an AAAX structure. Is that the main structure when using this sonic targeting or are there good examples of it working in other rhyme forms? The first verse of Fix You by Coldplay uses the AAAX form and uses sonic targeting, the second verse (or the second half of the first verse, if you view it like that) uses AAAX without sonic targeting, but instead rhymes the last line with the previous X line.

[@vincentcrici1560]

Step 5 Make sure your melodies are original!!!

[@GnatGames]

Question what about if I started my song title with something like “this blank Canvas”

[@Bradovski]

This may be a little left of the topic but makes me think of Lump by POTUSA where he rhymes pyjamas with piranhas but pronounces piranhas like an Aussie would say it. Anyone know what I'm on about?

[@ElvisNash]

Smart gal ,

[@LychkovIA]

John Mayer? I sleep Bruno Major? I sleep Paul Simon? Eeeeh Joni Mitchell??! Yesss I'm interested now!!!

[@hannahduggan3599]

I wrote a song about things that I hate, which are beer, Gunner Mertlich, my 7th-grade teacher, my high school principal, Hidekun Hah, and Joel Golby. Here are the lyrics: "I'd love to have a beer with Gunner. I'd love to have a beer with Gun. We drink in moderation. I pull the trigger and his life is done. We drink in the Town and Country, Where the atmosphere is great! I'd love to have a beer with Gunner, Gunner Mertlich I hate! I'd love to have a beer with Erica. I'd love to have a beer with Er. We drink in moderation. She will be sentenced to the electric chair. We drink in the Town and Country, Where the atmosphere is great! I'd love to have a beer with Erica, Erica Valentinuzzi I hate! I'd love to have a beer with Stephen. I'd love to have a beer with Steve. We drink in moderation. He and his wife were more naked than Adam and Eve. We drink in the Town and Country, Where the atmosphere is great! I'd love to have a beer with Stephen, Stephen Quinn I hate! I'd love to have a beer with Hidekun. I'd love to have a beer with Hah. We drink in moderation. Everything in his brain is la-di-da! We drink in the Town and Country, Where the atmosphere is great! I'd love to have a beer with Hidekun, Hidekun Hah I hate! I'd love to have a beer with Golby. I'd love to have a beer with Joel. We drink in moderation. Everything for Christmas he's getting is coal. We drink in the Town and Country, Where the atmosphere is great! I'd love to have a beer with Golby, Joel Golby I hate!"

[@flawed1]

I wish you would’ve spent a bit more time talking about how to do the technique and less time talking about how effective it is. It’s a bit like going to the car dealership when you already know what car you want and the sales person just keeps trying to convince you to buy the car but won’t tell you the price

[@henrykramer365]

I mean, I feel like there's not much to say about it. Once you target a strong vowel sound, you write good lyrics with that vowel sound on the end rhyme. It's not like this can possibly be a technique for writing good lyrics from the start, otherwise this would be a full songwriting course. It's just a flourish that you can keep in mind.

[@harish2080]

I didn't understand what I do And how to write a song Hook line. Bridge. Verse. Make sentence rhymes problem . Vocabulary. Sing good like his.

[@nickacca]

You're such a badass, I can just tell.

[@LetArtsLive]

It's hard for me not to rhyme I think of an idea I have to have the words first but I can do the music way easier just put dancing with fire in the dark

[@ipostanimation]

Fire toad in the hole Like a canyon in the Misty road It thinks its bland and Tired But to me it never expires I could stare for several hours

[@andrewmc147]

I feel like most of these musicians did this without knowing it was a technique. Like they picked it up subconsciously from listening to music.