The uPlaya Blog

Our guest Blogger, Dennis Sinnott, has worked in the music industry for nearly four decades, where he managed the publishing and recording catalogs of Screen Gems, New York Times Music, Metromedia and many others.  He’s an authority on how to write and publish a hit song, as well as an expert on rights issues. He was formerly Head Of Copyright at EMI Music in London. In 1983 he formed Christel Music Ltd and in 2007 MusicEnquiries.com to provide a music consultancy service for songwriters, artists, publishers, managers and record companies. In 1995 he published “The International Songwriter,” in 2006, “Seven Keys to Stardom,” and in 2009, “Masters of Songwriting.”

Lyric writing is an art form in itself. I have known many composers capable of writing wonderful melodies yet unable to match them with anything like a good or even average lyric.

At the same time I have known lyricists who have tried in vain to produce a melody capable of “doing justice” to their words. I have also known writers who are incredibly skillful at writing both words and music.

However you feel about writing lyrics, you should bear in mind that they are equally important as the music. For one thing, they command half the copyright and half the royalties. Unless your song is to be released in a foreign speaking country only, you will need to pay particular attention to the words.

The good news is that in commercial writing, you need never have to worry about complicated lyrics. What you’re trying to do is to get a point across in a simple and concise manner. Keep in mind the phrase “K.I.S.S” “Keep-It-Simple-Stupid!”

Lyric writing is about conveying a clear message to the listener. Something he/she can easily understand or identify with.

Complicated lyrics with words of four or more syllables may look good on paper, but if you fail to get your message across, your song will ultimately fail. The notion that people don’t really listen to words is not true. People do listen!

Songwriters aiming for a “Standard” or “Evergreen” should pay particular attention to the words. Use them intelligently. Remember, an average song lasts for three minutes. Unlike an in depth novel, you won’t have time to go into too much detail.

Some writers liken a lyric to writing a short letter to a girl or boyfriend. Others use a topical subject i.e. an event in the news, an item of sport or a moral issue they feel strongly about.

Generally speaking, of all the styles of music in the world, the lyrics which always pull the biggest response are those to do with affairs of the heart. Make a note of the next twenty songs played on the radio, any station you like, and see if I’m wrong.

Knowing How To Use Commercial Words

There is nothing wrong in using basic or simple words. The lyrics of
some of the world’s biggest selling standards bear this out time after
time. You may hear an occasional word or phrase which sounds complicated, but the overwhelming majority of successful songs contain lyrics with basic down to earth words that ninety nine percent of people can understand.

Make a study of listening to the words of any great song or ballad.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Logic Before Rhyme!

When stringing lyrics together, there is often a temptation, especially amongst inexperienced writers, to use words which rhyme irrespective of whether there is any clear logic to the words used. A good rhyme may sound pleasant on the ear but if it doesn’t make much sense your song will ultimately suffer. For one thing, you’ll be for ever trying to explain or justify its meaning to others. One should never have to explain, sell or make excuses for the lyrics of a song. A good lyric needs no explanation!

©2009 Dennis R. Sinnott
The above article is an extract from
Masters Of Songwriting by Dennis R. Sinnott
http://www.MastersOfSongWriting.com