Taking time to write on a regular basis is key to growing as a songwriter. But as important as reserving time to create, is using that time in ways that expand our understanding of our craft. Similar to practicing an instrument, some activities encourage growth more than others. We might be drawn to running the same section of a song that comes more easily to our fingers, avoiding the parts that don’t. Without addressing the tough parts, we find we bump up against the old limitations of our skillsets, never growing past them.

The strength of any song often lies in its alignment between music and message. When music and lyric are working together, each is strengthened. Like so many songwriting tools, what sounds true isn’t necessarily as easily implemented while writing actual songs. In this article, I’d like to expand on the relationship between lyric and music, and suggest a few ways to ‘intuit’ this connection better while writing.

Writing simple and effective hooks and choruses is deceptively difficult to do well. A chorus is the central section of the song that delivers the summarizing thoughts, usually tied up by the title, which we often call the “hook.” This “hook” is also engaged to a melodic theme that defines the song.

We’re told that song ideas are everywhere, but it’s also a very real experience to sit down to write and see nothing but a blank page. I can relate to the experience of putting pen to paper, or pressing record, only to feel my judgment narrow and all the ideas I thought I had suddenly fail to squeeze through the door.

As a lover of lyric-laden tunes, I have roamed years in the weeds of unfinished songs. Getting each line to carry its weight, while also being understood, while also agreeing with and supporting the musical moment is hard. Really hard.

Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that it takes about 10,000 hours to gain expertise in a performance-based field. Breaking that down, mastery requires we practice 2 hours per day, 5 days per week, 50 weeks per year for 20 years. Sounds about right. If I dedicated myself to anything for that long with that kind of regularity, I’d certainly expect some level of proficiency, if not mastery. Unfortunately, about the only things we often have time for with that kind of dedication is sleeping, eating, and working a day job.

One of the most common complaints from us songwriters is that there simply isn’t enough time to write. Like all worthwhile pursuits, the more we practice, the higher the skill, and the more fulfilling the act of doing it becomes. But getting to that point requires some level of dedication, and when creativity is involved, it can be difficult to know how much time to devote and how to use the time we have.

No matter where we stall, the frustration is the same - yet another concept that caught fire then flickered out. Musical or lyrical bits seem so promising at 2am, where just 12 hours later we struggle to get the magic back. So what can we do to fan the flames?

We started our conversation on Instagram, as impromptu DM’s back and forth then shifting over to audio messages when we got too long-winded. A master of her songwriting craft, world-renowned performer and grammy recipient for best pop vocal performance and too many credits to list in the space of this article, everything she said carried deep meaning, from years of expertise gained the old-fashioned way in the music industry.

I should do yoga. I know the health benefits, I feel great after a session, and can usually spare 20 minutes most days of the week. Only for the past few years have I committed to a daily practice, though I’ve ‘known’ about the benefits for decades. I’m finally at a point in life where it’s clear I’m never going to “feel like it.” Some things just need doing. Daily writing is one of those things.

Sometimes we songwriters are so bored with our chord progressions and typical harmonic rhythms that we can’t feel the resonance of one progression over another. We have lost our mojo. The antidote is to build up a vocabulary of possibilities.

When it comes to chord progressions, most of us accuse our songs of lacking. We know there are great progressions out there because we hear others using them. But when it comes to our own songs, those progressions seem reserved for the cool kids, hanging out in unsupervised parties we weren’t invited to. 

Each of us has the potential to write more potently in the style that is ours. This potential is the space where our musical preferences meet our skill. It’s where the chords and rhythms we gravitate towards meet our particular vocal expression and melodic tendencies.

As I write this, I am settled in beside a creek in the Catskills of New York, on Wednesday of a week-long songwriting retreat. Our group is vibrant, musically varied, and tenaciously creative. The water flowing down from the snowy mountains is ice-cold, but down here, we are all on fire.

We don’t often equate efficiency with creativity. And indeed, if the constraints of daily life weren’t thrust against our creative lives, we would have no reason to need to economize our time while writing. But, groceries need to be shopped for, appointments need to be kept, and families need to be cared for. All this life stuff draws the parameters around time left for writing.

I’d like to begin by saying I’m indebted to all the professors and visionary program leaders I’ve had the benefit of learning from over the past three decades. Over the course of my music education career, I’ve had access to some of the most innovative minds in the field. I take full responsibility for any lack of integration into my own music career. Looking back, there are days, and many, many nights, I would have lived differently had my focus been to make the most of what they were offering.

To be completely honest, I spend most of my days telling songwriters what they already know. Whether that makes me good at what I do, or perfectly dispensable, I don’t know, but I do know that when songwriters are looking for feedback, they often already suspect the problems. They tell me their song is too long.

Lately I’ve been binge-watching songwriting videos on YouTube. With so many time-tested tools, tips, and expert advice, our best songs should be one chord-tone away. But even after 25 years of writing and teaching the craft, I’m still left twitching a little after the sheer amount of information. “Place the title here and here, but don’t let it get formulaic.

All songs, and musical genres, are not created equal. This is to say that the same qualities and characteristics we value about one song style won’t necessarily match those of another. Let me explain

I believe there are the essential songwriting skills or tools that lyric-forward artists embody. When we artists and songwriters who identify with the lyric-forward style focus on these tools, we no longer need to concern ourselves with every tool - just the ones that amplify the expression, and the listener’s emotional reaction, to what we’re making.