Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting
126 Proven Techniques for Writing Songs That Sell
Now that we have discussed how can a songwriter write music for his/her lyrics, we go ahead and consider the situation where one is strictly a lyricist. In order to transfer lyrics into complete songs, a lyricist will need to find a musician who is willing to collaborate and write music for the lyrics at hand. But first, one must make the lyrics appealing to musicians, composers and songwriters. Therefore, there may be a couple of things a lyricist needs to check in his/her lyrics...
The Lyrics Must Be "Song Worthy". Being a lyricist you should already know how to write good lyrics. One important tip, though, is STRUCTURE. Your lyrics will not be interesting for musicians and composers if it doesn't have clear structure and form, meaning that there has to be chorus and verses already set, with some rhyme and internal rhythm in the words...Just remember that it's not poetry.
No Spelling Mistakes or Weird Words. Also, cutting words short just because you are too lazy to write a complete word is very irritating to whoever is reading your lyrics. Well-known stuff like "gonna", "wanna" and "ain't" is ok, especially if it keeps rhyme or rhythm...It's "aint" (without apostrophe) that's not acceptable for example.
Have a Powerful Title. A lyrics' title plays a great role in making musicians want to write music to your lyrics. If the title is strong, interesting and has some meaning to it, it can easily draw songwriters into reading your lyrics with enthusiasm and an open mind. On the other hand, a boring title that says everything about the song in advance is probably going to drive everybody away from your lyrics.
When you make sure that your lyrics are ready to go out to the world, start showing it to musicians who you think might be interested in collaborating with you. Now we need to answer the question of where to publish your lyrics and how to make your writings popular amongst other songwriters. Go ahead to P3 for more about that...