One-Minute Songwriting Tips

Get a breakdown the secrets of great songwriters. Get a dose of songwriting inspiration and technical insights for writing better songs and making it in the music business.

Introduction

• Welcome

Cliff's Weekly Songwriting Tips

• If you write songs, then you're a songwriter
• Make your lyric easy to sing
• Don't wait to sit down and write
• Your chorus is the song's main message
• Set up a place at home to write
• Try using nonsense words in your lyric
• Write down a song title every day
• Make your metaphor's imagery consistent
• Write more and edit less
• Try the hook at the end of the chorus
• Keep a file of unfinished songs
• Try using the first line as the last line, too
• Commit to writing for five minutes
• Keep your rhyme scheme the same
• Write like you have a publishing deal
• Use imagery and details in your verses
• Try switching your verses around
• Think of songs as having three parts
• Learn your songwriting strengths
• Make sure your melody isn't too rangy
• Don't reject a cowriter's suggestion
• Use repetition in a melody
• Keep a recorder running while writing
• Ensure your bridge takes a new angle on your theme
• Make a rough recording of your song
• Everything points to the hook
• How songwriting is a muscle
• Don't chase trends
• Reach out to a new cowriter
• 50/50: The simplest and best split
• Try learning a new instrument
• Read poetry
• Write based on the day's conversation
• Join or start a songwriting group
• Set a regular time of day to write
• Give yourself a writing assignment
• Do one business thing every day
• Make one song pitch every week
• Catalog your lyrics and demo recordings
• Make each verse line further your story
• When in doubt, say less
• Write a song based on the structure of one of your favorites
• Make your bridge an instrumental
• Similar sections should have similar structures
• Cut your song’s intro in half
• A song under 2 minutes is fine if that's all you have to say
• Make sure your song isn't too long
• A lyric is a start, but you’ll need a melody before you can call it a song