14 Days to Better Lyrics and Songwriting....

20 minutes a day
by Chad Shank http://www.chadshankmusic.com

This E-Book is meant to be shared. So if you find it useful, please feel free to send it to friends, co-writers, and colleagues. Just please let them know that you got it from http://www.chadshankmusic.com
The idea behind this E-Book is to help you become a better songwriter over the course of 14 days. Each chapter or exercise is set up to only take 20 minutes per day. Even the most busy of us can find an extra 20 minutes a day to work on our songwriting. Some ideas for finding those 20 minutes may be.....Get up 20 minutes earlier, work on this while watching your favorite TV show, take 20 minutes before you go to bed.....you get the idea. Just 20 minutes a day for 14 days....thats it! Small steps can lead to big changes over time. My hope with this is that you will give it a shot for the first 14 days.....then come back and use it over and over to keep your writing getting better and better. As always, I will be posting helpful articles about songwriting on my blog at http:// www.chadshankmusic.com Be sure to visit the page and enter your email address so you get a message whenever a new topic is posted. Also, you can email me with any questions or ideas you have at chad@sharpmusic.com So are you ready to start your 14 days? All it will take is 20 minutes each day and you will be on your way to writing better songs! Lets rock! Chad

Day 1: Find Titles

This will only take 20 minutes....just like every daily task. So lets go!

Take any magazine and for 20 minutes, scan the pages for phrases and words that you feel would make interesting song titles. Write down as many as you can find in your 20 minutes.
Great song titles are ones that can be developed into a full song. Many times great titles create picture in our minds or imply certain images. Look for anything that stands out to you and write them down. Thats it....20 minutes. GO! http://www.chadshankmusic.com

Day 2: Pick 1 Title from Day 1 - explore it

Thats right....select your favorite title from the exercise on Day 1 and start exploring it.

Take 20 minutes and write down any words or ideas that come to mind when you think about your title.
These can be story ideas, single words, phrases, ideas, anything that comes to mind. DO NOT edit at this point. Just write down whatever comes into your mind. In 20 minutes you may be surprised how many ideas come flowing out. http://www.chadshankmusic.com

Day 3: Use a Thesaurus and look up words from Day 2

I am sure there will be 5 to 10 words from Day 2 that stand out as good ideas.

Use a thesaurus or http://www.thesaurus.com to look up similar words to the 5 or 10 you like.

Take your 20 minutes and look up as many words from Day 2 as you can....write down your favorites. You are creating a word palette....and it helps you think of words you maybe wouldnt come up with on your own. This is a fun 20 minutes! http://www.chadshankmusic.com

Day 4: Find Rhymes for 5 words from Day 3

Yep...kind of the same concept from Day 3, but today you are going to take 5 to 10 of your favorites you found in the thesaurus and look them up in a rhyming dictionary. http://www.rhymezone.com can be helpful here.
The idea here is to start finding more words to use in your song that may rhyme with others. So write down rhyming words that you find that you feel are interesting and fit with your title. Your list of cool words should be getting longer with each day. Cool! see 20 minutes a day isnt so bad.....

Day 5: Come Up with 3 Possible Storylines for your title

Yes, thats right....take 20 minutes and come up with 3 possible storylines for your title. Think about Who, Where, When, Why, How did they get here? Write out your 3 storyline ideas.....make each one different and try to be creative .
20 minutes! Go!

http://www.chadshankmusic.com

Day 6: Expand Your Favorite Storyline from Day 5

Select your favorite, most creative storyline from Day 5 and start expanding it . We are not writing the actual lyrics at this point, we are creating a storyboard or guide that we will use to write the lyrics to.
Ok....so you have selected your fave storyline....now start filling in your ideas for each song section. The possible plot layout below can be used as a guide....feel free to experiment with your own. Try to answer the questions in regards to your story and title.... Verse 1: Who Where when? What is the situation for problem? Is this in the past present or future PreChorus: What could be different, what does different look like? Is there hope? Chorus: Why? Use the title in this section. How does it tie together. This is the main concept of the song. Verse 2: Expand on the situation from Verse 1....Use a different time frame....if you used past in Verse 1, maybe use the present here. Prechorus: What could be different, what does different look like? Is there hope? Chorus: - Same as first chorus Bridge: Where do we go from here? What do we have to do to move on? What challenges need to be overcome? In 20 minutes you will now have the basic story guide for what each of your sections will say! Sweet! Remember, we werent writing actual lyrics here....just the guide of what each section will say. http://www.chadshankmusic.com

Day 7: Write a 4 Line Verse

Using your word palette and story/plot guide, take 20 minutes and write a 4 line 1st verse. Use 1 of the most common 4 line rhyme schemes.
Common Rhyme Schemes: AABB, ABAB, XAXA, AAAA Wow! Day 7! One full week....you are doing amazing! I can tell that your songwriting muscles are getting stronger and stronger! All it takes is 20 minutes per day! http://www.chadshankmusic.com

Day 8: Write Verse 1 again, but use 6 lines

This is to show you that there is never just 1 way to write a song. Use your word palette and plot guide again....but write a 6 line verse.
Possible Rhyme Schemes are: AAABBB, ABABAB, AABCCB, XXAXXA, AABBCC, ABCABC So take 20 minutes and write verse one with 6 lines....then decide if you like your 6 liner or 4 liner better.

Day 9: Write Your Chorus

Using your title in the first, middle or last lines or all 3...take your 20 minutes and write a Chorus. Use a contrasting number of lines from your verse.....so if you used 6 lines, make your Chorus have a different number of lines than 6...you can go more or less....just make it different. Also use a different rhyme scheme. Follow your plot guide.

Day 10: Write the Prechorus

Again, follow your plot guide and for 20 minutes write the first prechorus section that will tie your first verse into the Chorus.

Day 11: Write 2nd Verse and Prechorus

Now we are cooking! Take 20 minutes and write your second verse using the same structure as verse 1....follow your story/plot guide....also write the 2nd prechorus. 20 minutes.....GO! http://www.chadshankmusic.com

Day 12: Write the Bridge

Follow your plot guide and write your bridge. Try to have the rhyme scheme and structure be different than the verses and chorus. Wow! after this 20 minutes you will have a rough draft of a full song lyric!! Woo hoo!!! http://www.chadshankmusic.com

Day 13: Refine Your Draft

Take 20 minutes and make sure your point of view and tense makes sense throughout your entire lyric. Read the lyric outloud and see if it makes sense to you. Are there are questions that it brings up that dont get answered?
Did you follow your plot guide? Does it work in setting up the chorus? Use your 20 minutes

today to work on refining what you have....

Day 14: Set Your Lyrics to Music

Borrow a chord progression from a song you like and start setting your lyrics to music. Start with 20 minutes here and go as long as you like.....or as long as it takes. Experiment! Try different progressions and melodies....find what you like best and what fits with your lyric.
http://www.chadshankmusic.com

Congrats! You made it to Day 14!! Using only 20 minutes per day, you have written something every single day! That is awesome. You may not feel it right away, but you are on your way to becoming a better songwriter. Each one of these exercises is planting seeds in your mind and helping you grow.

WHAT NEXT? Well you can start this guide over again and do another 14 days.....or What if you did 2 exercises each day.....so you would do all of them in 7 days instead of 14. You would have a new song in a week! Or if you have enough time....try doing all 14 exercises in 1 Day!! It is up to you....the key is to do it, and do it daily. Keep your songwriter brain awake and working. Dont let it get lazy!

I would love to hear how this has helped you as a songwriter. Keep in touch through my blog at http://www.chadshankmusic.com

Please share this with anyone you know that is interested in becoming a better songwriter. It is always up for download at http:// www.chadshankmusic.com

~~ Chad Shank
chad@sharpmusic.com Copyright 2012 Chad Shank - Sharpmusic.com