Five Steps to Converting 'Story to Lyrics'
We tell people’s story using their lyrics and our music. That’s what my business, YourSongmaker, does. I’ve heard thousands of stories throughout my lifetime. It’s the nature of what I do as a composer/songwriter/producer.
By sharing your story (or someone else’s) you are essentially putting it in stone. It will last more than a lifetime and often becomes a family heirloom. Sharing your story through music (affordably) is a newer phenomenon with the advances in technology. Now, due to the recording process being quicker and better sounding than ever before, anyone can be a songwriter and tell their truth. It’s an amazing experience to hear your words come through in an emotional way, in any type of music you desire.
Here are some tips on how to convert your story in to lyrics:
Think of a time or situation in your life (or someone else’s) that you want to write about.
Choose the most poignant parts of the story.
Start putting the sentences in chronological order of how they happened so the story makes sense.
Have a distinct beginning, middle, and ending. Make it as short at you can, but still get your message across that you are trying to convey.
The moral or point of the story should be evident after the song is over. They lyrics do not have to be so literal. As a matter of fact some of the best songs are not. They make the listener think about what you are trying to get across.
Whether it’s about love, fun, happiness, sadness, it doesn’t matter. The emotion is that you are trying to convey is your choice. The listener should be able to interpret it in their own way. If you evoke an emotion in them after they read your piece or hear your lyrics in a song, you have done your job.
People want to feel something! Life is about feeling and thinking and loving. Tell your truth to others in a song and chances are they’ll relate to at least some of it. After all, we’re all not that much different.