When it comes to songwriting, I’ve found that most artists, producers, and beatmakers struggle with lyrics. Since you are reading this article, I will assume that you are looking to become a better letter writer. I’m going to give you a couple of tips that you’ve probably never thought of. I think most artists don’t understand that to write better lyrics they need to expand their vocabulary. Most people, in general, get their vocabulary from family and friends. Most young people get their vocabulary from family, friends, television shows, and the latest music fad (video and radio). This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is very limiting. A limited vocabulary will limit your letter writing.

In school, the way we learned to write sentences was to read sentences. Once we read the sentences, we would emulate what we saw. Many of us listen to songs and sing the lyrics, but we never take the time to read the lyrics so our writing suffers.

Tip 1) One of the best ways to improve lyric writing is to read song lyrics. Google the lyrics of your favorite songs, and not so favorite songs, and read them. Read the lyrics without the music and then read it while the song plays. You will gain a new appreciation for lyrical writing, because it is truly an art form.

Record companies, publishers, and even producers have specific people they turn to for lyrics. These people specialize in lyrical writing. If you research the songwriters, you will see that many of them appear in one hit song after another. That is because they are always writing and studying letters and studying life (letters come from life).

Tip 2) Another good exercise is to find out who the writers of your favorite songs are, find other songs they have written, and read them too. You will receive a jolt of inspiration and greatly enhance your lyrical writing with this technique.

When I was a kid I would sit and listen to an album (now we have CDs) with the words in front of me. I learned a lot about production and lyrics by doing that. I wanted to know who wrote and produced each song on an album. That curiosity led me to become a musician, composer and producer.

So remember, you need to become a student of great letters and a great lyricist. So read song lyrics, books, magazines, newspaper articles, internet articles (like this one), and whatever else you can get hold of to increase your vocabulary. When you come across a word you don’t understand, go to dictionary.com or Google to find its definition. And above all, keep writing.