I will admit that I am terrible at searching on the forums. I tried search for "lyric writing program", then "lyric program" then tried "'lyric writing program'"...and I seem to get every results with "lyric" OR "program" OR "writing." Like I said, I'm terrible at in on here.
Then I thought this would probably be a good post to start in this new section for reference.
So, what are you all using for lyric writing? And pros or cons you see to your methods?
Thanks! I'm excited to see if there is something I'm missing out on!
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
I mostly write using a word processor (LibreOffice at the moment) and I use tabs to indent lines so that I know what beat of the bar a line of lyrics begins at.
To polish my lyrics, I use Rhymesaurus. It's found at...
I find this software an incredibly powerful tool (and a great buy for US$12.95) . I mostly use Rhymesaurus for...
1. Finding rhymes
Mostly I stay with the "Perfect" and "Assonance" rhyme options. (See the first image below.)
2. Finding alliteration
As an example... if I want a three syllable word beginning with H that has the primary stress on the first syllable, I set Rhymesaurus as shown on the second image below.
3. Finding better words
For this I use the Thesaurus feature. What I like about this is that words are also internally linked so that navigating through a train of thought or a particular concept becomes easy.
I've used yellow legal pads but I like notebooks with tear out sheets best. I've written a verse on a bag because it was all I had in the car at grocery store parking lot. LOL!
On the computer, I just use wordpad. I tried Verse Perfect for a while - it's free. I've heard some people really like Master Writer but it's too expensive for me. So I still use mostly good old paper and wordpad.
I also like the free online rhyming and thesaurus instead of my weathered old paperback book when I use one.
Think about what story of your life you would like to tell. Then tell it.
My CD included a song about my sobriety, 1 about a girl I thought I might like to marry, though I am currently 0 for 3 in the marriage game, 1 telling a girl who ran away to LA to live with her dream man that she was making a huge mistake and she'd be back (she is), and the rest were songs about having my heart ripped out and stomped on.
All that is my way of saying that you need to tap into your emotions and make your songs real, or you are just writing empty, banal, "let me see how many rhymes I can find for 'moon'.... " songs.
Songs need to be three things.
Aural (pleasant to listen to) Intellectual (something to think about) and most important Visceral (something you can feel).
Floyd commented on this thread. He is an outstanding writer, blending catchy melody with lyrics that alternate between making you laugh and making you cry. Find and listen to his song "Feeling Nothing At All". That's how you do it. Do what he does.
Now, that is like saying "See how that pilot landed that plane? Do it like that." It takes work. I see a lot of posts on these forums from people who apparently think this is easy and it doesn't take effort. It takes some musical knowledge, willingness to put in boring repetitions during practice hours, and it takes some general intelligence and a very capable skill set with the English language. (That's the intellectual part.) It also takes a thick skin because if you want to wade into any art form you will have critical listeners (like me) who are going to tell you when you did well as well as when you did not. It is important that you understand that in the phrase "constructive criticism" the key word is "constructive". I said in an earlier post that on your way to writing good songs you are going to write a lot of bad ones. The key is to get better on every piece, whether that "better" means a better chord progression, more cleverly written lyrics, or better song construction. Also remember that there are no rules. If you read a book on how to build furniture, all of your furniture is going to look like the stuff churned out by the guy who wrote the book. Music is subjective. Do it your way. Start a song with a chorus. Start one with a bridge. Your song, your rules. Your circus, your monkey.
Also remember that a lot of people take music VERY seriously. Some (like me) take it was TOO seriously. I attribute that to my having been in music for 60 years, including several in college where I got a BA in it. Get better every day, and I'll not only buy your album, when you come to Cleveland, I'll buy tickets to see you play. Very supportive community here. Take advantage just short of asking us to do it FOR you. We're here for you.
I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.
1. How much did you make in 2023? 2. Send it to us.
Seriously, I looked for some for songwriters to keep organized - gave up on it - too limited or too expensive or both.
I bought MasterWriter several years ago and tried to use it but finally just stopped. Not nearly useful enough to justify the hassle and expense. I still load it from time to time for rhyming ideas. I bought Rhyme Genie for rhyming and use it occasionally. It has a quirky interface I do not care for. Nowadays for rhymes I go to http://www.rhymezone.com/ or http://www.wordhippo.com/
For writing I find nothing beats Notepad or Wordpad or similar on my phone. I just need a way to capture and store the lyrics. I will resort to pencil and paper if my phone is dead but greatly prefer something more permanent and easy to store and access.
And for recording ideas I also use my phone. Got a melody or riff idea? Ya better record that immediately or lose it 5 minutes from now. So the phone works for both lyrics and melody. One device to rule them all!
I will resort to pencil and paper if my phone is dead but greatly prefer something more permanent and easy to store and access.
J3...
I have manila folders full of lyrics on PAPER, written in PENCIL (or pen) that date back to 1977. 40 years ago. In fact, a couple of the songs I posted this year were lyrics from those folders that go back that far - dug up treasure from the past - a little rework at times and newer, "updated" melodies - but pleased that they turned up again. If I had stored those along the way - on 5 1/4" floppies? or even 3 1/2" floppies? or my flip phone?.., it would likely be hard (or impossible) to access them now - and they would likely be lost to me. Permanence is relative. And, so too, "storage and access".... just a thought...
I am confused. The topic as I read it was that the OP was asking for a program to help him actually write his songs. Now we are at software to organize them after they are written. What are you actually trying to find?
Last edited by eddie1261; 12/17/1602:17 PM.
I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.
1. How much did you make in 2023? 2. Send it to us.
BWAHAHAHAHA.... Oh please....THAT blows my mind to no end....
Everybody's telling you just use paper and pencil and grey matter.....
BUT... get ready for this....
Every single one of them is using......BAND IN A BOX. How about you guys and gals go back to using tape and play your own instruments. (not a question....a statement) Then maybe you'll have some credibility when you say use paper and pencil to write songs.
Get real, this is 2016 going on 2017 shortly. Technology is here so use it. If you're writing a song and working on lyrics use whatever resource you have if you get stuck and need some help getting the idea for a new rhyme. You can dig out the old rhyming dictionary or you can load the app on your phone or computer website and type in a work and search for rhymes. If I give you a word and ask for rhymes, you might be able to give me 6 to 10 in a quick minute, and if you think a bit you might hit 18 or so. The computer or app will immediately list 3 to 8 full pages with primary rhymes, and then a page or two of imperfect rhymes, and then switch it to phrases and get several more pages.
So... yeah, there are free online web page writing aids as well as some phone apps. You can also look up MasterWriter and get it. I have that program loaded on my laptop and when I am writing, it's often setting there open and running since I use it to find rhyming words and phrases. More than one time, a word in the rhyme list sparked a new thought and I went back and changed the lead up lines for a whole new twist. MasterWriter has worked just fine for me....and it includes SONGUARD the 3rd party date of origin secure server.
I will use paper and pencil to scribble down an idea or aq line that comes to mind.... but when I write, it's almost always in some form of app or program. I tend to use the lyric document window in BB a lot. It's become my note pad.
And yeah, for the record, I have nothing at all against using a note pad and a pencil to work on lyrics. I have stacks of them.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
I will resort to pencil and paper if my phone is dead but greatly prefer something more permanent and easy to store and access.
J3...
I have manila folders full of lyrics on PAPER, written in PENCIL (or pen) that date back to 1977. 40 years ago. In fact, a couple of the songs I posted this year were lyrics from those folders that go back that far - dug up treasure from the past - a little rework at times and newer, "updated" melodies - but pleased that they turned up again. If I had stored those along the way - on 5 1/4" floppies? or even 3 1/2" floppies? or my flip phone?.., it would likely be hard (or impossible) to access them now - and they would likely be lost to me. Permanence is relative. And, so too, "storage and access".... just a thought...
If you back up, and I do, the electronic medium is never an issue. My 5-1/4 floppies? Backed up to tape or zip drives which were then backed up to CDs which were backed up to cheap USB drives which will now get backup up to SSDs! I even take my old handwritten stuff, scan it and back it up. My priorities are permanence and accessibility. I do indeed have some old handwritten stuff but find it might as well not exist if I cannot locate it!
BWAHAHAHAHA.... Oh please....THAT blows my mind to no end....
Everybody's telling you just use paper and pencil and grey matter.....
BUT... get ready for this....
Every single one of them is using......BAND IN A BOX. How about you guys and gals go back to using tape and play your own instruments. (not a question....a statement) Then maybe you'll have some credibility when you say use paper and pencil to write songs.
Get real, this is 2016 going on 2017 shortly. Technology is here so use it. If you're writing a song and working on lyrics use whatever resource you have if you get stuck and need some help getting the idea for a new rhyme. You can dig out the old rhyming dictionary or you can load the app on your phone or computer website and type in a work and search for rhymes. If I give you a word and ask for rhymes, you might be able to give me 6 to 10 in a quick minute, and if you think a bit you might hit 18 or so. The computer or app will immediately list 3 to 8 full pages with primary rhymes, and then a page or two of imperfect rhymes, and then switch it to phrases and get several more pages.
So... yeah, there are free online web page writing aids as well as some phone apps. You can also look up MasterWriter and get it. I have that program loaded on my laptop and when I am writing, it's often setting there open and running since I use it to find rhyming words and phrases. More than one time, a word in the rhyme list sparked a new thought and I went back and changed the lead up lines for a whole new twist. MasterWriter has worked just fine for me....and it includes SONGUARD the 3rd party date of origin secure server.
I will use paper and pencil to scribble down an idea or aq line that comes to mind.... but when I write, it's almost always in some form of app or program. I tend to use the lyric document window in BB a lot. It's become my note pad.
And yeah, for the record, I have nothing at all against using a note pad and a pencil to work on lyrics. I have stacks of them.
I have never used Band In A Box to write a song. I use it to generate tracks to produce songs that are already written... written on paper with a pencil or pen. To capture the melody, I in fact, use an old Sony cassette tape recorder. Credibility comes from actually writing.
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
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Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
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A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
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"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
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If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
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You kids now days don't want to work for anything. 
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