Not , do you still write songs and lyrics. I'm assuming most people here, do. What this is asking about is more of the "how do you write" as opposed to what seems to be the obvious answer.
Do you type it out or do you still use a pad and pencil or pen to write out the lyrics?
For decades I used a pad and pencil. When I got Band in a Box I started using the built in document feature. It was easier to enter, edit and work on the lyrics.
Anyway.... In one of my HRD dog topic Facebook groups I came across this article. It's certainly food for thought as it's the flip side of the same coin since I have heard the same thing about music from the point of actually playing an instrument vs just editing music in our computers.
Heres the article:
A Norwegian neuroscientist spent 20 years proving that the act of writing by hand changes the human brain in ways typing physically cannot, and almost nobody outside her field has read the paper.
Her name is Audrey van der Meer.
She runs a brain research lab in Trondheim, and the paper that closed the argument was published in 2024 in a journal called Frontiers in Psychology. The finding is brutal enough that it should have changed every classroom on Earth.
The experiment was simple. She recruited 36 university students and put each one in a cap with 256 sensors pressed against their scalp to record brain activity. Words flashed on a screen one at a time.
Sometimes the students wrote the word by hand on a touchscreen using a digital pen, and sometimes they typed the same word on a keyboard. Every neural response was recorded for the full five seconds the word stayed on screen.
Then her team looked at the part of the data most researchers had ignored for years, which is how different parts of the brain were communicating with each other during the task.
When the students wrote by hand, the brain lit up everywhere at once.
The regions responsible for memory, sensory integration, and the encoding of new information were all firing together in a coordinated pattern that spread across the entire cortex. The whole network was awake and connected.
When the same students typed the same word, that pattern collapsed almost completely.
Most of the brain went quiet, and the connections between regions that had been alive seconds earlier were nowhere to be found on the EEG.
Same word, same brain, same person, and two completely different neurological events.
The reason turned out to be something nobody had really paid attention to before her work. Writing by hand is not one motion but a sequence of thousands of tiny micro-movements coordinated with your eyes in real time, where each letter is a different shape that requires the brain to solve a slightly different spatial problem.
Your fingers, wrist, vision, and the parts of your brain that track position in space are all working together to produce one letter, then the next, then the next.
Typing throws all of that away. Every key on a keyboard requires the exact same finger motion regardless of which letter you are pressing, which means the brain has almost nothing to integrate and almost no problem to solve.
Van der Meer said it plainly in her interviews.
Pressing the same key with the same finger over and over does not stimulate the brain in any meaningful way, and she pointed out something that should scare every parent who handed their kid an iPad.
Children who learn to read and write on tablets often cannot tell letters like b and d apart, because they have never physically felt with their bodies what it takes to actually produce those letters on a page.
A decade before her, two researchers at Princeton ran the same fight using a completely different method and ended up at the same answer. Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer tested 327 students across three experiments, where half took notes on laptops with the internet disabled and half took notes by hand, before testing everyone on what they actually understood from the lectures they had watched.
The handwriting group won by a wide margin on every question that required real understanding rather than surface recall.
The reason was hiding in the transcripts of what the two groups had actually written down.
The laptop students typed almost word for word, capturing more total content but processing almost none of it as they went, while the handwriting students physically could not write fast enough to transcribe a lecture in real time, which forced them to listen carefully, decide what actually mattered, and put it in their own words on the page.
That single act of choosing what to keep was the learning itself, and the keyboard had quietly skipped the choosing and skipped the learning along with it.
Two studies. Two countries. Same answer.
Handwriting makes the brain work. Typing lets it coast.
Every note you have ever typed instead of written went into your brain through a thinner pipe. Every meeting, every book highlight, every idea you captured on your phone instead of on paper was processed at half depth.
You did not forget those things because your memory is bad. You forgot them because typing never woke the part of the brain that would have made them stick.
The fix is the thing your grandmother already knew.
Pick up a pen. Write the thing down. The slower road is the faster one.
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.
Hi Herb! I type lyrics and chords straight into a Word document nowadays, and usually into BIAB at the same time. This is purely for expediency and storage. But, I like handwriting better. When I used to write songs by hand, I would write the lyrics with chords above, and often drew a stave and wrote the notation for the melody as well, so if I ever came back to it, the notation would jog my memory.
Interesting research. I have to admit there feels something more wholesome about handwriting - maybe it’s the brain workout?
I also have a favourite brand of pen - Uni-ball UB-157 Eye Fine Point Roller blue - using it gives me an enormous sense of well-being!
It seems these two studies are looking at different things.
The first study notes that there is a physicality that is required to internalize letters shapes based on a different study. What that first study seems to show is how inefficient writing is - it requires massive mental work on the part of university students, who (hopefully) are not struggling to tell an 'a' from a 'b'.
In the second study, I suspect that the students who were typing were focused on their perceived task - transcribing the lecture, rather than learning it. But I agree that simply writing the words is a different activity.
On the other hand, writing lyrics is a different activity than listening to a lecture. I'm not sure how much it relates to handwriting. I find it much more efficient to move words and rewrite using a keyboard than handwritten notes, which quickly become a mess.
For the reason that David pointed out, I type out my lyrics in Excel as my mind is too jumbled when I'm coming up with lyrics. Writing it down on paper just gets too messy.
With Excel, I tend to have a list of ideas or lines in a right-hand column that I'll move around and try to fit into the main body of lyrics that I'm assembling in a left-hand column. I find it easier to do that in Excel than in a Word document.
Now, when I'm free-writing to get some ideas for a song, I might write out some ideas with pen and paper, but I'll also do that on the computer; whatever I have closest to me at the time.
Also, when I'm learning a cover song, I'll write out the lyrics by hand as I've found it helps me learn the lyrics more quickly.
I saw that article and it hit home in quite a few ways.
My situation is a bit different. I hand-wrote lyrics on legal or steno pads with cross-outs and inserts as the lyrics came together. Only when done would I use a typewriter, later a computer to enter them.
That changed seventeen years ago when I had a massive stroke losing the dominant side of my body—I'm left handed. Though I write daily, lyrics are few and far between nowadays—it just doesn't give me the pleasure that I used to enjoy.
Three months ago, I had the Vivistim implant done. I am patient #2 on the West Coast. Patient #1 turned out to be my piano tuner for thirty years till his stroke a month after mine. We were featured speakers at the Pacific Stroke Association conference last Wednesday talking about our experiences with the process.
Since then, my main progress has been handwriting. I have begun writing cursive again—something I never taught my right hand in seventeen years. I can't just pick up my fountain pen (ball and gel pens are less forgiving as to angle) and go—my arm has not caught up to my hand yet—but I am enjoying the struggle and the process. I feel it may unlock that creativity again; at least, that's the plan.
We'll see...
BIAB 2026 Audiophile Mac 24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia/Tahoe, M1 & M5 MBAir, 2012 MBP Digital Performer11, Logic, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScore/Notion/Overture
In my college days I usually attempted to write down as much as possible during the lecture so I could learn it later during a study session. If I had had a computer I would have typed my notes. I doubt it would have made much of a difference in my overall college success since learning is a lot more than just taking notes.
As for writing lyrics I never use pen and paper any more. The process of hand writing brings me no joy and I rewrite everything so much it would likely cause me to abandon the craft altogether.
As for what tool I use to write lyrics...my favorite is Notepad++ (NOT MS Notepad!) Notepad++ is an extremely powerful text editor perfect for lyric writing, coding, hex editing, searching text in external text files, etc. I probably use only 10% of what it can do. Oh, and it is completely FREE! https://notepad-plus-plus.org/
Virtually all of my writing is done on my computer. The main reasons are that it is easier for me and it is legible, my handwriting is a lot like my doctor's. Arthritis makes it difficult for me to write.
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Well, at least you can actually read it. I often go back to something I've written and after looking at it from several different angles and pondering over it, I still can't decipher it. I had a cashier ask me one day when I signed the credit card thing if I was a doctor. I asked her what made her ask that. She said, "your signature is totally illegible". Yes, I reckon it is. I had actually taken to printing the things I really needed to read later. What it is, is that my brain is 5 letters ahead of my hand, at times even on the next word, and my hand tries to catch up and the result would have Egyptologists who deciphered the hieroglyphics totally baffled.
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 used to carve my lyrics into stones, but I stopped because typos are such a PITA to fix. But to be honest, I still mostly write lyrics by hand. Why? Because a pen and a sheet of paper are more than just tools for putting characters and words on paper. When I'm writing and get stuck, I (unconsciously) start drawing little pictures (just like most people do during a long phone call). Or replace the dot on the "i" with a little heart if it's a love song. Or draw two eyes, a nose, and a mouth inside a uppercase "O" that’s smiling at me. Or I draw an arrow from line 12 to line 2 to show where that line should go,. Or highlight passages with borders or underlines. Or cross them out. Or put exclamation marks where the cool stuff is.
You can always see how the text evolves, the process of writing. With a text editor and unlimited undo, you only see the final result. The process itself remains hidden and is quickly forgotten. That's a completely different stimulus for the brain.
And last but not least, pen and paper work anywhere above sea level.
Pardon the intrusion but my background in clinical psychology made a rare appearance 😀 which was a result of the very sweeping conclusions as expressed in the posted article. Regardless it’s all interesting and well worthy of studying which I’ll do from both perspectives. BTW, the Mueller/Oppenheimer study was also later found to be statistically inconclusive.
Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
Well back when I was a youngster traipsin' around up there in the North I done got me a piece of good schulin from sum old schul with a fancy name that started with an H but I can't remember now, but I do remember they had a red flag and the worst football team on the planet. Also I do know I was over there wiring up some wires to people's skull caps over there at the medical schul while I was studying me a good piece of psychophysiology and I founds out lots a interesting things about the way people thunk and feels and I learnt me some pretty interesting stuff... but the most important thing I learnt was that when I was taking an old class in graduate level medical school grade biostatistics that made a lot of people cry their eyeballs out when they made a D, I fount out that if I wrote down all the formulas with a pencil on a piece of paper and stared at it for a while and then wrote some more until my hand started aching and then solved all the equations with my hand using a pencil and a piece of paper instead of a computer then I usually made an A but when I didn't do this sometimes I would cry my eyeballs out too. well I guess I about got enough schulin now and I can go about writing myself some new tunes.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
With a text editor and unlimited undo, you only see the final result.
An excellent point that really bothered me initially when I made the switch to text editor from paper. But I quickly figured out a solution to that problem that really works for me!
Every song I write starts with an idea or a prompt so I type them into my text editor and then scroll those a bit down the page. Then I type a bunch of keywords that might work in my song along with rhyming words and scroll those a bit down the page.. Next comes my first draft and, unless it is perfect (it never is), I scroll it down, copy/paste it above and start working on draft 2. Each time, before I make a significant change, I copy/paste the set of lyrics below my workspace and then work on the new draft.
For me, this is an ideal technique because I can type faster and more legible plus I never lose my changes and previous drafts. Text files are small so they don't take up much space. And I have a full chronology of each song's history with way more detail than I could ever fit in the margins of a piece of paper.
There are lots of ways to improve on this. You could add date/time stamps on each revision. You could switch to a word processor and then mark up text with strikethrough, bold, etc. maybe even use features that let you hide/show sections. You could even buy songwriting software like MasterWriter. Heck, Trent Reznor, Rob Thomas and David Foster can't all be wrong!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PDT on May 31st, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
If you have any questions about which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We're here to help!
202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean