I often have good ideas as I'm drifting off to sleep, but of course I never get them down because I'm going to sleep. If I had a little recorder I could have by the bed I could at least get the idea down enough to remember it the next day I guess. The ideas I do have are usually too complex to really fully get down that way, but at least I could jog my memory.

I use my iPod to record myself singing and occasionally, playing the tunes I hear. I like these techniques, and a strange one came to mind; use the outline to write a much more detailed NON-RHYMING outline that follows the short outline, then change each like to where it fits rythmically or harmonically. Or it rhymes.

[Whoops double post]

There are a lot of great tips and techniques here.  I would add that it can be very helpful to try something new.

Many times we fall into a rut writing the same type of lyrics with the same song structure, rhyming schemes, thematic ideas, etc.  Sometimes, doing something different, even if you decide not to pursue it later, can be break down some walls.  Feel like your lyrics are too literal?  Try writing some poetic free verse, focusing on imagery instead of story.  Limited vocabulary?  Read more from authors/lyricists you enjoy and examine their word choices.  Bored with predictable rhyming schemes?  Put the music aside and just write lyrics without considering the flow of the music. 

I've talked to lyricists who struggled with trying to write complex concepts and themes.  When we feel passionately about an idea or a conviction, it can be very difficult to express it without sounding preachy or using cliches.  I suggested trying to express only one idea or concept per song.  Don't give me an opus that attempts to explain all of time and space in a single song.  Just give me one nugget of truth for this song.  You can give me more in the next one.  One of the traps lyricists fall into is trying to be Profound.  You know...it's when you go so overboard in trying to be Deep and Meaningful in your lyrics that you come off as Stupid and Lame instead?  Some of the most meaningful lyrics of the last few decades have been simple statements.

One of the harder pieces of advice is this.  Try reading the lyrics critically.  You know how people sometimes mean different things when they ask what you think?  Some want you to find all of the things you can praise about their work.  Some want you to find anything you can criticize.  If you can't bear to hear the negative, then you aren't ready.  If you seek out good criticism, you're ready to refine your lyrics and improve as a writer.  It's not as easy as it sounds.

As writers, we go through stages where we need encouragement to try to reach our potential.  We also go through stages where we need someone to rip out the garbage before we can actually get there.

davdud101


So, I've been thinking; my lyrics aren't all that great. To get to business, I wanted to know what are some good ways to perhaps increase my vocabulary, or make better use of multi-meaning words and phrases. How do you guys tend to do this?

I definitely do see that how we grow up and the way we learn influences each individual's way of writings and one's ability to perceive a situation differently from someone else (optimism and pessimism, f.e.). But what can I do to diversify and cultivate the foundation I have?

A few others here have mentioned the value of just doing what you want to be doing and do a lot of it.
 
I read once of an experiment that a psychology group conducted at a major university.  They offered two classes in beginning pottery.  Once the classes were formed they were told the criteria by which they would be graded and the sort of items they were to produce.  One group was told that they would be graded on the total number of finished pieces they produced by the end of the course.  They were told to start simple and work their way up. 
 
The other group was told to create a single "masterpiece" that would determine their grade.  It had to meet a minimum standard of complexity and difficulty of execution. 
 
The high volume group churned out enormous numbers of items.  So many that there were complaints that they were monopolizing the workshop resources day and night, 7 days a week. The volume group produced a large number of junk pieces but a surprisingly high number of very good items.  One participant actually took a bunch of throwaway items and combined them into one large piece that was quite popular.  Turns out the group members were continuously learning and developing their skills.  By the end of the course there were several very skilled potters in the group.
 
The "masterpiece" class didn't turn out very well.  People started projects, became discouraged, abandoned the item and tried to start another.  They became brain-locked.  Some people spent a lot of time drawing sketches of possible items that they never started.  Very few pieces were completed or amounted to anything great.  As time passed many simply gave up.
 
Seems the lesson was: start at a level commensurate with your skills, get in with a group with a competitive but cooperative spirit, do lots of stuff and work it to completion.  Hope that helps. 
 
 

Listen to a lot of songwriters and absorb the different styles and techniques. You words don't have to be complex or fancy - just honest. There's a lot of power in simplicity too. Over, just keep doing it. The time you put into it will make all the difference.

Hi David, one way to really improve your writing ability is to harness the power of your subconscious mind. Yes it is as simple as that. You don't have to agonise about it while you are awake. You can sleep and let your subconscious mind do all the work.

The time to talk to your subconscious mind is just before you go to sleep and those first waking moments when you are not fully awake. Just before you go to sleep talk softly and quietly to your subconscious mind and ask it to write beautiful lyrics and music and do the same when you first wake up. It may not happen instantly but it will happen. You will find you will wake with new, fresh and wonderful ideas.

The great minds in the world have this in common. They harness the power of their subconscious mind. It is easy and effortless. The moment you start agonising over it you will never get the answers, it is as simple as that. The subconscious mind can solve all problems. It knows no problems only solutions.

I have an insane dream life. If I wrote songs about my dreams, people would run away.

About 18 years ago, I found myself really stagnant musically.  I had bought one of the first Korg M1 workstations in the US in the late 80s and it really opened me up but it ultimately constricted me. After a few years I decided to do something different.  Thus, the concept of my Fresh Fish album. 

The conceit was to do it all analog, playing all the instruments, and sit down and finish a song from nothing in a single session. No more than 8 hours max.

That grunge sound was popular still then, so I did the tunes in that style. I still say that five or six of my favorite tunes that I've written are on that album.  Sometimes giving yourself a real deadline helps you focus and commit to writing. And the themes that I wrote were not of the old "June moon swoon" variety: one was about credit card debt as a metaphor for the Devil. Another was the OJ murders from OJ's point of view. Another was about the gastronomic side effects of White Castle hamburgers. You get the idea. 

I guess what I am trying to get across is just do a different approach and see what results you get...

The dream is only one way for the subconscious mind to communicate an idea to you. There are other ways like just knowing what to do the next day. But if the dream is vivid and you are hearing say something musical in there and more than once then maybe I would look at that as an idea that is being put forward that way. 

The dream maybe something else and the idea may come to you in a different way.