3 Unexpected Songwriting Tips (for beginners)

Main ideas & lessons (3 unexpected songwriting tips)

Tip 1: Finish more songs—even when they’re bad

• Problem addressed: Beginner songwriters often start with inspiration, but the song “fizzles out” after the first verse/chorus. They may stop when the lyrics don’t meet their high standards.
• Lesson: Finishing is an essential skill (a “muscle set”), not something you only do after everything is perfect.
• Why it matters (two reasons):
  1. Finishing is practiced skill-building: Like scales/chords, you develop ability through repeated completion of songs.
     • If you only produce many starts/snippets but very few finished songs in a year, you’re mainly practicing starting, not songwriting as a whole.
  2. More completed songs improves overall quality: Writing 20 songs in a year will typically produce better best songs (e.g., best 4–5) than writing only 4–5.
• Practical steps/resources mentioned:
  • Practice finishing regardless of quality.
  • Use a 7-day songwriter course (free) for structure:
    • Daily tasks designed to take 20–30 minutes.
    • Purpose: complete a full first draft within 7 days.
    • Tasks are delivered to the inbox (sign up via the link in video notes).

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Tip 2: Stop trying to be universal—start being specific

• Problem addressed: Beginners often try to make songs “universally relatable,” but may end up writing generic lyrics instead of specific ones.
• Lesson chain given:
  • Specific details of your life → believability → authenticity → connection with more listeners.
• Core claim: Relatability is frequently communicated through specific imagery and lived details, not generalized statements.
• Examples cited (as models of specificity):
  • Bruno Major
  • Lizzie McAlpine
  • Phoebe Bridgers
• Practical resources/exercises mentioned (detailed):
  • Book: Storyworthy by Matthew Dixs
    • He’s described as a storyteller (not primarily a songwriter), but the exercises are “highly relevant.”
    • Exercise highlighted: “Homework for Life”
      • Timing: 30 seconds to 5 minutes daily

      • How it works (prompt): At the end of each day, ask:

        • “If I were at a dinner party or on the phone to a friend and they asked me to tell a story from today—what is one moment from today that would become a story I could tell?” - Why it helps:
        • Quickly reveals there’s meaningful, “song-worthy” material in ordinary days.
        • You don’t need major trauma or huge breakups—small moments can connect to larger themes. - Result: Building a habit for collecting emotionally “alive” details you can write/sing about.
          • Video playlist/resource: the channel’s lyric writing video collection
            • Specifically mentions “sense writing”
            • Practice: 10-minute freewriting
            • Constraint: only using your senses to paint a picture
            • Goal: help listeners experience what you’re singing about (not just observe from a distance).

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Tip 3: You don’t need more ideas—you need fewer decisions

• Problem addressed: In feedback sessions, writers may ask if an idea is “good.” The speaker reframes this: ideas aren’t the problem—how you develop them is.
• Lesson:
  • Every idea can be good.
  • The real task is what you do with the idea so the song effectively communicates emotion and meaning to a listener.
• Why writers get stuck (mechanism):
  • Too many choices/options early on creates fear of picking the “wrong” direction.
  • This stalls progress before the song moves beyond the initial verse/chorus.
• Solution: Reduce options early (the “cocktail glass / funnel” method).
  • Concept explained:
    • Song beginnings can come from anywhere (lyrics, metaphor, rhyme pair, melody, guitar riff, beat, etc.).
    • But as you move forward, you should narrow the possibilities and “squeeze” the idea into decisions.
• “Putting a squeeze on the song” — decision checklist (step-by-step):
  1. Decide song form (commit early):
     • Does the song have a chorus?
     • If yes/no: what is the structure?
     • Are there elements like a bridge or pre-chorus?
     • Benefit: gives the song a shape so you can proceed without waiting for every line to be perfect.
     • You can write/move using the melodic shape first, then revise later.
  2. Decide on a “song map” (section purpose outline):
     • A song map is described as an outline/overview of what each section is meant to do lyrically.
     • The speaker references templates/examples available in another video.
     • Benefit: limits direction and commits you to a coherent lyrical plan.
  3. Decide the title/hook (the anchor line):
     • Identify the one unifying word/phrase/line that the song returns to.
     • Benefit: provides focus that keeps momentum moving forward.
• Key mindset note: Once you make decisions, you’re not “contractually obliged” to them—you can revise—but decisions are what create forward motion.
  • Momentum is how better ideas appear: you often only see the next step after taking the last one.

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Recap (as stated)

• Finish more songs.
• Focus on specificity.
• Reduce decisions.

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Speakers / sources featured

Speakers

• Key (channel host; professional songwriter and songwriting educator)
• Benny (co-host; professional songwriter and songwriting educator)

Sources / referenced works

• Matthew Dixs — Storyworthy (book), including the exercise “Homework for Life”
• Artists referenced as examples of specificity:
  • Bruno Major
  • Lizzie McAlpine
  • Phoebe Bridgers
• Channel resources referenced:
  • Free 7-day songwriter course (linked in video notes; tasks delivered by email/inbox)
  • Channel lyric writing playlist, including “sense writing” (10-minute freewriting practice)
• Additional referenced channel video:
  • Video about song maps/templates