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It’s easy to see the imagery that songwriters use in the lyrics of country music, but in other types of music, it’s a little bit more difficult to pin down. In this free songwriting tutorial, songwriter and Berklee Online course author Andrea Stolpe covers 9 ways to use effective imagery in your song lyrics, no matter what genre of song you’re writing. Working from the age old “show, don’t tell” school of songwriting, and encouraging innovative experiments that range from sensory writing to changing the lyrical perspective of your song, Andrea uncovers a number of effective ways to keep your listeners engaged in your lyrics. She also offers tips on how to get past the hurdle of the second verse, and how to write through a lens.

00:00 How to Create a Stronger Song with Imagery
4:54 Verses Carry the Story / The Chorus Carries the Main Message
8:25 How to Create Imagery for Songs
15:23 Weight and Pace
18:47 How to Use Imagery to Write a Verse
23:55 How to Use Toggling and Imagery
28:08 Writing through a Lens
31:02 Writing the Second Verse
33:35 Polishing Techniques for Lyrics

About Andrea Stolpe:
Andrea Stolpe is a multiplatinum songwriter, performing artist, and educator. Her songs have been recorded by Faith Hill, Julianne Hough, Jimmy Wayne, and more. She has worked as a staff writer for EMI, Almo-Irving, and Universal Music Publishing. Her books, Popular Songwriting: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling and Beginning Songwriting: Writing Your Own Lyrics, Melodies, and Chords detail a unique process for uniting your artistic voice with the commercial market. Andrea has taught melody, harmony, and lyric writing courses for Berklee Online for more than a decade. She authored the Berklee Online course Commercial Songwriting Techniques, which she teaches. She also teaches Lyric Writing: Writing from the Title, and Lyric Writing: Writing Lyrics to Music for Berklee Online.

About Berklee Online:
Berklee Online is the continuing education division of Berklee College of Music, delivering online access to Berklee’s acclaimed curriculum from anywhere in the world, offering online courses, certificate programs, and degree programs. Contact an Academic Advisor today:
1-866-BERKLEE (US)
1-617-747-2146 (international callers)
advisors@online.berklee.edu
http://www.facebook.com/BerkleeOnline

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Andrea Stolpe | Songwriting Tips | Free Songwriting Lesson | Online Songwriting Lesson | Songwriting Tutorial | American Songwriter | I Create Music | Berklee | Berklee Online | Berklee College of Music

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30 Replies to “How to Write a Song Using Imagery: 9 Songwriting Tips from Andrea Stolpe | American Songwriter”

  1. penny lane (song) comes to mind…after writing songs since 1975 i can tell you we evolve with our songs,and learn its like being a shrink or doctor,we have to find deeper answers on subjects..later i found its best if we are moved by some event or statment it sets us off,trying to pin it down again,,the answers to the universe,,and see that life is a personal evolution in the deepest mystery

  2. This is probably a crappy thing to say, but she is so attractive that I’m constantly distracted from what she’s saying. It helps me to put the headphones on and just put the phone down so I can just listen without watching.

  3. Some great songwriting tips there, But I think you should support them by giving examples of well known songs..For instance, writing about a specific moment could be exemplified by a song called This Magic Moment by The Drifters. I find that it also helps if you can feel that you're writing for a certain person, most likely a lover, or a certain group of people, rather than just yourself. The truck song idea, now that has country written all over it. Pickup trucks especially, have been included in many country songs. but can still be a source of song inspiration. To an old car enthusiast song writer such as myself, that also leads to car songs, which I've also written.

  4. Thank you , Andrea, very much for this great teaching and for what I have learned from your book. After learning from you I have written a song which I consider my best yet and that makes me very happy. Song writing is in the realm of what most people would consider magic. Certainly a great song IS magic.

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