Writing Songs Nashville Style - Songwriter's Tool Box

In the old days I used manila file folders I kept in a desk drawer. But now I use a computer to do that. I can bring up my word processor, open the file I want, and then save that file to a folder where I keep the songs I'm currently working on. Then the next day all I have to do is bring it back up because I know where it is.

I have another folder for completed lyrics and one for song ideas. This system helps keep me organized and prevents me from sabotaging my own progress by my naturally disorderly habits. I just have to remember to back up my work from time to time in case the system crashes.

I use to be like some of you out there. Everytime I got an idea for a song I would write it on whatever piece of paper I could find at the time. Many times it was just a scrap piece of paper, an envelope or a business card. And we all know what happens to all those little pieces of paper. Getting a computer, and using it to write my songs and help me keep them organized is the best thing I ever did. If you aren't using a computer in your songwriting, I would encourage you to start as soon as you can arrange it.

To be a great songwriter, you need to have a good command of the English lan-guage. You don't have to be Shakespeare, but you're trying to move listeners emotionally and sometimes that takes using just the right words. There are three publications I use to help me find the right words for my lyrics.

The first one is the good old dictionary. There are times I need to clarify a word to make sure it means what I think it means. I also use it to expand my vocabulary so I have more words at my disposal.

Next, I use a Thesaurus. A Thesaurus gives me alternate words that mean the same thing as the original word. This helps me tell my story without boring the listener by using the same words all the time. It also gives me new ideas, and new angles for my original idea. Say you're writing a song about a girl who loves to dance. So you go to your thesaurus and enter the word "dance". In the results you find words and phrases like promenade, masquerade, shimmy, trip the light fantastic and cut loose that are all related the your original word, dance. Even of you don't use all of these, using even some of them will make your song more interesting. Chances are you would have never thought of all of these without your trusty thesaurus.

The last tool I use to help me when I write songs is a rhyming dictionary. I use a slant rhymer. A regular rhyming dictionary will only give you what are called perfect rhymes. If you wanted to rhyme the word "Love", a regular rhyming dictionary would only give you words like of, dove and above.

A slant rhyming dictionary would also give you words like because, was, rough, enough, cut, words where the vowel sounds rhyme but the ending may be different. This is perfectly all right in modern songwriting. If you are one of those who goes crazy if all your rhymes are not perfect,