Writing Better Lyrics [Paperback]

The must-have guide for songwriters, revised and updated with expanded chapters, 50 fun songwriting exercises, and examples from more than 20 chart-toppings songs.

A staple for songwriters for nearly two decades, Writing Better Lyrics provides effective tools for everything from generating ideas, to understanding the form and function of a song, to fine-tuning lyrics.

Perfect for new and experienced songwriters alike, this time-tested classic covers the basics in addition to more advanced techniques. Songwriters will discover:

• How to use sense-bound imagery to enhance a song's emotional impact on listeners
• Techniques for avoiding clichés and creating imaginative metaphors and similes
• Ways to use repetition as an asset
• How to successfully manipulate meter
• Instruction for matching lyrics with music
• Ways to build on ideas and generate effective titles
• Advice for working with a co-writer

Writing Better Lyrics gives you all of the professional and creative insight you need to write powerful lyrics and put your songs in the spotlight where they belong. I count myself lucky and proud to have studied with Mr. Pattison. I would not be the writer I am today without his teaching and his unique and comprehensive understanding of language, rhyme, rhythm, and structure.
- 3-time Grammy winner Gillian Welch
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Pat Pattison does the impossible.  He takes the mystery out of songwriting without taking the heart out of it.  
- David Wilcox
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I took a class with a great teacher named Pat Pattison... I learned a lot in that class...and I still read that book, Writing Better Lyrics. lóµ