Guide to Writing Lyrics

You JingboShanghai Music Publishing House · ChinaJan 2020

Rating 3.3
Word count
42K words
Chapters
39
ISBN
9787552304817

Tags

Film and Television Light ReadingPractical GuideSelf-Study GuidePopular NarrativeBeginner FriendlyYouth Reading

Summary

The author of Writing Lyrics Guide (You Jingbo) introduces various basic knowledge about pop music in a light, humorous, and vivid way. The book is positioned as a popular, accessible reader on pop music suitable for teenagers to study on their own. The author therefore avoids obscure technical terms as much as possible and adopts a popular, colloquial style that better suits the reading tastes of teenagers and music lovers.

Editor's review

Writing Lyrics Guide is Professor You Jingbo's second practical guide focused on the craft of lyric writing, following A Course in Pop Lyric Writing. Rather than empty theory, it is a systematic "toolbox" built on the author's years of teaching and practice. Compared with similar books on the market, its most distinctive feature is its highly structured "guide" approach: it breaks lyric writing into operable modules—theme and concept, emotional expression, structural construction, rhetorical devices, language refinement, and market fit—and pairs them with extensive comparative analysis of classic and popular lyrics, so beginners can follow the map and advanced writers can fill gaps. You Jingbo's style is plain and restrained, his analysis precise, avoiding the mystifying tendency common in books on artistic creation and reflecting the rigorous perspective of a music conservatory professor. The book's value lies not only in teaching "how to write" but in guiding readers to think about "why write this way," helping creators build a rational path from inspiration to finished work. For lyricists who want to move beyond imitation and form a personal style, it offers genuinely practical guidance.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Listen to the original songs alongside the classic lyric cases mentioned in the book to appreciate how words work with melody and performance
  2. Do the reflection and practice exercises at the end of each chapter to turn theory into concrete writing practice
  3. Read alongside the author's A Course in Pop Lyric Writing for a more complete knowledge system

About the publisher

Shanghai Music Publishing House China · Founded in 1956

Shanghai Music Publishing House focuses on music and dance books and textbooks, with a brand identity built around piano literature and music classics. Its catalogue of about 592 titles includes categories such as film and television and theory. Representative works include the Norton series on music history by period—Twentieth-Century Music, Romantic Music, Classical Music and Baroque Music—as well as Feinberg on the Art of Piano Playing, A History of European Music and Beethoven's Symphonies: An Artistic Vision. Its contributors include authors and scholars such as Philip Downs, Leon Plantinga, Robert Morgan and Richard Hoppin, along with translators and scholars Liu Danni, Chen Hongduo, Gan Fangmeng and Liang Qing. The press emphasizes translations of Western music scholarship while also supporting Chinese-language writing on music history and theory, giving its list a core strength in period histories, style histories and performance art; public information on other areas is limited.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 简介
  3. 开篇 词和曲哪个更难写？
  4. 第一招 抓住灵感
  5. 第二招 写词原则
  6. 第三招 写词要领
  7. 第四招 立意清晰
  8. 第五招 角度新颖
  9. 第六招 用词准确
  10. 第七招 语言精练
  11. 第八招 语意通俗
  12. 第九招 层次鲜明
  13. 第十招 主题集中
  14. 第十一招 能小不大
  15. 第十二招 细节描写
  16. 第十三招 学会“造境”
  17. 第十四招 学会“借境”
  18. 第十五招 赋、比、兴
  19. 第十六招 学会押韵
  20. 第十七招 汉语十三辙
  21. 第十八招 近韵通押
  22. 第十九招 中途换韵
  23. 第二十招 把握句式
  24. 第二十一招 长句和短句
  25. 第二十二招 整句和散句
  26. 第二十三招 化散为整
  27. 第二十四招 起承转合
  28. 第二十五招 六种句式
  29. 第二十六招 歌词结构
  30. 第二十七招 单一段体
  31. 第二十八招 复一段体
  32. 第二十九招 A+B单二段体
  33. 第三十招 AB段的对比和统一
  34. 第三十一招 A段写作要领
  35. 第三十二招 B段写作要领
  36. 第三十三招 复二段体
  37. 第三十四招 三段体之“主歌+副歌+总结（或补充）”
  38. 第三十五招 三段体之“主歌+过渡+副歌”
  39. 第三十六招 巧用“插句”

FAQ

What is the difference between this book and A Course in Pop Lyric Writing? A Course in Pop Lyric Writing focuses more on the basic theories and overall framework of pop lyric writing, while Writing Lyrics Guide leans toward breaking down practical techniques and targeted breakthroughs. Its content is more specific and more actionable, and it can be seen as an advanced companion or supplement to the former.
Can I understand and use this book without a music background? Absolutely. The book focuses on the creative principles of the lyric text itself and has no strict requirement for music theory. The parts involving melody and structure are explained in accessible terms for readers without a music major.
Are the examples in the book out of date? The examples balance classics of the Chinese-language music scene with a certain proportion of recent good work, aiming to illustrate enduring creative principles. These principles transcend specific eras and styles, so they remain highly valuable for understanding lyric writing today and in the future.

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About the author

You Jingbo Author · China · 1979

You Jingbo, born in 1979 in Ninghai, Zhejiang, is a professor at the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy and vice dean of its Pop Vocal College. He has long been engaged in research and teaching in popular music theory, and also works as a songwriter and music critic. He has published nearly 20 monographs, among which A Brief History of Western Popular Music, The History and Styles of Popular Music and A General Survey of Chinese Popular Music focus on tracing the development of popular music in China and abroad. His brief-history books are also written for general music lovers, combining the systematic quality of a textbook with an accessible tone. In addition to historical and theoretical works, he has compiled tutorials on popular rhythm training and on children's song singing and instrumental playing, reflecting a sustained interest in music education practice. He has been invited to give lectures on popular music at Peking University, the Central Conservatory of Music and other universities, and has exerted a certain influence in the field of popular music research and teaching.