Do You Know Your Lyric Style?

Great lyrics pull us in with the pictures they paint—whether through vivid detail or symbolic imagery. Some songwriters, like Jason Isbell and Tom Petty, lean toward concrete, literal storytelling, while others, like Radiohead and Halsey, craft abstract, poetic lyrics that invite interpretation. But which style fits your writing best? And how can understanding your natural approach help you write better lyrics? In this video, we’ll break down: 🎶The difference between detail-based and imagery-based lyric writing 🎶 How your lyric style shapes your songwriting personality 🎶 Lyric writing exercises to strengthen your unique voice 🎶 Examples from top artists across multiple genres 📌 Comment below: Do you tend to write more with detail or imagery? ------------- 0:00 What type of lyric writer are you? 1:26 Type 1: Detail-Oriented Lyric Writing 3:05 Type 2: Imagery-Leaning Lyric Writing 3:40 Practice: Push Your Songs to the Extremes 4:24 Highly-Detailed: “Sunday Morning Coming Down” by Kris Kristofferson 5:50 Middle of the Spectrum: “Songs She Sang In The Shower” by Jason Isbell 9:00 Imagery-Focused: “Fake Plastic Trees” by Radiohead 12:02 Become More Confident In Your Lyric Writing -------------- 📥Resources: • Download the free PDF guide, “50 Songs Every Songwriter Should Listen To When Studying Songwriting”: https://bit.ly/4hDkJ8t • Attend a songwriting retreat in New York, California, Nashville, or Texas: https://bit.ly/4i5dvd3 • Join my 30-day program to develop your lyric-writing skills: https://bit.ly/4gNR2Ah 🤝 Connect with Me: • Website: https://bit.ly/41qbBP0 • Instagram: @andreastolpeofficial • Facebook: @andreastolpeofficial • TikTok: @andreastolpeofficial ⭐ About Andrea Stolpe Andrea is a songwriter, speaker, and author with over 20 years of experience in the music industry, penning songs for artists such as Faith Hill, Jimmy Wayne, and Julianne Hough. She has worked with Universal Music Publishing, EMI, and Almo-Irving, and authored Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling, a staple text for songwriting programs at Belmont University in Nashville and Berklee College of Music. Andrea helped establish the songwriting courses at USC Thornton School of Music, and her educational work has earned Grammy nominations and a Gold Telly Award. She continues to mentor songwriters through retreats and speaking engagements in the US and abroad.