Profession lyricist

Lyricists interpret the style of a music piece and write words to accompany the melody. They work together with the music composer.

Personality Type

• Artistic / Enterprising
• Artistic / Investigative

Knowledge

• Copyright legislation

  Legislation describing the protection of the rights of original authors over their work, and how others can use it.

• Musical genres

  Different musical styles and genres such as blues, jazz, reggae, rock, or indie.

• Musical notation

  The systems used to visually represent music through the use of written symbols, including ancient or modern musical symbols.

• Musical theory

  The body of interrelated concepts that constitutes the theoretical background of music.

• Music literature

  Literature about music theory, specific music styles, periods, composers or musicians, or specific pieces. This includes a variety of materials such as magazines, journals, books and academic literature.

Skills

• Match lyrics to mood of melody

  Match the lyrics to the melody and the emotions that are conveyed.

• Create a rhyme scheme structure

  Create and develop a rhyme scheme for a song in order to write lyrics according to that scheme.

• Write to a deadline

  Schedule and respect tight deadlines, especially for theatre, screen and radio projects.

• Study music

  Study original pieces of music to get well acquainted with music theory and history.

• Write songs

  Write the lyrics or melody for songs.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB