One-Take Jam, AI Tone Experiments, and Writing Lyrics | Catch the Light - Episode 3

It’s been a much smoother week — more progress, more calm, and a few realisations along the way.

I spent some time experimenting with plugins I’d never really touched before, letting AI (ChatGPT) suggest some vocal and guitar chains — even seeing if it could help recreate an Eddie Van Halen tone… surprising results.

While writing songs this week, I found that lyrics are a significant driver for me to progress sketches into song drafts. I’ve added below a short list of exercises for writing lyrics that helped spark ideas for me. They’re simple, but I found them very effective — let me know in the comments if they help you too.

I’d love to hear how you’re approaching this in your own music. Drop a comment below with what’s been working for you, or what you’re struggling with right now.

0:00 Preamble
0:32 One-Take Jam
1:36 Intro
2:19 AI Help and Tone Experiments
4:46 Songwriting
5:43 Lyric Writing Tools

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1. The 10-Minute Free Write
Set a timer for 10 minutes.
-Write without stopping — anything that comes out (memories, images, rants, single words).
-Don’t edit or judge. Preferably use pencil and paper (I found creative benefits to that).
-At the end, highlight any lines or phrases that have bite. These are lyric seeds.

2. The One-Line Diary
-Each day, write one line that sums up your mood or a thought.
-Example: “take time to feel and find what’s gone.”
-After a month, you’ll have 30 potential lyric lines to expand.

3. Structure Inspiration
-Listen to the rhyme or rhythm of a song you like and fill it with your own words (not the melody, just the rhythm).
-It’s scaffolding to build something new — add your own chords and phrasing.

4. Image Hunt
-Pick one object in the room (coffee cup, window, guitar string).
-Write 3–4 lines where it becomes a metaphor.
-Example: “This mirror, what will it show, will it be real, turn around and let it reveal.”

5. Lyric Bank
-Keep a running notebook or document of all these scraps.
-Don’t wait until you “need lyrics” — write daily, then when recording, go lyric shopping in your own bank.

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