[1] His patron, Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, apprenticed him to the composer John Coprario, which probably brought Lawes into contact with Charles, Prince of Wales at an early age.

He composed secular music and songs for court masques (and doubtless played in them), as well as sacred anthems and motets for Charles's private worship.

His use of counterpoint and fugue and his tendency to juxtapose bizarre, spine-tingling themes next to pastoral ones in these works made them disfavoured in the centuries after his death.

"[3] The author of his epitaph, Thomas Jordan, closed it with a lachrymose pun on the fact that Lawes had died at the hands of those who denied the divine right of kings: Will.

Intense rhythmical gestures and dissonant harmonies stand in stark contrast with the traditional rules of counterpoint such as practiced by previous composers which were known to Lawes, like William Byrd.

His writing style is highly mannered, oft experimental and virtuosic; melodies may be fragmented and altered with varied articulation and accentuation.