[LegendaryCloud89]

So I've heard from many people that to write a song you should come up with the lyrics first. There's a problem with that for me...I can't write lyrics and I am interested in doing it but never could come up with viable lyrics.

What's everyone's take on this? Or do you songwrite at all? Any suggestions?

[Joseph Perkins]

This is going to sound weird, but I usually write the music and the lyrics at the same time. I guess you could write the lyrics first and then write the music. I find that writing the music and then adding lyrics later is a bit of a hassle and requires some compromises in the music to make the lyrics fit.

[Nicol Armarfi]

Lyrics should generally be atleast someone poetic, you should try taking a creative writing or poetry course at your school if you're seriously interested in writing lyrics. Also, I'd suggest reading lyrics and poetry to get a hang of it (though I generally wouldn't reccomend anything from before 1960, as modern lyrics are very blunt and uninteresting). I also wouldn't typically look towards classical music (specifically opera) for lyrical advice, as the lyrics to operas are meant to tell an extended story, rather than a shorter idea for a single song. Really, lyricism is an art, just like composition. You should have years of practise with it before you pull out even one genuinely good lyric, so I'd get started now if I were you .

[Bahamut]

A friend of mine told me that songs are basically just poems with a melody... I don't know if i fully agree, but thinking of it that way could help you get started. When I tried writing poetry, i couldn't think of what to write, but I usually found that good ideas came at the most random times. One thing i suggest, is keep a small notebook/journal around the house and whenever a possible idea for lyrics or a poem comes to mind, jot it down immediately. It may seem pointless to just have a list of ideas, and not being able to write, but if you have your idea and just sit down quietly at the end of the day, sometimes the ideas suddenly spill back into your head and work.

[LegendaryCloud89]

Hmmm, I dunno guys...I was never to fond of poetry because I was never good at it and vise versa. So it's a never ending cycle. I've had my little moments of writing a poem and even a song but I wouldn't know if either them would be any good.

[LegendaryCloud89]

But thanks guys...even though I'm not sure how I can do, I'll give these a try

[CarloCrizaldo]

I do what the professionals do. I hire a professional songwriter. =)
Haha. Something like that. I get my friend to write lyrics to some of my compositions. She's really good, and also a talented actress and singer.

I do write some of my own lyrics...lol. Sometimes, a song just pops into my head. It's like playing a song by ear that you already know. I find out what key my imaginary song is in, make a melody, and write the accompa-blah blah (can't spell).

[Nicol Armarfi]

Originally Posted by LegendaryCloud89

Hmmm, I dunno guys...I was never to fond of poetry because I was never good at it and vise versa. So it's a never ending cycle. I've had my little moments of writing a poem and even a song but I wouldn't know if either them would be any good.

Poetry is another form of art, you are never just good at it out of nowhere, unless of course you're a prodigy. Really, you can get better at it by making the effort to learn and practise it, just like music.

[LegendaryCloud89]

Originally Posted by Nicol Armarfi

Poetry is another form of art, you are never just good at it out of nowhere, unless of course you're a prodigy. Really, you can get better at it by making the effort to learn and practise it, just like music.

Heh heh that's true. But with practicing and playing music I'm not particularly good at that either. I play every brass instrument at a decent college level (enough to make some ensembles) but I'm not excellent at any one instrument unfortunately.

But sure, I'll give it a shot!

[Shrikkanth]

Hmm you should try getting together with someone and writing together. I've done songs for friends' birthdays and it was pretty easy to write a song with vocals with a couple of talented guys who are just as good as I am at taking the piss out of a friend who's 21st is coming up :P. From there we've started writing a stupid song about absolutely nothing for fun, but it's giving us good experience in singing and structuring songs with vocals, which i'm really not used to.

Joseph's idea of writing music with lyrics struck me because that's exactly what we have been doing haha. Someone comes up with a chord progression, we think of lyrics together and think of a tune that fits over it well. Breakdowns and guitar solos come later. I suppose it's a basic way of doing things but it's a decent start.

Oh and by the way Dream Theater (the best band of all time ) write their music first before getting the vocalist involved. I suppose if you're going somewhere with the theme of the song the lyrics might just come to you. There are no rules in music!