Any songwriters?

[run]

I think I'm far on the right-brained end of the spectrum. I'm at the point where I can write a song in 5 minutes, but I still can't write lyrics for the life of me.

What are your methods for writing lyrics? I have a lot of ideas--I just can't get them in poetic form. (I think being a Thinker gets in the way)

[ragashree]

When you say you can write a song in five minutes but can't write lyrics... which non-lyrical aspect are you mainly referring to?

[scantilyclad]

my lyrics are very emotional and i usually write them at a very emotional moment and the words just pour out. I can't just sit down and say, hey i'm gonna write some lyrics, i have to be angry, or depressed or extremely happy. so maybe you should wait until you are one of those.

[run]

Originally Posted by ragashree

When you say you can write a song in five minutes but can't write lyrics... which non-lyrical aspect are you mainly referring to?

I write really complicated songs. For example, the last one i wrote went

Cmaj9 Emaj7 Eb6/9 F#maj7

[simulatedworld]

Smoke a blunt by yourself.

Sit down at your computer and force yourself to write down whatever comes out.

Go take a nap.

Come back sober and build on the initial idea.

Originally Posted by run

I write really complicated songs. For example, the last one i wrote went

Cmaj9 Emaj7 Eb6/9 F#maj7

lol my INTJ little brother just wrote his first real song on piano, I believe it goes:

Bbm7 Gdim Gb Bb


I love the things you can do with manipulating chords and melodies...in a recent song I used:

A Dsus2 A F Ebm7 D7 A

and in another:

A C#7 Dmaj7 A, later I actually managed to work a Dmmaj7 in, which is weird because minor thirds rarely get along with tonic 7ths.

Here are some other pretty popular songs with progressions I enjoy--outstanding NT bonus points to anyone who can recognize them, as they are pretty distinctive:

1) E Fmaj7b5 G6 Fmaj7b5 E

2) F Caug Fm7 Fm6

3) A Am7 G6 Fmaj7 (neat chromatic walkdown the way it's voiced in this song)

4) Em Em9 Cmaj7 A7

5) Ebmaj7 Ebmaj7 Ebmaj7 Ebmaj7 (four different inversions, heheh...love this one, the chords are stacked as two sets of fourths followed by two sets of fifths moving further apart from each other each time. It's haunting with the 7th in there too.)


Any takers for something this obscure?


p.s.,

try switching between Emaj7 and Aadd9, then after a few reps going to Amadd9. I found recently that this sounds really neat; the minor with added 9th sounds really unique and it gives that super cool harmonic minor feel when it resolves back into E.

p.p.s,

god i am a nerd.

[run]

Originally Posted by simulatedworld

Smoke a blunt by yourself.

1) E Fmaj7b5 G6 Fmaj7b5 E

2) F Caug Fm7 Fm6

3) A Am7 G6 Fmaj7 (neat chromatic walkdown the way it's voiced in this song)

4) Em Em9 Cmaj7 A7

These are cool chord progressions. I've never heard of them.

[simulatedworld]

I bet you've heard all of them, with the possible exception of #2, if you were born in the last 30 years.

btw, let me know if you want guitar fingerings for the voicings used in those.

[OrangeAppled]

Try focusing on the rhythm of the words. Think of words musically. It doesn't have to be "poetic".

[PeaceBaby]

This is a fascinating thread ... I always think of a song from the lyrics out, not from the chords / melody in.

You both (run, simulated world) remind me of musicians I have worked with who are very "T" about the musical structure (for lack of a better descriptor). They could go on and on about deconstructing music at band practice ... when we're supposed to be rehearsing!

I would suggest listening to songs you like and actually reading the lyrics like a poem. For example, the song on the radio here at home right now is "Second Chance" by Shinedown. It's a good one to reflect on:

Tell my mother,
tell my father
I've done the best I can
To make them realize
This is my life
I hope they understand
I'm not angry,
I'm just saying
Sometimes goodbye
is a second chance

Read it to yourself like a poem, open yourself to the feelings behind it. Then imagine yourself saying this with as much emotional support behind it as you can muster. Say it out loud even, or yell it, or cry it! This might help you find your own voice to start writing some verses and then set them to melody.

Tapping that inner place will yield the words. Don't be scared to go there ...

[ragashree]

Originally Posted by OrangeAppled

Try focusing on the rhythm of the words. Think of words musically. It doesn't have to be "poetic".

Personally I'd agree with this. I may be influenced in this by being a drummer, but I simply can't imagine being able to write a song without focussing on the rythym above all else. Whether it has words or not doesn't always matter - I think more often than anything else I've had a kernel of a few words and an idea of what I wanted to say from which the rest has grown; but sometimes I've just heard the rhythmic "music" and had to search to find suitable words to fit to it.

Just a suggestion - maybe it would help to play the song through a few times, thinking not so much about the tonal quality, but focusing on the timing and the rhythmic "feel" of the piece *I've noticed a lot of otherwise skilled musicians struggle with timing because they focus on other matters, so this aspect is too often neglected by non-percussionists*. If you can get a strong enough feel of the beat inside yourself to fit to the chords, you can at least be sure that any words you then come up with will fit without having to be too forced. As to what those words will be, you'll just have to rely on your creativity; having something you want to say probably helps though!

I would personally probably think of something and run through it a few times before writing it down, but if you're a more visual person it might help to write it straight away. I think it's going to be harder thinking mainly of the chords because it's unfocussed and you have no underlying structure to work with. Hope this makes some kind of sense, it's close to what works for me anyway

Edit: If you're interested it might help to think of metre and scansion in poetry, and how they relate to time signature and beat in music. Most songwriters these days may not be consciously following formal rules of versification, but they're most likely using them unconsciously.