Rock and Pop- Which is easier when you're writing songs, creating lyrics or instrumentals first?
A question mostly geared towards musicians and singer-songwriters, but anyone's free to answer of course.
When you're writing songs, is it easier to come up with a tune based off the lyrics first, or do you write the tune and THEN the lyrics? I think it depends on the song, stuff like that kinda writes itself if you let it. I wrote the lyrics for a song this morning and I know what the vocals would sound like, but it's been ages since I've touched an instrument, so coming up with instrumentals in my head without actually hearing it is kinda difficult. Anyway, what about you lovely people?
BQ- What's one thing that an artist needs to understand when it comes to anything music related, besides how to sing/play?
BQ2- What instrument do you like to hear on its own the most? For me I think it's acoustic guitar, I love solo acoustic guitar work, or piano.
Thanks everyone!
2013-03-12T21:35:54Z
@Guitar dude- when (if) you write songs, is it easier to think of lyrics first, or the actual music to play? That's what I'm asking. Sorry for the long schpeal.
¢αgє∂ вυттєʀƒℓу2013-03-12T21:52:24Z
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For me it is easier to think of the lyrics and melody first then think of he instrumentals around it. But like you said it depends. When you get better at your instrument it'll be easier to think of the instrumentals though.
BQ- The only thing an artist needs to understand is to sing/write/play with your heart. I know it sounds a bit corny but it's true
BQ2- Hmm that's a tough one. But I guess it'll be the acoustic like you said. Just on the fact that it's so flexible and can be done on it's own in many songs and genre's and it sounds nice.
It is easier for me to write lyrics first because they just happen. All my notebooks are filled with random lines I end up thinking of, including all my notebooks for school. So when it comes crunchtime, all the lyrics are already floating around for me so I work on the instrumental aspect, and then mold the lyrics around the instrumentals depending on how the instruments end up sounding.
BQ: Cooperation. Unless you are a one man band, and one man recording artist and producer. Then by all means be a jerk.
BQ2: Either acoustic guitar as you said, violin, or saxophone. I really love a good sax even though I certainly can't play one myself.
I've always written lyrics and then composed around them. This is probably because I'm a big writer / reader of poetry, so expression comes to me most naturally in words.
I think very often, and my thoughts are an internal dialogue, so whenever I have something great or catchy to say to myself, or something that is fitting with my emotional state or the state of affairs of the world or the state of affairs of extra-marital affairs or anything really, I write that down and begin.
Then, when I read over the lyrics, I hear the vocal line in my head and show it to our guitarist, who begins laying down guitar parts, bass parts and anything else he sees fit.
When I do figure out instrumentals by myself, it's definitely with my acoustic guitar - chords as a start.
BA1: Great music is characterized by style matching content.
BA2: Guitar by Djano Reinhardt. That guy is amazing. A one-man orchestra short of fingers. Also, I love the accordion played in a Romany or French bluesy style.
I think the lyrics first would be easier in my opinion. The singer/songwriter for my band had all his ideas and lyrics in a notebook and he would just mold the words and melodies around the rest of the band. The only hard part was trying to get the flow of the words Just right for certain parts.
1. The amount of effert and heart put into your music can make the differance between an awesome song and crap.
I do both. I'm a singer and guitarist and I write all the lyrics. I usually write lyrics first and mould a riff around it. Or when the lead guitarist in my band comes up with a cool riff, we'll write a song with it and I'll either see if any of my previous lyrics would for (with some tweaking of course) or I'll write lyrics to it. It's the best of both worlds, where both the music and lyrics helps to create the best song we can make :)