Is there a songwriter in the house?

blakfeld

So, I'm one of those crazy musician folks. I play me some guitar, sing pretty well, and dabble in whatever else I have around, including a bass guitar, cello, pianos, and more synths then you can shake a stick at. Music writing has always been something I've thoroughly enjoyed, It's always been a fantastic exit for me. I can write some pretty alright music, but I'm struggling with lyrics. I was wondering if any of y'all had any advice on the subject. I've never really reached out for help, so I"m unsure what information y'all might want about me to offer better advice, but here we go.

tl;dr: I enjoy writing songs, but I'm no lyricist, any suggestions to improve my wordplay?

Rend

Have you tried writing non-lyrics first?

Like, write what you want the song to be, but don't make it in rhyme and meter, just write normally. Then, go back over your writing and change it to be more like a set of lyrics. Repeat, until you have turned these words into a set of lyrics. Just one idea.

EggyToast

As a learning exercise, there's nothing wrong with simply taking someone else's lyrics and setting them to your own music. Take a song that you think has particularly good lyrics, find them online or transcribe them, and then write a new song using those words. Come up with your own melody to the lines, and see how they fit together.

It's easier to see why certain words are better than others, why placing songs in a certain rhythm/pattern sounds better, words to avoid, words that are overused, and so on, if you have some sort of reference. We all learn using tools and practice, and writing lyrics is no different.

k1DBLITZ

blakfeld wrote: »

any suggestions to improve my wordplay?

I highly recommend http://www.rhymezone.com/

I've used it on several occasions.

EggyToast

Oh, and when you're working on your own stuff, don't write it -- sing or speak it. If you work only on paper/text, you often get hung up on spelling, rather than how words actually sound. Write it as a reference, of course, but work through things vocally so you can hear how they fit together with the song. When singing, you can often get away with relatively lose rhymes, especially if the rhythm works.

For example, there's a song by Broadcast that starts

You won't find it by yourself
You're gonna need some help

Actually that's a good one for exploring some good alternatives for lyric construction -- look up Broadcast's "Come On Let's Go." Broadcast's early stuff is some of the few songs with lyrics I still listen to.

oldsak

Read. A Lot. It builds up your vocuabulary and gives you ideas to write about.

Write. A Lot. Even if it's crap. Keep a journal and write everything. You need to practice writing in order to get any good at it.

When I write songs I always come up with the vocal melody first, and then figure out the meter and how I want the syllables to sound, and finally find lyrics that fit within those constraints.

While difficult at first if you're not used to writing poetry or lyrics, putting constraints on yourself can make writing a lot easier.