Songwriting: How Do You Start A Song?

[arteg]

Do you start it with a guitar riff or maybe with some words or sentences. Maybe you start with a musical phrase or motive that has come into your mind or simply by jamming on a guitar or playing a piano and singing along. Do you wait for inspiration, for some musical idea? Do you start with a melody or with lyrics?

[The S]

Um, to make this one difficult for you, my sincere answer will be, yes. All of the above except the piano part, I don't play it much.

 

My ideas come from all kinds of situations and times, with or without instruments. I simply don't know when or how they will turn up, but turn up they do. I then record them and store them for later. That's it.

 

This is a question that many have asked and will continue doing for the rest of our time. The answer is always the same, there's no formula. Well, in all honesty, whatever works for you is the formula if there'd be one.

 

Ideas turn up, whenever they want to, no matter what you do really. Some must work hard for it, some don't, some get them at work, far from any musical surroundings, some need to be always playing/singing to get them. The various scenarios in how a tune comes to life are endless.

 

S

[Mahesh]

I agree. It is a bit of everything I guess. Personally, usually for me, I get a musical idea on the guitar which leads to a lyrical idea as I jam around with it. Once the uncertainly dancing between words and music reaches a considerable duration, a more solid idea grows.

 

I must say that I find it interesting that, with me, there are very few instances where I thought about what the song should be about before I started writing it. Usually, the direction of the song only becomes clear once I get comfortable with the musical idea. I constantly ask my self what emotion does the musical idea evoke in me while I play it over and over. And then it becomes pretty natural from there.

[ReaI]

"How do I start writing, a book, a song, etc..."  

    Is probably one of the most commonly asked questions in songwriting, although that isn't a bad thing. Personally, I prefer to start writing the lyrics first, since I constantly am writing no matter where I am. I start with a hook, the chorus. One catchy line that will be used multiple times within the song, this is your base. From here on you can write the rest of the song, also, in my opinion it is much easier to write the melody, beat, and background later. Good luck man!

- Cole "Real"  

[Vagas On Fire]

What I do is I get a good first sentence and go off of that. The rest usually just comes naturally for me. 

[McnaughtonPark]

Tom, I think in a point/counterpoint response to your observation, I am guilty of starting a song with the lyric.  Of course for me, with limited playing ability, the music comes later.  At the stage I find myself presently, once I have a good idea about where the lyric is going, I pick up the guitar and start playing.  I have been surprised to find myself changing the original melody to suit the chords I find sometimes.  Anyway, I use the structure of music to further the lyric.  Is it long enough?  Which extra syllables need trimming?  I almost never start with music, maybe once or twice.  So, starting a song out with a sentence is therefore a legitimate place to start a song.  

 

Peace 

 

Tom   

[McnaughtonPark]

LOL, emoticon war games, lol, love it Tom.

 

Ok.  gotcha!

 

Where do you begin when writing a song?

 

Where do you begin when writing a lyric?

 

Does anyone begin the process by humming a melody?  That would be interesting to start with only a melody and build from there.  I wonder if that would lead to music or lyric first?

[GocartMoz]

As you have stated the questions Tom (McNaughton), I don't believe the two are mutually exclusive.  For example, it is entirely possible that someone can begin writing a song with a lyric.  That aside, as a songwriter, I can answer the question of how one begins writing a song for me, as follows (realizing it is different for everyone). For me, it always begins with the music.  The only time I have ever written a song with a lyric first, is if I was collaborating with another lyricist, who gave me the lyrics in advance.  For my own songs, it is always the music.

 

Frankly, my usual process is I pick up my acoustic guitar and start humming a melody while noodling with various chord progressions.  I keep going until I find a progression and melody that works.  Than I start singing nonsensical lyrics to the progression.  That is usually the verse melody.  It is then that I begin to actually write the lyric.  When I have a verse lyric and melody, I will next find a chorus progression and do the same, then write that lyric ... then on to a bridge, etc.  So ... initially, it is music and then with each progression and melody realized for each section of the song I write the music and lyric piecemeal.  Then I will record and figure out arrangement and instrumentation.

 

Of late, the process may change.  With DAWS, I will now often start the process with my electric, hooked direct, find a beat and start a similar process that was previously associated with only the acoustic.  I find often that with the electric, the process may start with a riff as opposed to a chord progression, though not always. The rest of the process is generally the same for me though. 

 

Tom, I never begin by humming a melody exclusively.  Like I said though, the process begins by finding a chord progression I hum a melody to, if that makes sense.

 

Dave

 

[Stova007]

I think I read somewhere that Bob Dylan writes his lyrics first, which is something Ive never been able to do. My writing process is pretty much the exact same as Dave's...although I usually just hit record and start singing nonsense so I can have it on tape.

[McnaughtonPark]

34 minutes ago, GocartMoz said:

I find often that with the electric, the process may start with a riff

Do you then use that riff as the melody?  When you find that magical progression of notes, is it the pattern for your vocal effort?

[Just1L]

59 minutes ago, McnaughtonPark said:

Do you then use that riff as the melody?  When you find that magical progression of notes, is it the pattern for your vocal effort?

 

For me it isn't. It stays as the guitar part. When I play it over and over, eventually a vocal melody pops out that seems to gel nicely with the guitar part. Sometimes nonsense words, sometimes words that stick. As soon as I have something to work with I write a verse down that goes with what I've come up with, then sing it over the guitar parts. Most of the time I just double the one verse, listen to it, and go where it takes me. That verse could end up being the last verse in the song or the first verse depending on what it says and how it fits to the story. Sometimes I won't use that verse at all and it ends up really just being a placeholder. There have been times where I took the words I had for the verse, and use it for a bridge. All in all it's like a big puzzle but without all the parts. While I'm working on the puzzle, a new piece will kind of magically appear based on what I already have. I put that piece in and continue onward. 

 

I've written lyrics first, chorus first, music only first and any other way you can. The most satisfying for me is the above method. It's almost like a really fun game and it's exciting when a new part shows up and fits well. Whether it actually does fit well or not is up to the listener I reckon, but it's the most fun for me.

[Rudi]

I start any and all ways.

 

Starting with lyrics always produces the best lyrics though .

[Just1L]

3 hours ago, Rudi said:

Starting with lyrics always produces the best lyrics though .

 

Depending on the lyricist of course.

[McnaughtonPark]

I do remember the one song I wrote that started with music first was Time Was Only Joking.  I played the first chord and the first lyric lines came right after.  The chord wrote the lyric.  I do know that the process I like the most is writing to a melody.  Alistair used to send me songs with him playing guitar and humming/singing odd words here and there  but the melody was complete.  In those songs, the melody wrote the lyric.  I still write that way when I don't have a complete lyric and I pick up the guitar somewhere in the process to clean up what has been written, it's just harder to stay focused on the direction I want the lyric to go in while I'm singing and playing.  The melody starts to firm up in song form, whereas in a purely lyrical form, the melody tends to float in and out of a particular pattern until the meter gets more solid, but the lyric itself stays more consistent if I wait to pick up the guitar.  Story lyrics, in particular, need that kind of focus from me anyway. 

[Rudi]

20 hours ago, McnaughtonPark said:

I do remember the one song I wrote that started with music first was Time Was Only Joking.  I played the first chord and the first lyric lines came right after.  The chord wrote the lyric.  I do know that the process I like the most is writing to a melody.  Alistair used to send me songs with him playing guitar and humming/singing odd words here and there  but the melody was complete.  In those songs, the melody wrote the lyric.  I still write that way when I don't have a complete lyric and I pick up the guitar somewhere in the process to clean up what has been written, it's just harder to stay focused on the direction I want the lyric to go in while I'm singing and playing.  The melody starts to firm up in song form, whereas in a purely lyrical form, the melody tends to float in and out of a particular pattern until the meter gets more solid, but the lyric itself stays more consistent if I wait to pick up the guitar.  Story lyrics, in particular, need that kind of focus from me anyway. 

 

Yes,

 

I know those incomplete songs that go "oobedoo-bah-dowah, webah diddle du" when you sing them.

 

Some of mine still sound like that sometimes because I forget words so easily .

[GocartMoz]

On 2/9/2016 at 0:43 PM, McnaughtonPark said:

Do you then use that riff as the melody?  When you find that magical progression of notes, is it the pattern for your vocal effort?

 

Honestly Tom, I cannot ever recall using the riff as the melody.  Often, it will be part of my musical intro, an interlude, or musical hook that runs throughout the song making it somewhat signature to the song.  The vocal melody, for me, has always been different than the musical melody underlying the riff.

 

Dave

[fullcirclemusic]

This is a great question.

For us, it is never the same how a song starts. Sometimes it is a track or beat. Sometimes it is a song title. Sometimes it is another artist bringing in a verse/chorus and we tweak it and build off of it.

I know it's not super helpful, but I don't think there is one right way to start a song! If you're stuck for ideas, just load in an apple loop in garage band or logic and mumble some melodies over top of it, doesn't even have to start with legible words.

 

www.fullcirclemusic.org

[LeonellCassio]

On 2016-02-09 at 5:47 PM, McnaughtonPark said:

Does anyone begin the process by humming a melody?  That would be interesting to start with only a melody and build from there.  I wonder if that would lead to music or lyric first?

I've played the piano all my life so I always start with humming the melody, then playing on the piano and then trying to make up words for that melody. This is not always a good method because the lyric can become very "unorganic" if that make sense. 

But if you play a very melody heavy instrument like the piano, trumpet, clarinett or something similar, I would recommend trying this technique

[JH Michaels]

For me .....they just "happen" whenever I have a "lightbulb" moment.  I don't try to analyze the process because I think that if I do....it will jinx it and they will stop.  Sometimes it will be a title, a catchy phrase, or perhaps I make an offhand comment to someone and think "Hey!"  sometimes I'm just noodling on the guitar and I will stumble on a chord progression or even a single note that suggests a song.  I hardly ever write a complete set of lyrics though until I have a feeling and mood in the music and some idea of the structure I want to follow and the story I want to tell.  Even when that's settled I will often go through several edits to get what I feel is the right mix and rhythmn.  That being said....it doesn't necessarily happen in a fevered pitch and a complete song emerges from the other end.  I have songs that have not been finished and have been waiting for just the right inspiration to finish for a year or more and maybe I never will finish them, but that's ok.  It's all part of this magic process I can't define other than it's a fantastic ride and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Another thing I try to remind myself is that not everyone will like what I write, nor will everyone hate what I write.  We're all different and different things moves us, otherwise, the only song that ever needed to be written would be Kumbaiya.  Thank heavens for that.

[Mahesh]

It's awesome to be able to get into each one of your mind's through the descriptions you mention. Very useful to the songwriter in me. I get to see a musical idea in so many different ways. It's funny and beautiful at the same time that the amount of knowledge you gain from reading books and whatnot about songwriting doesn't directly help start a song. It's that creative 'something' somewhere. As it should be.