Lisa Gates

Hope you do go Lisa! I'm brand new. On Songstuff, which is how I got here, but I've read many of your wonderful lyrics already! Wish I could hear the music! I sense we may have some experiences in common...

Lisa

just a thought as I remember it snows in Nashville , I remember what it was like when I lived in Scotland .IT IS COLD ,  a bit colder than Florida . so pack warm undies that's all I'm saying LOL

 

john

On 12/30/2016 at 0:23 PM, scotsman89 said:

Lisa

just a thought as I remember it snows in Nashville , I remember what it was like when I lived in Scotland .IT IS COLD ,  a bit colder than Florida . so pack warm undies that's all I'm saying LOL

 

john

John, you crack me up! Yes I brought all warm clothes and a sweater for my dog too!! The lady I went up to visit kept her house freezing... but I have to say, I did not miss the oppressive heat of Floriday. There must be a happy medium somewhere!!

On 12/30/2016 at 0:19 PM, Terri Berg said:

Hope you do go Lisa! I'm brand new. On Songstuff, which is how I got here, but I've read many of your wonderful lyrics already! Wish I could hear the music! I sense we may have some experiences in common...

Welcome Terri! I did  visit Nashville for two days and got a good feel for where I'd like to live. As John mentioned it was COLD!

Thanx for reading my lyrics. A lot of them have no melody yet. I seem to create some lyrics with a melody and then sometimes just the words come with no music. No method to my maddness! LOL

I try to write lyrics that people will identify with and make them relatable to many circumstances. It's difficult but my goal is to write timeless lyrics that will last and be around for a long time.

I'll pop over to your profile and check out some of your stuff too!

Lisa

Lisa, thanks for writing back! I haven't put anything up yet. I don't even know how yet, lol.I'm still just trying to get parts of my songs/poems in place. I have so many questions about phrasing, which is hard without a melody in mind! So, I started counting syllables and it seems to be helping to keep me on track. Now I'm trying to determine of one of the stanzas should/ could be the chorus (knowing that the melody or rhythm would be altered)  I don't seem to write the chorus first like so many folks do. I start with an idea or phrase. And I write ad nauseam till something starts to stand out. Its messy! Any advice? Best of luck on your plans continuing.

Teri, ah yes, I see you haven't posted anything yet! It's hard to give advice because I capture words and make them a hook (which I usually put in the chorus or make it the last line of every verse in a song that will not have a chorus.) I have so many one liners in my phone memo section that if Shane McAnally called me and said do you want to co-write? I'd say yea, I've got a hundred hooks, which one do you want!? LOL.

 

So I suggest to pick your genre of music.

Then look up the lyrics of your favorite songs and look for the pattern:

of how many lines in a verse,

what is the rhyme scheme,

how many verses,

where does the chorus fall into place

and is there a bridge?

You can base your structure on what's being done. This is good because your audience will be familiar with the structure and be drawn to your song more easily.

 

Usually my chorus will have a different count of lines than the verses and always a different rhyme scheme. I tend to repeat the hook (which generally adds two more lines) It's ok to not start with the chorus when writing. This actually will give you an edge if you co-write with someone who writes the chorus first. Co-writing might be a great way for you to get your feet wet, because the chorus is historically the answer to the verses, so it'd be easy for you!

 

Once you get the basics down, you can start creating your own way of writing so you don't become one of those "cookie cutter writers" that write the same stuff over and over and over again!

 

I've got tons more advice! BUT I've got tons more to learn so I'm not trying to be snarky at you LOL.