Guiding Principles?

[john]

Hey

When you write a song... what guiding principles do you have? Is there an order of importance for you?

For example... how memorable the melody is, or how profound the lyrics are or simply that it appeals to a certain type of audience?

I'd be interested to hear how you all go about it.

[Benoit]

the first element really has to be a spontaneity that comes to me and is worth getting down.

after that, flow and some kind of narrative continuity are what i prize the most. Lyrics and melodies can be dome a dozen and of course there's going to be small things in there you're proud of, but what i look for most is a way to make the song cohesive and fluid.

being memorable just means it worked well! it's hard to write something and make it memorable from the start, that's an aspect that goes with a really good riff. if the song is cohesive then the memorableness of your hooks and the ways you string them together combine to make a great song!

[CraigDW]

the first element really has to be a spontaneity that comes to me and is worth getting down.

after that, flow and some kind of narrative continuity are what i prize the most. Lyrics and melodies can be dome a dozen and of course there's going to be small things in there you're proud of, but what i look for most is a way to make the song cohesive and fluid.

being memorable just means it worked well! it's hard to write something and make it memorable from the start, that's an aspect that goes with a really good riff. if the song is cohesive then the memorableness of your hooks and the ways you string them together combine to make a great song!

Hi John,

For me its about getting down on paper the vision I see. I have a strong idea, not a picture exactly more of a feeling. I get goosebumps when I nail the lyrics to the feeling. Then I try and hone it to fit into a melody, to rhyme etc.

I wrote this one about 10 minutes ago called "I pray to you" Kinda fast rock, Two verses, Chorus, two verses, Chorus, Slows to dramatic slow ending on last verse. Posting 2 vesus here and will post whole song in proper place.

Ideas inside my head

Can’t get out of bed

Then I pray to You

Searching for a friend

Hoping not to bend

Then I pray to You

Wanting a life, oh please

Falling on my knees

Then I pray to You

Why do I feel

Like I’m no big deal

Then I pray to You

Cheers Craig

[RyanJavery]

For me I focus on the lyrics first. Making it all flow perfectly and getting just the right word each time. After that everything else tends to fall into place.

[MikeRobinson]

For me, it is a wrestling match.

Thomas Edison once pointed out that "he knew ten thousand ways to make a light bulb that didn't work." Maybe there are folks who are so experienced that they can "just sit down and whip out" a magnificent melody ... but I suspect that the process still consists mostly of trial-and-error.

If you keep "trialing," though, and "erroring," a funny thing happens: you learn.

You probably should try to focus on either the music, or the lyric, such that you can seriously concentrate on one without being too-sidetracked by the other. If you're trying to perfect a lyric, spend a lot of time listening to good songs and concentrating on their lyrics. If you're trying to perfect a tune, spend a lot of time listening to good tunes and trying to deconstruct how they were put together. The more closely you regard something "that has been sitting right here in front of your nose for many years," the more you see.

[Thisissjb]

Hey

When you write a song... what guiding principles do you have? Is there an order of importance for you?

For example... how memorable the melody is, or how profound the lyrics are or simply that it appeals to a certain type of audience?

I'd be interested to hear how you all go about it.

Great question John!

For me it's definately the lyric writing & getting as much emotion as I can into them! Songs are emotional rollercoasters in which listeners get carried to the highest of highs & to the lowest of lows, depending on the song of course (and portraying this is an art which I will probably never master ). Then pairing the lyrics to the correct sound. I realise I'm a better lyricist than I am a musician so this is the strength I focus on. Also a lot has to be said for the quote "Keep it simple stupid"

Be great,

Scott

[BobMay]

Really good topic.

There are a lot of guiding principles for me. A lot of songwriting is instinctive and I have recently had to verbalize it for my sixteen year old son who is now doing very well at guitar and singing.

The melody should move you emotionally.

You should be able to transfer that emotion to the listener. They should feel the same emotion you felt when writing the song.

The music (chords and melody) should fit the words. #1 rule in my book.

There should be drama,..a building to the first chorus and the second and the bridge (if the song is layed out that way) to the ending.

The drama should be created both by words and musically. (Adding embelishments as you go on, or volume dynamics, maybe a suprize ending or moral, etc.)

Music is emotion.

Songwriting can tell a story or capture a moment. And for a moment, it can change those who write it and those who hear it.

I usually start out with a piece of a chord progression or a small thing I've learned to play on guitar and play it over and over and ask myself, What does this sound like? What does it feel like?

It may be a song about a person who doesn't exist. That doesn't matter to me.

What that person would feel if they did exist is what matters.

Mike said for him it is like a wrestling match. For me it is like a puzzle. All the pieces have to fit.

Bob

Edited January 4, 2011 by BobMay

[crazypoet]

Yeah, a really good question, and there's no perfect answer to this. I mostly write the lyrics first, trying to come up with a good hook/title, then a catchy first phrase.

If a melody comes to me afterwards I try it out, and if not I pick a composer that I know can capture the feeling of the lyrics and provide melodic hooks.

[snabbu]

Hi John

Good question. And the answer is different depending on the circumstances and how the song is written.

If it's written music first, the prosody and the sound of the lyric like alliteration etc is probably more important than the actual meaning or story.

I it's written lyric first it's a much more straight jacket process. more orderly.

And if it fails at any of the steps it gets shelved.

There must be a good song idea or it stops there.

Then a hook needs to be thought up to express the song idea.

Then the lyric should have a beginning middle and end a read well, with rhythm.

Then there must be a tune that is good enough to carry the lyric.

If all this is there, then the song can proceed to polishing if any of these is not happening then I sort of loose

the will to go on with it. None of these ideas have to be particularly profound or fabulous but they have to be there and be OK, good enough to

want to go on with the project.

Cheers

Gary

[john]

Hey guys,

Some great replies so far, i'd be interested in seeing some more thoughts and opinions though...

So dig deep and lets here your feelings on the topic

[FinnArild]

For pop-style songs I think a good "hook" is essensial. It doesn't need to be much, just a little thing that you can repeat that makes the song special and put it apart from other songs. A good example is Chicago "You're the inspiration" - the opening piano there that repeats throughout. Excellent hooks. Some songs are full of it: "Barbie Girl" for example - it's all hooks.