Lyric Writing Help?

[Zero Noble]

Hey, I'm new here so sorry if I put this in the wring section. I've been making music for 1 or 2 years now, and I would really like lyrics to accompany them, but I can't think of any. People say 'they just come to you', but they don't for me... And when I try to sit down and write lyrics I end up getting really frustrated and angry.

If anybody has anything helpful for me, please reply.

Thanks

-ZN

[Todd S]

Would love to hear some of your music. I can certainly write lyrics, so if you have any ideas for certain songs I could write around that. Let Me know, good luck

[alwaystheself]

I understand. I experienced writer's block for many years.. Almost a decade. Every time I would try to write, I would just feel frustrated. Then something happened this year.. Totally unexpected. Lyrics and poems started coming to me.

The best advice I could give would be the following:

- don't try to write. Just stop trying.

- accept that you feel frustrated. Embrace it, as weird as that sounds.

- instead of trying to write lyrics, try to practice being in touch with your feelings. For me, lyrics come from tapping into how i feel. I can't be inspired if I don't pay attention to what's going on inside me. So pay attention to yourself. Become mindful of your thoughts and emotions.

- consider starting a journal. Jot down a few notes about what's on your mind. Get into the habit of expressing your thoughts and feelings in words.

At some point, you will become more comfortable putting words to your thoughts and feelings. Then you open yourself up to inspiration and the songs will write themselves. But first, you need to be receptive.

Hope this helps,

C

[justsoulin]

Agree with the mix of Always and Tom. Stop trying as this is just one of those rare things that forcing it = zero result. I have music in my head but can't get it out so I don't try. I can write and when it comes I think it flows but then it stops, just like turning off the tap. It'll come back though.

Musicians I've known can't write words and so collaborations happen. This may be a way to begin for you. I hear apiece of music and I have a problem stopping the words coming, maybe you're the same with music.

Write things down though, carry a little book with you always - this allows thoughts, ideas, insights, sights and sounds etc to not be forgotten, and to be revisited at a later time. You're frustrated, write down the list of everything you feel until the words have run dry. Apply a mind map to them all.

And don't worry if you can't, we cannot all be "songwriters", but together we can write great songs. Send me a some music if you want. Post some music and ask everyone to submit lyrics. Work with what you have, not at what you don't.

[Lisa Gates]

Hi Z,

I'm new here and looking around at old posts. If you are still looking for lyrics we might make a good team as I NEVER have the music for my lyrics... lol

We all can't be good at everything!

What's your favorite genre?

All the best,

Lisa

[Joe]

ZN:

 

One can't get all worked up by their limitations...they just have to focus on the strengths.  I absolutely cannot write/create melodies.  I can, and thus I do, write lyrics.  How good they are is a topic for debate.  What's important though, is that there are folks like us that recognize the need for collaboration, and there are forums like this that can provide the means to those collaborations.

 

My main genre's are country and christian music.  I also enjoy being somewhat irreverent and thus I also write political songs.

 

To learn about me, feel free to visit my site.

 

Joe

 

FunnyCideMusic http://funnycidemusic-com.webs.com/

[gingeritus11]

What'd I'd suggest is thinking of it as a form of poetry and not forcing the hand of the music to fit the lyrics, or forcing the lyrics to fit the music.

It seems that the best lyrics are written on a topic that you feel interested in.

So, once you have the music, I'd say this is a good starting point to find the topic you want to talk about. Take the music you wrote and ask yourself "What kind of mood is this in? Is it happy/upbeat, sad, energetic, slow, intense, laid-back?" Once you have the right idea about that, you can think of a topic to write about.

As others have said, it is best to just let it come to you, but I remember being in the very same position as you and saying "nothing's coming." I would say that isn't a good reason to give up on it though. You should be careful and give it a lot of thought, but don't be too careful or give it too much thought. Just try to fit exactly what you think the song would be about.

For instance, one of my songs is about being a teenager (as if that hasn't been over played already...haha) Anyway, I wrote the melody and chords before I wrote the lyrics. And when I looked at what I had made, I said, "This is simple, but sort of skewed. Sounds like some one who is making a faux-folk song. It sounds like it would be about conflict although the music implies unity. What things do I know that are about conflict?" I thought of war, relationships, Man Vs. Nature, Man vs. Self, and then I came along to being a teenager. Although I was a teenager at the time, it wasn't so obvious that's what it should be about. So I used the mood and rhythm of the music I wrote to come to a good topic, and then used the topic to find specific line by line lyrics. 

It's easier than it looks at first. Don't worry about the lyrics being dull or bad, because it is a learning process. Unless you write poetry or creative works, it doesn't seem like the first song you ever write will be the best of your songwriting endeavors. But that is how you learn. And you'd be surprised, it's not as hard as we make it out to be. If you have something worth saying, and something worth playing, the words are sort of easy. 

If you'd like, I'd be more than willing to help you out with some specifics, just message me or something. Good luck!

Edited April 14, 2013 by gingeritus11

[Joe]

I understand. I experienced writer's block for many years.. Almost a decade. Every time I would try to write, I would just feel frustrated. Then something happened this year.. Totally unexpected. Lyrics and poems started coming to me.

The best advice I could give would be the following:

- don't try to write. Just stop trying.

- accept that you feel frustrated. Embrace it, as weird as that sounds.

- instead of trying to write lyrics, try to practice being in touch with your feelings. For me, lyrics come from tapping into how i feel. I can't be inspired if I don't pay attention to what's going on inside me. So pay attention to yourself. Become mindful of your thoughts and emotions.

- consider starting a journal. Jot down a few notes about what's on your mind. Get into the habit of expressing your thoughts and feelings in words.

At some point, you will become more comfortable putting words to your thoughts and feelings. Then you open yourself up to inspiration and the songs will write themselves. But first, you need to be receptive.

Hope this helps,

C

Right on the nailhead there with your advice....you stated it perfectly.  This is exactly what has helped me more than anything.  I think (from my own experience) that your advice, if followed, helps one to feel much better about oneself, and it essentially frees one to open that door to the mind that sometimes closes on us when least expected.  Good solid commentary there !!!