Lyrics Writing Challenge #13: Your Lucky Number

[john]

15 minutes ago, McnaughtonPark said:

It is a good way to write, I really like what everyone posted.  I didn’t get to critique the lyrics here for meter against the original, on purpose.  I didn’t want to know if they worked with the existing melody.  From my earlier experience, I hoped they didn’t.  I hoped each of you left enough room to make these into songs unique for you.  I’ve been reading lyrics in the lyric forum for years and can’t remember a more solid string of lyrics appearing one after another ever, not ever.  

 

John, I like your ideas on making a new melody.  Maybe I’ll give it a go.

 

Yes quite impressive results!

 

One other option to mention is to work with a co-writer... just don't tell them the root song!

 

Meanwhile, good luck with it MP!

 

Roll on the next challenge! I will post it a little later this evening.

[snabbu]

Tom and John

Jimmy K at Berkelee says take the groove from the song. Take the melody motive variations from the song. Take a chord sequence from a totally different song. 

Then write a new melody motives over the same parts as they appear in the original song then apply the variation techniques from the original song to those new motives. And tweak to taste.. That way even if as I did the lyric matches exactly the hook repetition is in exactly the same place etc. you are going to end up with something totally different. The point being you are working with a rhythm  track  and you know you need a sequence of six notes in those say two bars, you focus on that ignoring the lyric at that point. So it isn’t getting in your way. 

 

After you have written your motives and done your variations then you work with the lyric and tweak the note lengths and maybe the pitches if you want a particular sound on a word and perhaps even alter the chords underneath to get the feel right. 

 

Its sbout working in stages.

 

cheers

 

Gary

[Pahchisme Plaid]

I purposely picked a song I wasn’t familiar with (Yeah, I can only imagine the grief I’ll get for not knowing this song—sorry, but hubby and teens hog the airwaves with their music selections. Being alone in the car with my own choice of music is like heaven!). 

 

Anyway, I’m familiar with it now because I tried to stick with every movement of the song,  but I think if I give it space and can get the former out of my head and focus on the emotion, I can get a new melody.  It’s not THAT stuck in my head, (I don’t think).  

 

However, a Capella is likely all I can do.  My guitar skills aren’t so fantastic.

 

 

[DonnaMarilyn]

On 3/10/2018 at 8:38 PM, McnaughtonPark said:

It is a good way to write, I really like what everyone posted.  I didn’t get to critique the lyrics here for meter against the original, on purpose.  I didn’t want to know if they worked with the existing melody.  From my earlier experience, I hoped they didn’t.

 

That's a good point, of course. Although my metering matched exactly that in the source lyric (The Needle and the Damage Done'), luckily I was easily able to come up with a completely different melody. It's a satisfying feeling.