Start with the hook?

[M90]

I've gone through a bit of a rough roller coaster the last two years. Falling wildly in love for the first time and having my heartbroken for the first time, and then to have it all happen again with the same girl all at the age of almost 30.

It's inspired a ton of lyrics. I have probably 40 pages of lyrics about both sides of the story. Anything from 1 line, 2 lines, or a whole verse. I have just written down anything that comes to mind or anything that's inspired me. So now I have all these different lines that if put together could make up multiple songs. I'm just not sure how to do this...

I was reading some stuff and it seemed a popular way to start writing a song is to come up with the hook first. (Is that true?) And that the hook should encapsulate the story that the song is trying to tell.

So with that information, assuming it's accurate, would a good way to start going through all of my lyrics and piecing together a song be to first come up with the message/story I want the song to tell, then go through the lyrics looking for a line or two that speaks to that and could be a hook and then write the song around that?

Any other advice for putting together a song with what I have?

Just feel like I have almost too much to work with.  Like I'll put a few of my lines together but maybe one of those lines would be better with a different line I haven't used yet?

[Mahesh]

Hmmm, this is an interesting question.

 

Personally for me, it's my search for the "theme" of a song that stumbles on to a "hook".

 

A "hook" for me could be lyrical; a certain line that seems to express the core of the emotion I'm feeling. It could be an interesting lyrical "plot" that I might see that it gives the song its uniqueness. This plot could be a reference to an incident within the lyric, maybe a place, a time, or something that a certain person said said etc.,

 

So, when I'm co-relating my emotions to a broader "theme" or mood, certain things pop out.

 

It could be musical. A certain riff that I find really vibey to write a verse on. It could be a melodic hook that keeps running in my head that could turn into a chorus. It could be a certain imaginary instrument in my head that's helping me decide further musical ideas.

 

Once again, because of the fact that you're working over a theme, a vibe, a general mood to work with, those lyrics and these musical ideas begin to come from the same "source" if you will.

 

When you're working with a general mood or theme, anything could become a hook. A certain vocal melody, a drum beat, a certain groove, a situation in your mind. So for me, a hook is that idea that helps me further make the decision process while songwriting.

 

You probably would have asked this question in context to lyric writing exclusively. But I thought it was an interesting situation that you are in from which we could all collectively ponder about.

 

I wish you the best on this quest. 👍

 

Mahesh

[MikeRobinson]

"Happen again with the same girl?"  🤔  Even marriage is a roller-coaster ride sometimes, "and if it ain't a ride, it ain't worth it."  (Waitaminit ... that sounds like a song!  But, I digress ...)

 

First, and foremost, capture everything.  I've lost count of how many "voice memos" I have on my phone [archives].  Don't stop collecting them, whether they are verses or musical ideas.

 

Now... what to do with them?  Welcome to the world of "the writer.™"  Grab a cup of coffee or tea, and sift through at least some of them.  But, now, try to look "a little-bit objectively."  Find one that seems to be "a central idea," and then find two or three others that "support it."  (Some also may "stand in contrast to it.")  Single them out and try to be a storyteller.

 

"Song storytelling" can approach from either angle, or both:  music, or lyric (poem).  And the first thing that you must know about storytelling is that it isn't a deterministic process!  Therefore, just as you've captured all your "source material," also capture all your "drafts."  Never(!) throw anything away.

 

As you try to tell stories, think about Gentle Listener, and how to construct a "necessarily-universal" emotional moment ... or insight ... or reflection ... or ... that mirrors your "necessarily-personal" experience.  (Or, if you dare and if you wish, hers.)

 

= = =

 

"Start with the hook?"  I think that remains to be determined.  Once you've got the idea, there are dozens of ways to execute it.  ("Keep all of them!  Keep all of them!")

[swingset]

I don't think there's a right answer, as long as the product works. When I was first starting the hook was paramount, because I felt then (and there's probably some truth to it) that without a strong hook that the song wasn't worth keeping around. So, I'd either write to the hook (often in a chorus), or wait until I had one sufficient to be a keeper and then structure a song around it, but as time has went on I've learned that it's...at least for me...a limiting prospect, and doesn't always work.

 

For instance, there are melodies that are so strong or catchy that they kind of form their own hook...a pattern that is sweet enough, or lands sufficiently before repeating that you can write the song almost without a hook, if that makes sense. Other songs, for reasons of meter or structure, might be plodding along with just a root note or two, and the hook comes along and opens it up and really sells it.

 

I think just being open to the melody and making sure the lyrics work around it will answer those questions for you, on a song-by-song basis.