lyrics!!!!???? My band and I are useless!

[Robscahill]

Hi there

 

Tried this technique for making band names where you write down 5 nouns and adjectives with your members, rip them off and fold them and put them into a pile then get someone to pick one adjective an one noun as of course they will be labeled "a" and "n". Found that worked but with lyrics....well

 

anyone got any ideas to help write ANY type of song??

[B15hop]

Do What I do

 

Get drunk, think deep about what bothers you, And write

 

www.myspace.com/butleryeats

[Robscahill]

errrm preferably in a normal state of mind haha

[mwcharger]

honestly i have had alot of trouble with lyrics myself.

 

but i learned how and whether you like it or not what im bout to tell ya is the truth.

 

YOU CANNOT FORCE LYRICS! if you dont feel it then anything you write will suck. next time you feel upset, angry, or as someone already suggested "under the influence" try writing about it.

 

when you do this dont think so much about the music at first, just think about writing a poem (after all that is what lyrics are) about that person or situation or w/e , think of the things you want to say about them and try to figure out some way to use imagery or metaphors. although sometimes straightforward is good too

 

hope this helps. trust me tho, you really do have to feel it, you cant be fake

[mwcharger]

oh and i forgot if you already have the music done, jus try listening to to song. some times you may want to try just listening to one part at a time over and over until you can think of something or some type of lyric idea that fits

[Robscahill]

cheers

 

well in this case we have complete musical parts, basically instrumentals and it is the lyrics

 

thanks for your tips

[fpatrick08]

If you're inclined to study a bit, there are probably some books or tutorials available on using poetic meter and rhyme and song. Sometimes leaving out rhymes can be a very dramatic effect. Definitely write words that you or whoever sings can sing without too much trouble, because issues of diction that make lyrics different than poetry. I've heard lyricists who I consider to be absolutely great like Joni Mitchell have lines that seemed awkward occasionally awkward. Find any intelligent interviews with lyricists you really like and learn something about how they craft things and what inspires them. Write about what you know.

 

When you're beginning a song, think of what it is you're trying to express. Anything that interests you. I'm dating myself, but if you're interested in things with a social conscience, look up the lyrics and subject of

Sting's 1987 song "They Dance Alone". Be sure to figure out that the song is about something specific and there is documentation everywhere about this one. It's about this ingenious form of protest the women of Chile used to protest the brutal Pinnochette regine of the 1970's. We're not all going to be mega-starts but that song "magnified" an event and really accomplished something because it got through to those people and Pinochette had it banned. The song wasn't the important part, the event it publicized inspired many dramatic and theatrical production.

 

"They Dance Alone" is on "...nothing like the sun". Miles Davis said this about it: "Sting's new record is a Motherf_cker. Gil [Evans] made that record a Motherf_cker. So, when you're thinking your song needs something extra to break up the monotony, don't forget about how important the arrangment is to a vocal song. Find someone in your band that is really good at arranging.

 

Above all else, be sincere. As far as I'm concerned, if you're sincere, it can't be bad. It can only be getting better. I have little use for traditional musical criticism.

 

When you're stuck or need an opinion, play what you have done for musicians you know, and remind them to give you very positive. Only ask people that will be kind and considerate and helpful doing this because it's no fun being bashed around when you're sincerely expressing yourself. It's unusual that non-musicians can help you with a half done piece of music, because they usually just don't 'get it', but occasionally they can.

 

Two valuable things I learned when I was at school:

 

1. Just write and finish things and go on and keep writing, even if you're not totally happy with songs, put them on the shelf. Most people have to write a lot before they start becoming consistently good. Again, if it's sincere, it's can't help but being good.

 

2. You can find people with great voices and great ranges easily, but finding good singers is really hard because it's about expression and sub-text.

 

If you're unhappy with the lyrics your band is creating, try to find someone who is a poetic type that would be willing to just write or help with lyrics.

 

I liked the comment about drinking before writing. Very intrguiging, and amusing at the same time.

 

I'd add this - if you're really ready to give up with lyrics, go study with Charlie Banacos for a couple of years and play only jazz. That will probably make you crazy enough to write some interesting lyrics.

 

"Breath, Breath in the air. Don't be afraid to care"

-Pink Floyd - "Breath"

[Robscahill]

wow-really interesting stuff

 

that has got my mind going!!!! I will really take on board what you've said

[ChicoSatis]

Honestly, I feel the most important part of writing a song is an actual idea of what you want it to be about.

 

I write poems and songs and sometimes I just start writing anything and it usually turns out weak. If i take some time to think about an actual idea it usually comes out much better. I'm always looking for new and interesting things to write about.

 

Also, just listening to others and writing as much stuff as you can really helps. Not everything will be Shakespeare but you will start to get better. Lyrics can be anything you want them to be. Deep. Shallow. Simple. Complex.

 

Just keep practicing writing and you'll get better at it.

 

HAve a good one.

[Beer Moth]

errrm preferably in a normal state of mind haha

 

C'mon man!

You're 15 already!

 

And British.

[Beer Moth]

To a degree,you've either got it or you haven't.

I used to be able to write poetry to order almost instantly.

Never dared tackle lyrics,other than piss take ones.

 

But it seems to me,from my odd viewpoint (I'm not into songs as a rule,or vocals in general;with exceptions,of course) that if you feel strongly about a certain subject,it will feed you your thoughts,and words to describe it .

Ultimayely.

It probably won't be the first draft,but you never know.

 

Try leaving a ' tape' running while you all get drunk and come up with silly ideas and alternative versions.

A few alterations might get you there.

 

Hic.

[Robscahill]

yea I'm 15 but I'm one of those my body is a temple type

 

I do karate and weights so I tend to move away from that lifestyle that most people my age have adopted

 

but good ideas cheers

[ChicoSatis]

yea I'm 15 but I'm one of those my body is a temple type

 

I do karate and weights so I tend to move away from that lifestyle that most people my age have adopted

 

I applaud you for this.

 

Keep it up.

 

I too am like this and I'm starting to see the benefits of this lifestyle.

 

HAve a good one.

[torsenstarrow]

use clusters. start with a word or ever better "a hook" in the middle of a piece of paper. then write down everything related to it that pops into your head, don't stop ideas because "they sound stupid"

 

also try free writing, where you write from the top of your head in a similar fashion; you don't reject ideas but just had a steady stream of consciousness flowing out of your pen.

 

You can then work with the results after... well anyways thats one of the ways you can do it. I learned that in my writer's craft class this year.

 

i on the other hand sing random words off the top of my head until i find some good lyrics and then work with it, sometimes rhyming etc.

 

i also like to write lyrics as i write the instrumentation for a song.

[ChicoSatis]

also try free writing, where you write from the top of your head in a similar fashion; you don't reject ideas but just had a steady stream of consciousness flowing out of your pen.

 

+1

 

That's my FAVORITE way to write. You'd be surprised the things your mind can come up with.

[torsenstarrow]

yeah man, it's pretty rad.

[Robscahill]

I like that idea thanks for all your time posting

 

also about the body thing cheers

[agrippa93]

I write all most all of the lyrics for my band and over the years I've developed 2 basic techniques for coming up with the words, depending on the situation:

 

1) If I'm starting from scratch with only a concept or song title I gather as many keywords as I can that are related to the topic, building a word bank. THe dictionary, thesaurus, and rhyming dictionary will be your greatest tools. In most cases I'll start from the chorus focusing on the main topic or what I want to communicate as the theme. Everything else becomes the supportive lines that point to the main theme (chorus).

 

2) If the the music has already been developed, what I do is map out a vocal melody over the different parts using a variety of meaningless sounds that resembles words. Eventually a phrase or actual word will come out that fits the vocal perfectly and I work around that to build the rest of the lyrics. It usually takes a few passes to get something, but I've had phenomenal results this way. From here I go to the 1st technique to build the rest.

[Robscahill]

thank you all very much