Old 05-19-2010, 12:16 PM   #81
ez_willis
Human being with feelings
 
ez_willis's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 601
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sound asleep View Post
I feel sorry for you man, love is awesome. not sure if you just avoid love, or if you just avoid making love public.
....or if i've been with the same woman for 15 years and just talking BS.
ez_willis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2010, 12:43 PM   #82
vassago
Human being with feelings
 
vassago's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,430
Default

Blur says lyrics don't even need to be intellegible and can even make John lennon's look like high class...but can ANYONE not be stuck with that DAMN WOOHOO amd guitar riff in the head for less than a day????? ANYONE!!?? lol

WOOHOO!
WOOHOO!
WOOHOO!
WOOHOO!

I got my head checked
By a jumbo jet
It wasn't easy
But nothing is,
No -

WOOHOO!
When I feel heavy metal WOOHOO!
And I'm pins and I'm needles WOOHOO!
Well I lie and I'm easy
All of the time but I'm never sure why I need you
Pleased to meet you!

I got my head done
When I was young
It's not my problem
It's not my - problem -

WOOHOO!
When I feel heavy metal WOOHOO!
And I'm pins and I'm needles WOOHOO!
Well I lie and I'm easy
All of the time but I'm never sure why I need you
Pleased to meet you!

Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah
vassago is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2010, 01:15 PM   #83
gmanbat
Human being with feelings
 
gmanbat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: N.W. Ohio
Posts: 59
Default

My favorite lyrics. But then, songs that promote a dance always have a transcendent depth.

A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
B-b-b-bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a...

A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
Bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody's talking about the bird!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird...

Surfin' bird
Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb... [retching noises]... aaah!

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow

Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-oom-oom-oom
Oom-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-a-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Papa-oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Well don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word

Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
[repeat to fade]
__________________
Registered Reaper, BIAB, Real Band, Acid Music Studio 7
http://dovepeace.com
gmanbat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2010, 03:28 PM   #84
jens
Human being with feelings
 
jens's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Posts: 4,715
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by vassago View Post

"I got my head checked
By a jumbo jet
It wasn't easy
But nothing is

When I feel heavy metal
And I'm pins and I'm needles
Well I lie and I'm easy
All of the time
but I'm never sure why I need you
Pleased to meet you!

I got my head done
When I was young
It's not my problem
It's not my... problem


When I feel heavy metal
And I'm pins and I'm needles
Well I lie and I'm easy
All of the time
but I'm never sure why I need you
Pleased to meet you!"
that one is pure class!


(I removed the stuff you either left in or added to make a point that doesn't exist)
jens is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2010, 03:31 PM   #85
jens
Human being with feelings
 
jens's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Posts: 4,715
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by gmanbat View Post
My favorite lyrics.
a classic case of too much information...
jens is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2010, 03:46 PM   #86
McTamara
Human being with feelings
 
McTamara's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: TamarForce , Sinland
Posts: 163
Default

Let There Be Rock.
__________________
PTLE 8 user, here´s my ADC !
Now testing: i7 920 @ 3.6 G , XP32 ,002R, everything optimized based on DUC Hobo-builds. :)
McTamara is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2010, 04:46 PM   #87
Garrick
Human being with feelings
 
Garrick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Wellington
Posts: 4,622
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by With an E View Post
Garrick,

If you listen to Crowded House for example (your fellow countrymen?), they strike me as...

Yer crowded house are half kiwi half aussie, like their moody stuff. Havn;t heard their latest.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jens View Post
Great post!


I just want to add some thoughts:

if you conciously attempt to write some lyrics, chances are you get caught up in a web if cliches. That's the best way to end up with a pathetic result - pathetic because it isn't honest. Pathetic because it's written to make an impression, not really written to say something. Pathetic in every way. There are a lot of people who attempt writing poems and end up in that exact trap. They want to write, with the idea to write a touching poem being the main motivation. The result makes you cringe. And if your quality control works, it makes you as the writer cringe as well so you end up with nothing.


But then again:

Me driving home by bike from a rehearsal of my band.
Across the river and then along the shore. The famous cathedral ahead, the water softly shimmering under the star-bright sky, the warm summer night so beautyful, inspiri*scratch*



inspiring? In what way exactly? How could I describe what I felt? And if so what is it good for anyway? What is relevant about it?


Writing about your lost love is good and proper and probably important for yourself, but do you have to say anything worthwhile about it to the general public? Some message, something they could use? Are you able to share anything else beside whine?

Think about it - what is it you want to say? and how could you say it?

Start writing, then interpret your own words - what do they mean, what could they mean to others?

The more I think about it the more I become aware of how complex the process actually is - I think it's a constant exchange between your consciousness and your subconsciousness - almost like a discussion between the two - and in that it's probably not so different from composing music - and that figures, since the same area of the brain is mainly used for both of it.
Awesome awesome post, really got me thinking. Thank you. I guess my prob has being doing that analysis of what i'm trying to say too early in the process The other prob i see is spending too much time on the computer getting to grips with routing, eq..etc all good stuff but i have lacked a little balance. Years ago it was simpler, turn on the ol tascam porta studio have some friends around, a few brews, swap our songs. A lot of fun and the best ideas seem to come from that sence of humour part of the brain.
Garrick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2010, 05:15 PM   #88
junioreq
Human being with feelings
 
junioreq's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Buffalo NY
Posts: 1,091
Default

Well, for me, I get the track audio somewhere where I want it. I then, hook up a mic and just start talking,humming or just singing stuff, NOT on tune, but just relaxing and saying whatever comes to my mind: In the following example, I just did a take, and sang whatever I wanted, actually, I found that i had the talk radio up too much and was bleeding into the mic, so i actually am gonna use that in this song

https://stash.reaper.fm/oldsb/900971/utterblabber.mp3

The lyrics I guess I sang (lol) where like:

Can't you see the reason there aint no shame,
Try to find a reason, try to play a game.

You can't escape..... x4

::Radio talk show bleed about genetically modified food:::

Can't turn me around, RATHER BE.. Stuck in the ground...

WAITING FOR YOU.....

So, Now I have a bunch of thoughts straight from my deep brain without interference of any other thought process. Now its time to get a theme, or find out what the fuck I'm trying to say..

Here's what I get off that:
"Can't turn me around, RATHER BE.. Stuck in the ground...WAITING FOR YOU....."

To me that is an interesting line and means, I guess after interpretation:

You tried to change me, every little fucking thing that made me, me! You tried to change.. so piss off.. I'd rather be dead and in the ground than be around you anymore.... BUT at the end i said "waiting for you"... which means... I still love you and want you..

So, its a love/hate song Now you have some ideas to work with that came straight from the BRAIN (not the heart)...

Just an example of how I do things.. idk.. Just thought I'd chime in

Good luck.. Keep it simple..

~Rob.
junioreq is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2010, 04:08 AM   #89
gmanbat
Human being with feelings
 
gmanbat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: N.W. Ohio
Posts: 59
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jens View Post
a classic case of too much information...


Yup, the song looks even worse written out than it sounds in audio version.

It is breathtaking in it's lack of substance and utter abandon of self awareness.

Yet, we need the squawking of the crow to contrast the sweet chortle of the canary.
__________________
Registered Reaper, BIAB, Real Band, Acid Music Studio 7
http://dovepeace.com

Last edited by gmanbat; 05-20-2010 at 11:45 AM.
gmanbat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2010, 08:18 AM   #90
moodswinger
Human being with feelings
 
moodswinger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Hells Eight Acres
Posts: 568
Default

So much great input, info, references, ideas & thoughts. Also tho some (IMO) not so good, but I figured I'd add my 2 cents worth...

These are a few things that help(ed) me, especially starting out and I constantly go back to when I hit a wall or try a new style or unfamiliar subject.

If you're just starting out, I found it easier to write about things I didn't care about. Just thought of a subject and went with it. This way I was alot less critical of the content. I wasted too much time trying to get the "Right words" when i felt passionate about the subject, that I either didn't finish it or I ran it into the ground and never felt good about it.

This is also especially good if you think of a catchy melody. Write words [lyrics] that match the cadence of the melody, kinda like "scatting". One, it makes it easier to remember the melody in your head when you have something to sing and...Two, it may just start to develop into a song and finish itself then just go back and do some editing to bring it all together.

Kinda like how Neal Diamond's "Scotch on the Rocks" became "Love on the Rocks" or (IIRC) "Eggs in the Morning" became "September Morn"

Another one is write a song for someone else or in someone else's style. (Not someone you "identify" with as a lyricist by the way). In one band I was in, the band came with the music and the guitar had a very Ritchie Blackmore / Malmsteen feel to it, nothing how I write would "feel" right with the music so I thought I'd see if I could write a song like Dio would, I listened thru the full music a couple of times the title "The Omen" came to me, so I wrote on that theme, and writing lines with mystical/mythical content. Admittedly not my best work, but I (and the band) were surprised by what came out. And again I was less critical of showing & playing it to them, because I wasn't so "attached" to it, we changed a few things around and it became a pretty good tune. We didn't end up playing it much cuz it really wasn't' our style at the time, but really opened up my writing.

Also I wrote a song with a friend who's a Christian artist, & I'm not a Christian myself, but I know about love, hope, faith and the like so that's how I wrote it, changed a few of the "it's" and "the"'s to "Him", "His" & "He's" and viola..now it's a "Christian" song.

My point is the more detached you are, the easier it is to write and accept changes and outside input. But what you're doing is writing. And just like anything else the more you write the better it will get. And also you'll become less critical (read: self-conscience) of you're own stuff.

I don't believe the "the more you read..." comment, some of the best "lyric" writers I know haven't read a book, but have experienced alot of life. (check out www.cranfordnix.com start with the albums by the Malakas)
And I certainly don't believe it's the music that makes the song, a "riff" can certainly take it over the top...a la Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me", or Iron Man, Smoke on the Water, etc... but 90% of the time it's not the "music" people are singing in their cars or cleaning the house. Too many great songs are just over the A, D, E, G chords to validate that.

There's a starter exercise...take George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" or Chris Issak's "Baby did a Bad Thing" and rewrite 'em. Use same theme's and melodies but change words. Both are very common blues progressions and very common themes, just make 'em yours it'll get ya started.

Good Luck,
Cheers,
MoodSwinger
__________________
And once upon a time, so pure and crystalline,
the sounds would change by what the MOOD defined.
....
if there's a sound you play, that doesn't fit today,
why not just play the bastard anyway.

Be Schitzophonic.
moodswinger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2010, 08:29 AM   #91
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

I had an experience yesterday that reminded me that how you approach writing lyrics will depend a lot on whether you break song writing into separate processes of developing melody and lyrics or if you do the two interactively.

I had written a song a year or so ago that I decided to revisit. Part of it I liked, and part I didn't. I decided that the main root of my dissatisfaction was that the melody was boring in that section of the song. So I set about changing that bit of the melody, and found a chunk that I liked. But then I realized that I had also changed the rhythm of that part of the song, and the old lyrics no longer fit. So I started reworking the lyrics, and realized the order of the ideas could be re-arranged to fit the new rhythm. Then I realized that the new lyrics would tell a better story if made one part in present tense, and the rest in past tense. So I ended up reworking the entire song. All of this triggered by trying to improve the melody in a part of the song. None of this would have happened if I simply tried to fit the words to a melody in a one directional process. So I guess that the point of my rant is that there are advantages in treating the development of lyrics and melody as a single process rather than two separate processes.

T
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2010, 08:44 AM   #92
rhythm_kitchen
Human being with feelings
 
rhythm_kitchen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 87
Default Double speak

Myself and former bandmate down south (in La La Land) we both opted for the tried and true method of double-speak and stuck through it for 40 years.

Meaning exactly what some other posters contributed. I play old Rhodes and such so usually it's my own custom wurly sample I use and record both audio and midi (just to make it easier to figure the strange voicings which I always end up using).

I made a video of myself (so I could remember chord voicings) writing a song on a ukelele (polyrhythm reggae pull off type thing) and I think the changes and lyrics grow sort of like a tree, some branches fall off wither and die, new ones replace them, maybe I'll get the nerve when I record it, to post both on youtube.

When a buddy and I both lived in NYC, he studied from the Wizard of Oz composer Yip somebody or other I forget. He too used this method writing both lyrics and music together. I was told second hand, "it was the best way to write musicals". So... go with what works.

That is when the work begins in earnest. Inspiration turns to persperation. Sometimes this process holds up a song, so now you have a 'hook' or chorus and realize it would be better as a verse.

Dave O. as in Opcode, his original 'Vision' was to write parts, use the ASCII keyboard to play a verse back hitting the letter 'A', a different verse back 'Q', chorus 'C', turn-around 'T', outro... I encourage all reaper developers to look at Opcode's vision sequencer or even SVP. As even at the DUC now some old dawgs (like me) still claim there never has been a replacement or better DAW program written (feature wise). It really was an awesome program.

With Linear systems like DAW REAPER or Pro Tools this is a pain. On sequencing software a lot easier.

With Linear you're stuck so you move parts in the timeline to 10m in. 15m in. 20m in. Use the minutes to separate chorus, verse, etc. With PTs we just punch in the numbers on the keypad. As I have yet to install reaper but (really really close) as in I have a Delta 66 PCI card w/ no break out box or cable (anyone have these to sell?) but 64 bit driver.

Can I make a suggestion: Check out these songwriters. Danny Flowers. JJ Cale. Bruce Cockburn. Jeff Blackburn. Chip Taylor. Townes Van Zandt. Allyson Kraus.

Joni Mitchell was stuck at the Chelsea Hotel because of a 'TV' appearance while Woodstock raged, she was very very disturbed by this, and felt left out (her producers thought she might get stuck in traffic, yet they used helicopters for the band members in and out). This prompted her to write this great song in Greenwhich Village (Washington Square Park) while the show went on. I did the same thing when a Blues Festival was going on here, and used it to pull up ideas (also it was Memorial Day).

Also... I think the old "I've been hurt.. routine" is a great cataclyst for writing. But it gets tired after awhile. That is why I did not list myself or former bandmate (even though he has 5 major albums).

edit: Moodswing's post is on the money. I tried in vain to get my Hollywood songster/poet former bandmate to attempt 'song-crafting' not so personally involved. As I felt he always fell into the same old songwriting cliches, and as a former folksinger. He is an excellent stand up poet and is a fixture in the W. Hollywood community. But I have gone down this road and do feel the muses (if you continually write, type, speak poetry, or just stay creative, things flow better) and occasionally I hear songs in my dreams and wake up. I have a camcorder that I record song ideas to, and tiny ukelele for rhythm ideas. Even fire up an old Hammond in the middle of the night (so I will not forget in the am).

If the vocal doesn't work, try a back beat vocal, or play in 4/4 and attempt the vocal in 6/8 .02

Edit {lots of good ideas here I will second many of them. As far as the surfer niche music of S. California you had to be there}

Even Neil Young has trouble. He set a date at the Grand Ole Oprey (made sure a certain band wasn't around to beat him senseless as he got out of his bus) essentially...he had written 1 and 1/2 songs at home up the coast here. The rest at the hotel between rehearsals. He needed the 'push'. Watch the movie on Townes Van Zandt. The movie on Neil and Joni Mitchell, you'll see neccessity is the mother of invention (no pun intended). I knew Townes. He was such a humble guy, father, played old records on a beatup Gerrard all-in-one, but like Woody Guthrie (Woody just had to ride trains, hang by the campfire and learn old 'Black Blues' or what Doc Watson taught many of us in the sixties, Townes could not sit still. Yet he lead a blues band in Austin and was sober until the gear was packed and loaded. Woody couldn't stay put even with a steady high paying radio gig in LA, wife and family. He needed inspiration and open space. Dylan is beyond comprehension how he does what he does and even remembers the lyrics to his songs. I read his biography (it is good) but no tips... sorry. He's cagy too and reveals hardly anything (as in those secret guitar tunings?)
__________________
RK

"The mind is like a parachute. It only functions when open."

Last edited by rhythm_kitchen; 05-20-2010 at 10:10 PM. Reason: typos. Added some more .02
rhythm_kitchen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2010, 09:09 AM   #93
Sound asleep
Human being with feelings
 
Sound asleep's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 9,052
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tspring View Post
I had an experience yesterday that reminded me that how you approach writing lyrics will depend a lot on whether you break song writing into separate processes of developing melody and lyrics or if you do the two interactively.

I had written a song a year or so ago that I decided to revisit. Part of it I liked, and part I didn't. I decided that the main root of my dissatisfaction was that the melody was boring in that section of the song. So I set about changing that bit of the melody, and found a chunk that I liked. But then I realized that I had also changed the rhythm of that part of the song, and the old lyrics no longer fit. So I started reworking the lyrics, and realized the order of the ideas could be re-arranged to fit the new rhythm. Then I realized that the new lyrics would tell a better story if made one part in present tense, and the rest in past tense. So I ended up reworking the entire song. All of this triggered by trying to improve the melody in a part of the song. None of this would have happened if I simply tried to fit the words to a melody in a one directional process. So I guess that the point of my rant is that there are advantages in treating the development of lyrics and melody as a single process rather than two separate processes.

T
ya i think this an importnat thing, for me anyways, it's to never consider one part to be totally finished, until the song is finished. (even there i'll make changes everytime i play it or morph some stuff, but to me, even though it might evolve or mature once i've got all the parts laid down on one instrument at least, i consider the song written.)

sometimes i might write a guitar part and love it, and then think of a great melody and love it, but i need to change something of the guitar to make the melody work, so i do. then later on i might add something that needs something else to change, and if i like it better, then that's what i'll do. so in one way i think it's important to be ready to change stuff around, but also, you should be mindful of what it is you love about your tune, and to not change the soul of it, unless you don't love it already.

to me also if it's ever melody or lyrics or music backing that clash, priority goes to melody. although making the melody better to accommodate any of the rest works for me too. the melody is imo by far the most important part of a song. i don't know how many times i've heard a song intro, and it's like, ok, ok, not bad, and then the lyrics come in an instantly i'm turned off. lots of popular songs have nothing real special about hte music. often simple chord progressions, simple to play on a technical level. but great melodies most of the time.

Last edited by Sound asleep; 05-20-2010 at 09:14 AM.
Sound asleep is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2010, 09:12 AM   #94
Brian Cares
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 23
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by manning1 View Post
Garrick
in summary banish the devil of doubt sitting on your shoulder.
Whoomp. There it is.
Thanks.
Brian Cares is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2010, 10:29 AM   #95
tspring
Human being with feelings
 
tspring's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Eastern shore of Maryland, USA
Posts: 1,484
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sound asleep View Post
to me also if it's ever melody or lyrics or music backing that clash, priority goes to melody. although making the melody better to accommodate any of the rest works for me too. the melody is imo by far the most important part of a song.
Yep. Feel that way too. I've not got anything profound to say anyway. As the words to one of my songs go:

I've got the time,
I've got the will ya know.
Just point the way,
Say the word, I'll go.
We'll change our lives,
Change the world we know.
Soon as I finish...
This magazine,
Soon as I finish...
This magazine.

Or maybe this posting.

T
tspring is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2010, 06:02 AM   #96
GreyBeard
Human being with feelings
 
GreyBeard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Barrackville WV
Posts: 283
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Garrick View Post
I would like to know how you write your lyrics. I've spent a shit load of time learning how to use Reaper and i've learnt so very much from all of you, especially "Why do your recordings sound like ass?", the more i learn more i realise how good Reaper is. Punchs way above its price tag.

But all is futile. If i can't write one god damn song that says what i want to say and say it in a cool way.

John Lennon says write what you want you think, make it rhymn, and put a back beat to it.

Leonard Cohen would write 70 verses then pick the best ones.

People say write from the title, write the music first, write the words first, no such thing as writers block.

But the one thing i hate hearing is, "you either got it or you don't", I hate hearing it cause i hope it's not true. What i think is, if you have the desire to write then you got the "it".

Any wisdom you can share could be the little spark for me and others to get shit done and have a good time. Thank you.
I haven't read any of the other posts so forgive me if I repeat what others have written. I have written about 10 good songs and all in the last year or so. Before that I was playing in cover bands and had not need to write songs. The songs I've written 1st of all and most important, I felt and still feel strongly about their message. 2nd'ly My feelings about this message is deeply personal. So what I'm saying is that I stuck with it until the lyrics came. Something would not let me give up.
__________________
If it sounds good, it is good. (Duke Ellington)
GreyBeard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2010, 07:01 AM   #97
manning1
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,957
Default

you can write a lyric that makes you weep,
you can write a lyric for the street,
you can write a lyric that makes you smile,
but mix it up with a little guile.

i write lyrics just for fun,
when i'm on the loo with the runs.

who can say whats right or wrong...
just have fun doin' a song.
and dont forget those important hooks,
if you want a song that cooks.

never fret n worry all the time,
just try n make a little rhyme.
above all else, have so much fun,
n if the buggers dont like it..
just do another one.

lol.
manning1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2010, 07:07 AM   #98
technogremlin
Human being with feelings
 
technogremlin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 2,629
Default

Years ago we had a topic on KVR where we posted lyrics for others to use. I donated a few back then.

Maybe we can start such a topic here as well
technogremlin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2010, 02:13 PM   #99
Kundalinguist
Human being with feelings
 
Kundalinguist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 4,630
Default

"Daylight come and me wanna go home!"

Wait, I think that's taken.
__________________
Success is just one more plugin away! And happiness is as close as your next upgrade. (On the interweb: www.rolandk.ca / www.auroraskypublishing.com)
Kundalinguist is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2010, 02:50 PM   #100
gmanbat
Human being with feelings
 
gmanbat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: N.W. Ohio
Posts: 59
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by manning1 View Post
you can write a lyric that makes you weep,
you can write a lyric for the street,
you can write a lyric that makes you smile,
but mix it up with a little guile.

i write lyrics just for fun,
when i'm on the loo with the runs.

who can say whats right or wrong...
just have fun doin' a song.
and dont forget those important hooks,
if you want a song that cooks.

never fret n worry all the time,
just try n make a little rhyme.
above all else, have so much fun,
n if the buggers dont like it..
just do another one.

lol.
Love it, Manning, you read my mind.

This is not disarming a bomb or discovering a cure for cancer, it's song writing. Go look at the birds, they just sing. They might sound crappy but they don't care. Out it comes.

Best thing is to enjoy yourself. Forget, if you can, the commercial aspect. The fewer restrictions to creativity, the better it flows.

My main problem was killing whatever I came up with as soon as it was born. I judged everything I wrote very harshly. Subsequently, lots of unfinished projects. I think it has a lot to do with how you feel about yourself. Love yourself and it's easier to love your creations.

Write like everything you come up with is golden. You are a genius. If it deserves the ashcan it will soon be known. But let it live and prove it's right to exist. I have let some things live that I wanted to kill only to find that a lot of folks liked them.

Have fun.
__________________
Registered Reaper, BIAB, Real Band, Acid Music Studio 7
http://dovepeace.com
gmanbat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2010, 04:42 PM   #101
Sound asleep
Human being with feelings
 
Sound asleep's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 9,052
Default

whilst i agree writing lyrics is not rocket science, it's also not the simplest thing in the universe. i mean, anyone can draw, but it's drawing nicely that's tricky. and then even at that, you could draw amazing, but you don't have much imagination maybe so you only draw still life, or portraits or something, and then the next level is to draw amazing and also send a great message in your drawing, or evoke a great mood or feeling or something in your drawing.

in lyric writing i think there are the same distinctions.

i mean sure, anyone can write a little rhyme. and then there are the common topics and ideas for lyrics. and there are melodies and then there are great melodies.

i think the tricky part isn't making lyrics, it's not going from a blank page to one with writing on it. or rhyming, or attention to rhythm.

the tricky part is writing a great melody with good lyrics to go with it. and ya, sure, just simple lyrics can be fine, you don't need to write something earth shattering or mind blowing revelations or something in every song. but to say things poetically, neatly, and with nice rhythm and nice melody. i think that is the tricky part.

I don't think there any real rules you could devise or need to follow if we were to diagnose the lyrics themselves either. the only thing you can do is approach the art a certain way.

like, there are no rules on what kind of shapes you should use, or what colors you should use when you make a painting. but there are philosophies and approaches to painting.
Sound asleep is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2010, 05:54 AM   #102
manning1
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,957
Default

gmanbat
exactly.
i often wonder how many great songs were deleted
by the writer before the world heard em.
cos us songwriters tend to be very hard on ourselves.
and what we feel isnt good enough..
actually lots of people might like.
one never knows.

like the doubt on ones shoulder ,
second guessing can also have a negative impact.
so banish it n just do yer best.
my philosophy is just to have fun,
n if people hate it do another song.
manning1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2010, 11:09 PM   #103
Garrick
Human being with feelings
 
Garrick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Wellington
Posts: 4,622
Default

I used to have a method of writing songs, first you have a bunch of melodies lying around with little or no words, then you book a gig at a local bar for a half hour set, procrastinate for two weeks, then night before the gig write the lyrics to five songs all in a panic. lie steal anything from anywhere, put that down. On the night do two covers four of my own that don't make a flying fig of sence, walk off the stage to a mixture of genuine and polite clapping. Watch the headline band downing a tequila and thinking thank god that's over. Then promise myself i won't do it again till i write one song i'm truly proud of. Then after the sixth beer reflect that it wasn't really that bad so repeat the same process two months later.

Do you folks have a set time of the day to write?. How do you time manage? Or do write when the feeling comes? Or does the Holy Ghost come and say with booming voice "Let there be disco"
Garrick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2010, 05:01 AM   #104
phillip2637
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Posts: 199
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Garrick View Post
Do you folks have a set time of the day to write?. How do you time manage? Or do write when the feeling comes?
My *second* most productive time was when I had a job that required me to spend about two hours each day on public transit getting to it and home again. I wrote a lot of lyrics in those days, some of which even got turned into songs.

My *most* productive time was this past February when I signed up for: FAWM's "write 14 songs in 28 days" challenge. (http://fawm.org/)

So, I guess I'd have to say it's some combination of having spare time and having a deadline that gets me motivated. ( I wish I was disciplined enough to do better time management with respect to music...but I wish for lots of things. :-) )
phillip2637 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2010, 05:58 AM   #105
manning1
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,957
Default

discipline is a good thing.
make a promise to yourself that youll
write lyrics for 3 different songs in a week.
eg instead of copping out n going down the
pub with yer mates, write a song.
instead of skiving off shopping , write a song etc etc.
also try different genres of music.
for example one week..blues, next pop, next rock,
next jazz, next comical songs. etc etc.
its really fun to explore different music genres.
my prob is too many lyrics n songs , n not enough time
to produce em cos of family commitments.
manning1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:19 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.