this is nice...

[blankdrawn]

hey, this is a nice addition to guitartricks.com

it's really ironic that the same day i decide to start writing my own songs, i come to guitartricks and you guys have a forum.
oh well, let me ask my question:

when writing a song, should you write the lyrics first, the music first, or them both at the same time?

i figure it's a sensible question
thanks,
frank

[Raskolnikov]

Whatever works best for you. I've had good songs come into being all three ways.

[Christoph]

I always write the music first and then fit the lyrics in. This is how it works for me, but there are other people here that will tell you to do it the other way. It's all a matter of preference and experimentation.

[Lordathestrings]

I find melodies are suggesting themselves to me all the time. The lyrics are another matter altogether. I'm better at reading poetry than writing it.

I think the most important thing is to 'go with the flow'. Your creativity is likely to work best if you can record, or write down, whatever comes to you, as it comes to you. Don't ignore good lyics that pop into your head just because you're supposed to be writing the rhythm guitar part. If a tune comes to you while you're writng the lyric, get it down, even if you have to hum it into a tape recorder!

[Raskolnikov]

Exactly. You will establish a flow for yourself and it will be pretty specific to you.

Do what works for you and forget about what works for me.

[blankdrawn]

alright.....
it will probably take me a while for me to "go with the flow," but hopefully I'll figure it out. thanks for the advice, and if anybody else has advice i'll be glad to hear it, because
1. i've got no experience, and
2. i'm a good writer but bad guitar player

i can play most stuff (on guitar), but i havent completely got it down yet. so...you could say i'm an amautear (sp?) that is trying to much too fast.

peace in the middle east,
frank