i have this following problem
i have good lyrics
i have good riffs
they dont match
i dont have any song
what shall i do?

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God sent meat,
and the Devil sent cooks.

Excuse me while i keep this eye

analyze other songs. i found it pretty interresting to first only look at the lyrics of a song w/o knowing what the song sounds like. sometimes you think "how the hell is this supposed to be sung" - and its very interresting to see the way the singer worked it out. sometimes cut sentences into pieces. sometimes "swallowing" a few words.. think of a vocal line as a solo - you have no problem fitting a solo over a certain chordprogession, do you?

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Pardon me if I'm wrong, but are you writting lyrics one day and then trying to put them with a riff you just came up with today? Or vice-cersa? If that's true, no wonder you can't get them to go together. It can work out that way but there's a easier way to do it. Try writting the lyrics first, figure out how it would be sung and then write music to accompany it, or if you write the music first think of something that would sing good over the music. It's alot easier to do this way than to see if a random lyric will work with a random riff.

Tip: When you are singing, it works out alot easier if the music isn't complex or at least more complex than the lyric. The most complex part will get the most attention, and you don't want to drive the focus away from the singing part by playing some insane solo over the vocals. The vocal is ALWAYS in the foreground(exceptions yes, if wanted). The listeners attention will always be on the vocals when they come into the mix, so just use music to set a mood and accompany the lyric melody. When the vocals stop then do you insane licks. It will turn out better structured and easier to follow.

And yes check out your favorite singers and see how they write the melody for the lyrics, and then see how the music accompanies it.

[Edited by noticingthemistake on 08-08-2003 at 09:49 AM]

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Here's a method for forcing a song from lyrics. For your lyrics to be a song rather than poetry, you need a MELODY. This just means that you're singing instead of talking. Sing the words through. Now, this time, just hum instead of saying the words. Match what you're humming on the guitar. Write this into standard notation. You'll notice that your song is most likely in either a natural minor or major key. Then apply chords that fit the melody note. Try common progressions, and then reharmonize, substitute, or just break some rules and throw in some strange chord. Basically, take your vanilla progression you made and turn it into music. Make a riff that implies the chords. What you're doing is forcing yourself to try and make music out of what you have. When you don't feel like working on it anymore, stop, do something else, go to sleep. Your subconscious will handle it for you while you're not focusing on it, and you'll all of the sudden hit the perfect riff for the song. Good luck.

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