Advice

I need some advice I cant pute two and two together I ceap coming up with
great riffs but no lyrics. or I'll figure out some lyrics and cant get enogh riffs
to go with it. I'v got alot of opinions I want get out there and alot of idease
for songs but I cant figure out lyrics that fit with the guitar riffs and if I do
finaly get it together it comes out crapy when I'm just messing around with
the guitar I can come up with some pretty good stuff but tryn to fit it to
lyrics is impossible NEED ADVICE
:confused:

Originally Posted by: 1791I need some advice I cant pute two and two together I ceap coming up with
great riffs but no lyrics. or I'll figure out some lyrics and cant get enogh riffs
to go with it. I'v got alot of opinions I want get out there and alot of idease
for songs but I cant figure out lyrics that fit with the guitar riffs and if I do
finaly get it together it comes out crapy when I'm just messing around with
the guitar I can come up with some pretty good stuff but tryn to fit it to
lyrics is impossible NEED ADVICE
:confused:

First of all, it's spelled "keep" not "ceap." Is English your primary language? I'm actually curious to know because if not I would have trouble helping you with lyrics. But don't worry, it's not as impossible as you think, but it CAN be pretty difficult! Now, if English IS your primary language, let me know so I can help you out!

give me a break I'm tierd and yes I speak english and if I spelld any thing
rong this time I dont need to know. I'm 13 got held back so I'm in the 7th
grade and I had a bad 1 grade teacher so sue me. anyway about that advice can you help me.

To write good lyrics you need an understanding of how songs are structured.
ie, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus etc....
Go to your local library and buy a book on songwriting.
Basically you have to stick to a proper song structure if you have any hope of becoming successful with the majority of people.
The next thing you need is life experiences... read lots of books, watch movies, go do stuff and think of ways to put your feelings into words.. learn to say one thing when you mean something else.
Get a rhyming dictionary and a thesaurus...preferably on your computer cause it's easier to search. ZkRhymes is an excellent rhyming dictionary and most word processors have a basic thesaurus in them. WordPerfect is good for instance because all you have to do is click on a word and it gives you alternatives right on the screen.
Last but not least... get a spell checker and use it.
Your spelling is absolutely atrocious and makes you sound like a total idiot. An occasional spelling error is forgivable, but if you can't sound half way intelligent, nobody is going to be interested in doing business with you or helping you... and songwriting is definitely a business.

Originally Posted by: 1791give me a break I'm tierd and yes I speak english and if I spelld any thing
rong this time I dont need to know. I'm 13 got held back so I'm in the 7th
grade and I had a bad 1 grade teacher so sue me. anyway about that advice can you help me.

No, no, it's cool. I was just wondering because many people at guitartricks come from non english-speaking countries. Anyhow...where to begin? Well, first of all, you have to get a regular syllable pattern and rhythm to these vocals. Also, what kind of riffs are you playing on guitar? Are you just playing a repeating rhythm? Are you changing it up for the chorus? What's the deal, dude!? Lyrics depend upon the backing, but EVERY backing can hold lyrics over it. If you could maybe give me an example of your riff...

Originally Posted by: Hootayahread lots of books, watch movies, go do stuff and think of ways to put your feelings into words..[/QUOTE]

I second that. I've been out of school for some years now and therefore am not reading as much, and I can definitely feel that my language skills are slipping. Maybe not in everyday conversation, but in creative writing and even in how I used to be able to put my feelings or thoughts in words much more easily.

So, 1791, go to the library and take out a few books. Some I recommend:

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
  


• Anything that says "by Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens" on it
  


• some good translated Russian works, like Kafka, Dostoyevsky, Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol
  

I would have come up with more, but a client just interrupted me with a 30 min. telephone call.


[QUOTE=Hootayah]
Last but not least... get a spell checker and use it.
Your spelling is absolutely atrocious and makes you sound like a total idiot. An occasional spelling error is forgivable, but if you can't sound half way intelligent, nobody is going to be interested in doing business with you or helping you... and songwriting is definitely a business.

Listen up here, 1791.

Hey Dude,
please don't think people are just beating up on you, they are only trying to help !

I'm dyslexic and I just use a spell checker before I post stuff, I will even past text into word before I post it if needs be. Taking this extra time also helps me order my thoughts and stops me from over reacting (sometimes !)

I personally don't think it is a biggy however others do !

What is it exactly that you do for work, eggman? I'm actually curious to know.

Oh, and 1791, there is also some great American literature you should consider besides the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy :rolleyes: . William Faulkner, Ray Bradbury, E.B. White, the list goes on forever, why not try out a few? It is true that this will help you with diction and grammar, which in turn actually DOES help with songwriting. Prehaps Hootayah was a little harsh in his saying that it makes you look like an idiot, but it's true that polishing it up will help you out a lot! You're still young, you've got plenty of time to do it!

If you havetrouble coming up with subjects, try singing whatever comes to mind. This has worked for me with songs like "Red Rose on my Pillow" (sorry about the title, Jon!) "Giant Fighting Robot" and "Steinberg the Boxing Rabbi." You can make up the lyrics off the top of your head, THEN, after you finish typing them up, see where you took the song. I find that my songs are pretty directionless at the beginning, but develop a theme as I write more verses. Then I go back and re-write the first few verses to tie in with the theme. After THAT I go through and re-write lines that seem awkward or forced. I usually save the chorus for last, unless something cool comes to me while I'm still in the early stages (E.g. "Tee ****in hee," as submitted by a conversation I was having with someone at the time).

Originally Posted by: Dr_simon I will even past (paste) text into word before I post it if needs (need) be.

There's only ONE problem with that. If you use a real word, the spell checker won't correct it. Just my big pet peeve with Word and those other programs. Like, I'm not giving you a hard time or anything, just using you as an example of why I hate Microsoft Word.

My point exactly, this is not an english exam, its a guitar form !

You knew what I meant, there was no ambiguity....

job done !

I hate both Word and Powerpoint ! Especially the new Powerpoint, talk about overweight and under powered !!

However my posts are much more legible for having a spell checker and I am just not going to spend an inordinate amount of time checking forum posts. Tricks maybe, my PhD thesis, yes, papers I publish yes, forum posts, as long as people understand them that is fine with me !

BTW Douglas Adams was English, born in Cambridge in 1952 !

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonBTW Douglas Adams was English, born in Cambridge in 1952 !

Oops. Not too familiar with his history other than that funny (but not exactly a literary colossus!) guide to the galaxy.

Have you read his posthumous work "The salmon of doubt" ?

Rask turned me on to it and it is one of the most intelligent books I have read in a long time.

Excellent stuff !

Write lyrics about something your interested in. Like if your into cars, write a song about cars. If your into sports, write about that.

Another thing is that most (but not all) people write the lyrics then write music to go to the lyrics. I do it your way, it's all about the riff first.

Originally Posted by: Jolly McJollysonWhat is it exactly that you do for work, eggman? I'm actually curious to know.[/QUOTE]
Check my profile. It says "rock star". But, to while away the time, I dawdle in public accounting.

Originally Posted by: Jolly McJollysonOh, and 1791, there is also some great American literature you should consider besides the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy :rolleyes: . William Faulkner, Ray Bradbury, E.B. White, the list goes on forever, why not try out a few?

Yeah, I know, I could have come up some more and better ones, but, like I said, a client called and interrupted my train of thought.


[QUOTE=Jolly McJollyson]If you havetrouble coming up with subjects, try singing whatever comes to mind. This has worked for me with songs like "Red Rose on my Pillow" (sorry about the title, Jon!) "Giant Fighting Robot" and "Steinberg the Boxing Rabbi." You can make up the lyrics off the top of your head, THEN, after you finish typing them up, see where you took the song. I find that my songs are pretty directionless at the beginning, but develop a theme as I write more verses. Then I go back and re-write the first few verses to tie in with the theme. After THAT I go through and re-write lines that seem awkward or forced. I usually save the chorus for last, unless something cool comes to me while I'm still in the early stages (E.g. "Tee ****in hee," as submitted by a conversation I was having with someone at the time).

The way I go about making up lyrics [the way I say it, it makes it sound as if I'm quite the prolific songwriter, which I am not, but which I intend to change! (how's that for a run-on sentence!)] is first write out my thoughts in prose or in free verse. Then, I'll consult my notebook with all my writings in it while listening to a riff or chord progression that I've recorded and looped. To come up with actual lyrics, I just try to convert my prose into rhyming couplets and sing them out to test them for stupidity.

I want to be a lion tamer !

(sorry eggman, I just couldn't resist !)

Originally Posted by: iamthe_eggmanCheckmy profile. It says "rock star". But, to while away the time, I dawdle in public accounting.

Wow, look at eggman. The BMOC. With his good job and his fancy schmancy clients. He's too good for us so-called "unemployed" (I prefer the term "free spirited") fellows.

Originally Posted by: Jolly McJollysonNo, no, it's cool. I was just wondering because many people at guitartricks come from non english-speaking countries. Anyhow...where to begin? Well, first of all, you have to get a regular syllable pattern and rhythm to these vocals. Also, what kind of riffs are you playing on guitar? Are you just playing a repeating rhythm? Are you changing it up for the chorus? What's the deal, dude!? Lyrics depend upon the backing, but EVERY backing can hold lyrics over it. If you could maybe give me an example of your riff...

I try to chang it up a littile bit I cant stand playing the same thing over and over and I have trouble saying something that isn't to the point you know
those big words that mean something else. I can come up with lyrics but then
I cant get the guitar to fit the lyrics

P.S. thanks for everyones replys :)

Originally Posted by: Jolly McJollysonOops. Not too familiar with his history other than that funny (but not exactly a literary colossus!) guide to the galaxy.

Hmmm... have you read the entire 4 (or is it 5?)-part trilogy? There are some amazing pieces of writing there. It's not like, for example, when Dave Barry decides to write a piece about his father having cancer or something, so it seems beautiful when you read it against the background of all his silly stuff but it might not stand up against other serious columnists' work. After Hitchhiker's Guide, Adams kind of tones it down a bit and hunkers down for some real meaty writing. Kind of like The Hobbit vs. The Lord of the Rings.

Anyways, get your butt over to the library and "borrow" the rest of the trilogy. And it was called a trilogy by Adams, even though there were 4 or 5 books in it... I believe one of the taglines for one of the books was "the latest the ever-growing Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy".

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonI want to be a lion tamer !

Don't you think it's a big leap to go from Accounting to Lion Taming all in one go?

Do these lions eat ants?

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonI want to be a lion tamer !

(sorry eggman, I just couldn't resist !)

I can't believe I didn't catch this reference until Jolly's post! This is one of my favourite Python skits.... Now I've gotta find the script online to jog my memory...