What first?

which should come first, lyrics or the tune?

i have neither but i am not excellent at making lyrics so should i put down a tune then think lyrics to go over the top?

Originally Posted by: M.E.Swhich should come first, lyrics or the tune?

i have neither but i am not excellent at making lyrics so should i put down a tune then think lyrics to go over the top?

I think you might find that easier, yeah. The only completed songs I've ever written started out with music, then I added lyrics to them. I find that when I'm writing songs, I need to know the rhythm and rhyming pattern the words should have before I write them, so having music to put it to helps. I've written some lyrics without music, and they still don't have music. I find it a lot harder to put music to words than words to music.

To summarize: the tune.

I don't think there's any actual 'correct' way to do it. It just depends on your personality and whether you're more language oriented than musical.
It's kinda like there's two types of writers. There's the ones who are always writing poems and putting their feelings into words. Then they write music later to fit the lyrics.
Then there's the other type who tend to write most of the music first and then fit lyrics to the music.
A lot of artists have an idea for a melody or a hook, and some ideas for what they want the backup music to sound like. They record the music first, then sing nonsense lyrics over top of it so that whatever is coming to mind first is what comes out. Then they go back over the tape and gradually come up with phrases and words that fit the nonsense sounds they're hearing in their heads.
I've got a couple of bootleg recordings like that. No idea where they came from but one of them is M. Jackson singing Billy Jean. All the music is done and he's just singing stuff like "Billy Jean is not na na na... she's just a...na na la and now is the one... but a furl is gone a gun"
Just anything that fits.
Then over the course of the next few days or weeks you just keep going over it and refining it. Ideally you come up with a lyric that not only makes sense but has a hidden meaning.
A lot of the time you come up with a bunch of abstract words that don't really mean anything, but tend to take the listener on a journey ie, I Am The Walrus by The Beatles... sounds like a lot of the nonsense lyrics were just left in because they sounded good.
Paul McCartney has often said that the original words to "Yesterday" were "Ham and Eggs" or something...

I tend to think of them basically at the same time... If I had to choose, though, I would say the tune is more important. Honestly if the lyrics can't fit a tune, then the writer has paid no attention to the rhythmic value of each word, so odds are exceptional that he's not a very good writer to begin with. If the writer can't even adhere to a certain syllabic pattern, I will guarantee he genuinely blows at writing poetry, and therefore will suck at writing lyrics first.

I'm totally non-lyrically oriented. I never listen to lyrics in songs and mostly tune out the vocals altogether. A lot of times I've found that when I learned what the lyrics were, it ruined the song for me.

for me, its like a reciprocating relationship between lyrics and music.... once I have an idea (where it all begins for me) I think of anything, music or lyrics, and then add the other one in...... after it begins its like a battle where the lyrics change the music and then the music goes off and give new ideas for melody and lyrics............... very very very rarely will a song, at least for me, ever come all at once.... it takes many rewrites and changes for a great song to come out for me......

really i think it is completely up to you. I personally use both. When you write a song, you should already know what it is going to be about, and what emotions you will try to convey. In that sense it may be easier for you to write music around lyrics or the general idea for the song. However many people find it easier to write a song and then, knowing how the song sounds and what the emotional appeals of it are, write lyrics afterwards. Both work but not for everyone. find what works best for you

I start with whatever pops into my head first. If I come up with some music that I like, I'll play around with some ideas to suit the rhythm and the overall tone; if I think of a good lyrical idea, I'll write it down, then put some music behind it to see what suits. Jolly's absolutely right - the rhythmic pattern of the words is extremely important. If you want a tight tune, either write music based on the rhythm of the lyrics, or vice-a-versa.

Well a lot of this is up in the air to both the artist and the genre you are composing in. I personally premeditate and chart out all of my music first. However, as the melody starts to form in my head I always come up with lyrics ( this also helps to see if the melody can fit w/ in the harmonization and it makes it easier to remember the melody if its set to words. )

Hope this helps.

-Kyle Hicks ( Kole )
-http://www.myspace.com/kolemusic

Originally Posted by: DarrenShahinianreally i think it is completely up to you. I personally use both. When you write a song, you should already know what it is going to be about, and what emotions you will try to convey. In that sense it may be easier for you to write music around lyrics or the general idea for the song. However many people find it easier to write a song and then, knowing how the song sounds and what the emotional appeals of it are, write lyrics afterwards. Both work but not for everyone. find what works best for you

I Totally Agree.

Mike.

I agree as well. That process is, in my opinion, the best and most efficient way to do things.

hey,
genrally when i am writing a song i come up with a chord progression that i really like. with that i start just hummin a tune in my head, going back and fixing what i think sounds funny. Then i started addeing lyrics.
Generally i start with chorus cause thats the easiest part, followed by the verses. If that helps you any. Start with just picking out chords you like and build it from there.

for me its easier to make a tune before i write lyrics because i have to develop the mood, and the sound for the song.it just helps to have a rythem in my head that i can work from.but if you focus too much on the sound and the music you could have trouble fitting lyrics into it..so pretty much its a simultanious thing in my oppinion..but its what your comfortable with.

I think it makes more sense to have something to sing about before writing the music, but it's much easier to simply play around until you find something you like and then make a song out of it.

i tend to do lyrics first, so what i do is look 4 inspiration ;)

i have a hard time coming up with lyrics. the singer of my band is pretty good though. i think music is much easier to figure out. you should find out what comes more naturally to you and focus on that. a song is usually a product of a whole band.

i like to do it both ways. i think the lyrics are very important though. i hate it when people sing about nothing. i like ther to be some type of depth to it. i appriciate the musical value just as much though