write first or rythm first?

how do u guys go about making a new song...do you write the lyrics first? or do u come up with progressions first? just curious..and wanted to know if theres a more efficient way of making a song..i hate my songs and im looking for a major improvement on my next project...

It depends on what kind of song I'm writing. For my acoustic stuff, I always write a progression first... then hum out a melody and add lyrics to fit. For my electric songs I normally do it in sort of a mixed method... Where I may have a certain hook I want to fit into the lyrics... So I'll write a riff to go behind it... Then I'll write a section of music and hum a melody that fits the overall scheme of the song. So it's different most everytime... But that's the basic formula that works for me. I think it's important to find what's the most comfortable for you... Obviously you're not comfortable so try some new things. Try to write a chord progression... all the while keep a melody in your head... Then go back and add lyrics over the top. That's the easiest way that I have come up with. But some songs just don't work that way... Especially if they're fast paced rock songs. So just experiment with those methods. Good Luck!

I do it a lot like aschleman. Usually I make up music first, hum a melody, and then add lyrics to fit. However, I'm always coming up with random lines that come with their own melody or rhythm, so every once in a while I write a song based completely on that.

I never, ever write music first. I always have some lyrics and melody that came into my head, and then I try to write music to fit them.