Lyrics first or music first?

When you write a song, do you write lyrics or music first or both at the same time?

In general I tend to go music first which I think is the more popular method.

Originally Posted by: Jahan HonmaWhen you write a song, do you write lyrics or music first or both at the same time?

In general I tend to go music first which I think is the more popular method.

i would do music first that way youll know what spots need words and what spot the guitair talks for the song through you

It depends on which inspiration comes to you first, whether it is a lyrical idea or a musical idea. It is a good idea to start working on both through the creative process.

I usually have music parts first. I have lots of lyrics that ive been writing down for years but its mostly a brainstorming thing for an actual finished song lyric. When i get a good guitar part usually lyrics just come to me and then i build on them. I find its easier to write lyrics to fit certain progression than it is to write music to fit lyrics.

..an example is a song that I've been working up recently....

It started with the words but the words came with a melody in my head so I was able to bang out the laid back bluesy riff that came with it. However, that was the chorus. The verse seemed (seems) to have a rhythm before I have real words but I have a sense of the vocal melody.

Since I've really just started recording in ernest, I'll see how it all pans out (much less my singing...).

Lyrics without a sense of melody, I think, are hard to work with.

If you're creating lyrics to go with lyrics and melody written by someone else, be careful as this can be a difficult and frustrating process. I work with a singer/songwriter and often I have to come up with chords for her melody and often what I give does not fit the sound she has in her head so the process can take a while. Its best to be patient and give time for bonds to develop between yourself and fellow musicians.

Originally Posted by: Jahan HonmaWhen you write a song, do you write lyrics or music first or both at the same time?

In general I tend to go music first which I think is the more popular method.

hey man,

you can do it like you want and feel! you can either:

1. start with the music
2. start with lyrics

or my favourite one ;)

3. do it all at once!

so maybe you come up with a few words, then find one or two chords who fit for it and a little piece of melodie, then maybe you find another chord of just repeat the first one and then continue the melodie etc.

But first of all be patient with yourself! You will do it if you put the time in it! :)

I used to start with the lyrics first, but I found that the music comes a lot easier and steadily to me than the lyrics, so I have a dearth of music with no lyrics. Usually I'd say that I write music then lyrics, but frequently nowadays I write both at the same time.

Basically my method nowadays is I have a few lyrical ideas, and a few musical ideas floating around in my head, and then I just randomly become inspired and bang it all out in about 15 minutes. It happens a lot now.

I'd just say keep at both sides of equation separately until they start to work together, and practice writing songs. I have lots of songs I've written that I don't think I'll ever play for anyone just because they are more like practice and I don't think I could memorize that many songs. Then you just take your favorite ones and roll out with those ones.

So there ARE people who can do both at the same time. Hahaha. I've done them both simultaneously a few times myself, actually. However that usually requires that I have already decided what exactly I want the song to be about before I even start writing it and my lyrics usually have a lot of details. Thanks everyone for your input.

Originally Posted by: Jahan HonmaWhen you write a song, do you write lyrics or music first or both at the same time?

In general I tend to go music first which I think is the more popular method.

I enjoy writing lryics first. Sometimes I just write with no intation to make a song because its pratice and its also good for the mind if you use proper grammar technics or poetry technics.

Sometimes I find something cool on the guitar though and then I write lryics for it but I find it sounds better when I make the music for the lryics instead of lyrics for the music. Music is meant to set the mood for the lryics or so what I've noticed and been told.

I have always created the music first, then picked words to fit it.