Songwriting Tips Thread

[Nateon]

For me the best music just kind of comes naturally to me. It's really cheesy to say that but it's true. I can't force out good music. The hardest part for me is vocal melodies. I've never been a great vocalist so writing catchy vocal melodies is difficult. My greatest strength is chords because I have a strong jazz background making my brain a massive library of chords.

[mrsooty]

101
always write when experiencing extreme forms of emotion
whatever the cause

[Public Enemy]

If you would like to hear some inspiring lyrics check anything by Saul Williams.

[Sljslj]

Do acid and listen to Devin Townsend.

[TheBig3]

Originally Posted by Public Enemy

If you would like to hear some inspiring lyrics check anything by Saul Williams.

mmmmm I don't know about anything. I'd highly suggest "Penny for a Thought" but some of his songs can be kind of whacked and I don't know if its a good place to start. Robeson for example...

Robeson is reflected in a floating mirror
Then I realize that the mirror is not floating
But being pulled by a white horse
In a great golden chariot
The horse has human feet
I look down at my feet and they are hooves
When I look up it is no longer night
The sun covers the entire sky
As if it has been stretched to reach all corners
Flames are visible but not threatening
A girl brushes my knee with her tail
She is wearing pink overalls and rollerblades
She signals for me to follow her
As soon as I take a step towards her I'm flying

[adamsjohson]

Would you like to play guitar? You are a band to play with other people? The text is something subjective and wide. Some of the most famous musicians were some of the simplest and often think the worst song. Simplicity is not necessarily a bad thing. I think the Beatles are a couple of words more deliberately. It very much depends on what you are going and for what purpose they were written. If you are the same texts, that is what I do, no matter what others think.

[Chaplin]

wow a 4 year old thread still going strong. good advice i can see why

[PianoPlonker]

You make a lot of good points, but a lot of your ideas are generally negative rather than positive, and focus on individual symptoms of a poor song. For me, this ain't particularly the right way to go about it.

Beginners: If you abide by this one rule, you'll be writing great songs before you know it:

Keep Your Hand Moving. If you keep writing, you'll begin to recognise the poor qualities in your older work. I certainly produced a whole load of crap in my first few years of songwriting.

But I kept writing and writing through the crap, and began to recognise the weaknesses in my previous work. It's a personal process of growth, and no-one can really tell you how to go about it.

For more ideas on inspiration and general tips, visit my silly blog at pianoplonker.wordpress.com

[AngelXTmusic]

Lyrics are like poetry, they need to flow, they need to express an idea. But they should be carefully crafted, and try to be subtle. Remember, the thing that drives us to music is that we are trying to express something that requires more than just words. The lyrics aid music; don't let them run away with the song.

[KeithT]

All these are great, very helpful!