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Post subject: Songwriting methods
Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:29 am
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I once saw an interview with Mick Jagger and they asked him how he has been able to write hit songs for nearly 40 years. He said it was simple: lyrics should be written WITHOUT a melody or music in mind, and even without a hook or chorus. After you get some good lyrics written, you then figure out what the chorus will be, what the hook is, what kind of music you can put these words against, etc.

Anyone else follow this method?

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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:55 am
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That sounds about right. The emotional tone of your lyrics should be mirrored by the tone of the music. We don't write cheery upbeat songs about losing a loved one. If you can get both the lyrics and music to sync up in this way it can bring about a lot of emotion and I really think that makes a great song.


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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:14 pm
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I write sometimes with a piano and sometimes with a guitar. It's amazing at the different "feelings" that come out from using different instruments.

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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:10 pm
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yeah, i've always been more of a lyricist. i write on keyboards sometimes, but mostly on guitar... up for a challenge? try writing on sax! that's fun...

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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:15 pm
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jessholl wrote:
yeah, i've always been more of a lyricist. i write on keyboards sometimes, but mostly on guitar... up for a challenge? try writing on sax! that's fun...


How about a sax KB patch ? :roll:

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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:24 pm
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um... what?! sorry, don't know what that means... i just stick to alto... or tenor if i can get my hands on one, i prefer alto though.

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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 9:21 am
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I write the lyrics and music for my band. I love the feeling of finishing lyrics to a song. I usually can't write some of it and then come back a day or two later and finish it. When I write lyrics, the whole song is written in less than an hour. However, I have fine-tuned lyrics before -- which is tough at times.


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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:33 pm
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copacki wrote:
I write the lyrics and music for my band. I love the feeling of finishing lyrics to a song. I usually can't write some of it and then come back a day or two later and finish it. When I write lyrics, the whole song is written in less than an hour. However, I have fine-tuned lyrics before -- which is tough at times.


yeah, i know what you mean. you write the lyrics and you're really proud of them, and then you get to this one little spot where something just isn't exactly right... i hate that. i don't like to compromise the quality of my work, so i always get a little apprehensive when stuff like that happens... most of the time, it works out for the better though... i find that that mostly happens when i'm writing in 6/8. what about you?

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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:22 am
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No more songwriters?

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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 5:18 pm
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I'm composing instrumentals right now mostly because I don't have a singer. I definitely want to get back in to songwriting.


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Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:26 am
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Interesting thread. I write different kinds of songs. If I'm at a piano, the songs end up more "musical" and if I'm on a guitar they're more Lyrical. Once in a while some magic takes place and a song just sort of "pops out" and it comes together almost as if it wrote itself. They tend to be my favorites and at least in my opinion, my best!


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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 1:19 pm
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Im a freshman in High school and I like to write lyrics and stuff, but have never finished a whole song. Mostly I write poems and then I'll go and make a song off of different poems I wrote. I really enjoy it and I have a nokebook with about 7 pages of stuff so far.


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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:06 pm
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I live to write. I learned to play guitar just to be able to write songs. My problem is confidence...that's my achilles heel. I am 35, and still haven't released anything. Every time I pick up a guitar I am writing. There are brief moments when I say to myself "That's pretty cool" or "This blows everything away I've heard in years" but those thoughts subside rather quickly...then it's back to the old "this sucks" or "this sounds like everything else". I think initially I was so worried what everyone else would think of my songs, but as I've grown older it seems like it's impossible to please myself. Why I am telling you all this? I guess I am just bitching! When it's all said and done, I think it's a shame more people don't write or atleast attempt to do so. While there are many songs I appreciate lyrically, there is no songwriter other than myself that can truly convey exactly how I feel and say it in the way it needs to be said....no matter how good they are. That said, I'd also prefer to hear a 16 year old kid play something he or she wrote versus a well-tuned cover band...that's just me. I'll shut up now. :)


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