In what stage of the songwriting process do you come up with the lyrics? Is it when you lay down the beats, throw down some loops, play a melody or wait until you have a finished song? Some people also prefer writing lyrics before anything is recorded, but I don't hear much about the process of writing lyrics to the music.

I usually come up with my lyrics in my head then work the so-called tune out...I usually just hum the thing to myself then try to sing it out...

Depends.  I used to have a bunch of lyrics just waiting for music.  What can I say, I have a degree in poetry.  However, I was working on something else and have just finished lyrics for music.  Now I'm waiting on my singer to figure the melody out.  So I am not a singer/songwriter.  If you heard me sing, you'd know the truth to that.  hell, some wouldn't even call me a writer, song or lyric.

@

LOL AT, I'm the total opposite. I can't write lyrics to save my own butt, but can put music to just about any words in seconds. We need to form a writing team! Hahahaha!

As for the question asked here, for me it's always different. I used to write riffs and then add words to them. These days, I like to come up with a melody and then choose a topic...and the music creates itself from the melody I come up with. From there, that melody usually writes the rest of the song for me. Or I may come up with a chorus hook that sets the tone...or a verse lyric with a melody. So most times this is what works best for me.

I find myself in a really stagnant situation when I'm forcing myself to write to music that is already there. I almost feel stifled for some odd reason. When the words come first, it dictates where the song goes for me. When the music comes first, I find myself having to make changes to the song once the lyrics and melody start to come out. There really is no set way for me, but I prefer melody and lyrics first over music then melody/lyrics. :)

-Danny

I'll typically just jam on my acoustic till I find an interesting chord progression and rhythm then start just singing random things here and there and hope a few of those words stick. Then I listen to those words that stuck and think "what could they mean?" and from there, develop a vague sense of theme and try to write the rest as I write my chords. Once that's done, I have a new song I can jam with on acoustic. I'll then move onto arranging all the parts which quite often results in completely writing out the acoustic altogether.

My lyrics suck by the way ;)

I like the poetry idea. I wonder if I just try to write some poems, forgetting about the music and the melody and then putting it to song later. I really need some new ways to approach song writing to give me some fresh ideas.

Most of the time I write much the same way Matt does.  I will jam to chord progressions that sound interesting to me.  Eventually, subliminally, either a chorus will emerge, sometimes it is a couple of verse lines that are interesting, some times just gibberish that sounds like it might form into something.  I have had complete songs come together in less than an hour and I have carried around particial songs for up to and over a year. 

It seems like my biggest hang up is that I will get a complete first verse that I like and a chorus that I like and then I can't get a second, or third verse to sound as meaningful as I would like.  That is when the process seem to drag on until the right words finally come forth.

I have on occasion, but not very often, written lyrics first and then set music to them.  When this happens, it seems inevitable that the words will have to change a little once I figure out a melody and chord progression to go with them.  It just seems like they never quite come together musically, with out the lyrics having to become singable to the way the song wants to form itself.  It does n't seem like you can force them to work, they tend to kind of write themselves and go where they are meant to go.

I write differently on acoustic guitar, than I do on electric.  I am not much of a piano player, but working slowly at it.  I write completely differently on piano it seems.  I still start with chord progressions, but they write differently for some reason.  I have only written a couple of songs from a bass guitar, but bass will sometimes actually change the direction of a song as well.

The best thing I have learned over the years is not to get to stuck on any one thing, but to let it go where it wants to, even if it means completely changing direction.

I have not collaborated much on writing for the last couple of years, but am kind of getting the bug for that again as well.

Lyrics comes last for me, I come up with a vocal melody and do a scratch track with words or phrases chosen more for the syllables and conformity to the melody than anything else. Final lyrics have always come last for me even in the live band days. I think lyrics is what I like to do the least

I write words first but try to maintain some kind of meter ... I guess that's something like poetry.  I am tone deaf so at that point I fumble around with different chord progressions.

Danny Danzi wrote: LOL AT, I'm the total opposite. I can't write lyrics to save my own butt, but can put music to just about any words in seconds. We need to form a writing team! Hahahaha! 


You think you have issues with lyrics? You should see my collection of specimens!!! LOL!!!

Its a lot easier for me to have a melody and lyric in my head and work it out on guitar.  With music production, if I am doing the beat first, I get really screwed, and do the lyrics to the beat.

In POP music the most important thing is a hook though..  Like a lyrical hook!  HAHA I love this.  Its awesome.  I think its brilliant.  You will never change my mind by quoting me, to tell me how corny and pathetic this actually is:

"Every second is a highlight 
When we touch don't ever let me go  Dirty dancing in the moonlight  
Take me down like I'm a domino"

Its awesome!  Wish, wish, wish!  I was that good at lyrics