andy_grahammer
Most of these unfinished songs I have always with me, listen to them whenever I can. Some of them are a few years old already. And sometimes while listening to one random song, suddenly there´re some lyrics in my mind which I record instantly (thank you mobile phone ;-)) and later record in the studio.

Because of this thread I asked my friend how he does his workflow, and he does this method. He records things then keeps them running in his car until lyrics come to him. He said it is often only a few phrases at first, but once he has that is fairly easy to progress. I need to force myself to try this approach more... sort of reminds me of the improvisations they did on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

mettelus
He said it is often only a few phrases at first, but once he has that is fairly easy to progress.

I couldn´t agree more. Once, there is this initial idea, it´s half done ;-)
 
lol, had to google "whose line is it anyway?" We also had this kinda tv show in Germany. It was called "Frei Schnauze", which means "by guess and by gosh" :-P

They had round robins where they would have the players adlib lyrics to a tune, but only send them up with a "theme" to sing to. Made me laugh at myself... hop in the car and think... "chicken!"
 
Welcome to the forum! I am often on my phone so do not see post count by default and just noticed.

Scrambled Eggs...
 
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/10/paul-mccartneys-yesterday/
 

Sounds like a funny tv show indeed :-P Thank for the welcome ;-)
 
@rimshot: the scrambled egg story is also very nice!

Rimshot
Scrambled Eggs...
http://www.todayifoundout...-mccartneys-yesterday/

 

Guitarhacker
With me, it's often music first followed closely and together with the lyrics.
I get a chord progression and a groove..... then a lyric that might be as sparse as a single line or a title, and it grows from there.  Sometimes I will start with that title or line and build from there, but for all intents and purposes, it's pretty much together at the same time.

I agree with the variety of sentiments in this thread.  For years, since my early writing, I naturally went with Guitarhacker's route above.  The music and lyrics kind of bubbled together from some sort of starting point.  In some cases I would end up with a complete thought, in more I would abandon something half started and move on.
 
Then I heard that reference to scrambled eggs a good number of years ago and found it super liberating.  I was free.  I no longer had to write lyrics while coming up with the music.  And, I thought, just like Paul McCartney I'll come right back and fill in the words like a coloring book after I've got the music figured out. 
 
With that freedom, and with the wonders of Sonar, I quickly assembled about 100+ fantastic songs, complete with melody lines as placeholder for the singing, drums and all sorts of pretty well recorded music parts.  Not nearly enough of them with lyrics.  It just is so easy and fun to throw together the music, and to procrastinate on the lyrics.
 
So I'm trying something that's new for me.  I'm rewarding myself with the music creativity part now (trying this out), only after I've paid my dues and have come up with lyrics for the piece.  So whether I want to dive back into one of my 100+ songs to take it to a new level, or start some new song altogether, whenever I want to touch the system and work on a song I'm creating a gate that says, "Ye shall not pass into the song unless ye have some lyrics for it".
 
That's my new mode, recognizing the process that folks have written above works for them.  I've tried I think most approaches, but this is the one that I'm on now, with the aim to be more disciplined.  Like going on a diet.  Or committing to exercise to get to a certain weight.

I know this is over simplifying the issue....but....for lyrics, you have to have something you want to say.  I am usually looking for the "concepts" behind what I want to write for lyrics; not so much as the actual lyrics.  I may have a line or 2 that spark an idea, but the lyrics still have to be flushed out, based on the overall concept of 'what you want to say'.
 
I use my iPhone a lot, to jot down quick ideas as they come to me.  They come at strange and inconvenient times. The fact that I can speak into the notes app or voice recorder has been a life saver.  Then, I can revisit the idea when I have actual time to work on it.
 
You also have to be flexible with the music and melody, once the lyrics start coming together.  Basically, I am not married to anything and EVERYTHING is open to change, for the betterment of the song.   

Agreed.

Great thread! I almost always write with a music first attitude. Mostly because I spend a lot of time noodling. Unfortunately this ends up with me TRYING to write and I nearly always end up scattering my musical thoughts in a thousand different directions.
Generally, lyrics just sort of come to me and build upon themselves. That said, for 2015, I've decided to, as an exercise, write one new, complete song every month using various techniques. I've had varying degrees of success, but this different approach has really helped me to focus and learn what I like, and dislike, about my own music. And it's shown me where I need to improve.
 
 

Lyrics first is a good way to go. I have noted for myself that using different starting points changes the freedom of other aspects... I think there's a triangle to it:
 
Lyrics
Melody
Music
 
Lyrics first gives me much less defined vocal melody to fit on the music, but works just fine.
Music first usually means I end up with weak, un-impactful lyrics (because so much focus goes into the music)
Melody first has really been my best friend, because for me the vocal melody tells the mood of the song  - dictates lyrics AND music.
 
I'm not very good at writing lyrics anyway.