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“Works of art makes rules; rules do not make works of art” – Claude Debussy
Lyric writing
The art of songwriting combines many skills that includes lyric writing, melody, harmony, rhythm, song structure and instrumentation.
Writing song lyrics tends to be more a personal creative process. Following are some tips to help get you started.
- Try writing your melody before you turn your focus to the subject and words. Establish a distinct melody for the verses, then move on to the chorus, and bridge etc… Come up with an interesting chord progression to support the melody.
- Allow yourself to improvise using draft ‘placeholder’ lyrics that may not make sense, but can help you understand what kind of lyrics will suite your song. Begin by improvising phrases and rhymes that will later evolve into meaningful lyrics.
- Use phrases and vowel sounds you like. As you rework your draft lyrics, find phrases and sounds that can serve as the foundation.
- Experiment with different styles that will compliment your lyrics. This may help you refine your lyrics and can create a song that is more poetic and musical.
- Once you’ve laid out the core phrases, lines, subject matter, and style for your song, start to fill in the blanks.
- Use a rhyming dictionary if needed, and remember that not every lyric needs to rhyme. Think about the flow of your lyrics so they sound natural.
Music creation
When creating your own music it is important to be original but what you need to create should make musical sense. This is usually achieved by listening to others so you know what makes a piece of music sound great. It often involves understanding the styles, rhythms, chord progressions, harmonies, how different instruments are used to compliment each other, what tempos work well with certain types of songs and the list goes on.
The idea of listening to others is not to sound like them or copy their ideas but to help you create your own and develop your own sound.