Calling all musicians on Hubski.
Please help out an aspiring musician to gain some inspiration and write a few songs to perform. I have been playing music for quite a while and also have been singing for a band over the years, covering songs but I haven't ever been able to answer the golden question i.e. What comes first: the lyrics or the melody?
Could someone please throw some light on the same.
Additional question: How do you proceed with writing lyrics and songs, is there a specific way that you follow or anything else which helps you to do the same?
Thanks again Hubski.
I love this question and I hope someone puts more thought into for you. I don't musician but I do music. Without melody there can be no lyrics. There are many pieces that stand on melody alone. Of course some of my favorite pieces (classical notwithstanding) are favorites because of their lyrics. It is definitely a ying and yang. I do believe that without a melody, lyrics are just poetry in tune.
"Without melody there can be no lyrics" I disagree. Lyrics are simply words. Whether they are set to music or not has nothing to do with their classification as lyrics. Of course all music has a melody and most lyrics follow some sort of meter, but the melody doesn't make the lyrics, nor do the lyrics make the melody. I'd be willing to bet that the majority of spoken word had lyrics written before a melody. A prime example would be La Dispute's "Here, Hear". Each of the tracks from the first two EPs are actually based off of previous works of literature. Are they still lyrics? Yes. Where they created for the music? No, quite the opposite actually. With or without a melody, lyrics are just poetry. Really, what you write first all comes down to what the focus of the song is. If you're writing something centered around lyrics then lyrics will probably be top priority. If you're writing some twisting crazy math rock then lyrics are probably second in line. I don't think the point is to create lyrics for a song, or the other way around, but rather build off of what you've already created. Write lyrics and when you find a melody that fits, use it. Write melodies and when you think of words that fit, use them. As someone else said, keep the momentum going.
@09 : By the explanation you have given, it seems you are very much involved in the process of making music. Would you like to share some tips on how you do it?
I think the biggest tip I could give is to always be working on something. Completely immerse yourself in whatever you're doing. If you think of something, write it down. Creativity wont come when you sit down and stare at a piece of paper and wish, it's spontaneous. Wherever you are, be it your desk pencil in hand, or in the car on your way to work, when that moment hits you have to milk it for all its worth. Even if its just scattered thoughts, that's better than nothing. Just looking at a few words from the past can spark a thought enough to coddle into a master piece. The hardest part is always getting started, so start. You may be shitty at first but that's more than 90% of the population can say. Even the greats where beginners at one point. On a side note. If you're looking to produce your own music as well as write it (which you probably will at first) you should download a DAW. While lyrics can be written pretty much anywhere recording is a bit more difficult. You can always use your phone but if you have a computer I would highly recommend downloading Reaper or Audacity. Audacity is pretty limited but it is free. Reaper is a full-fledged DAW capable of pretty much anything you can do in a studio. While Reaper isn't technically "free" the license is super cheap for a DAW ($60?) and I don't believe you even need a licence to use it.
Thank you all for sharing your views on this ever-so confusing but beautiful question. Is there anybody here who writes but does not know how to put a melody around? Let's share our work and maybe something can come out of it. I think all of us on hubski should contribute lyrics and make a song right here in this post. Seems like a great idea and it is the effective use of this great platform. What say?
Personally I think there's no telling which would come first in a general situation. Sometimes the message you want to bring across in your song is clear, so the lyrics surface in your mind first. Sometimes the melodic contours and textures are more solid in your head, so that surfaces in your mind first. Also don't forget that rhythm is another crucial part of the song. A pleasant-sounding sequence of pitches paired with interesting lyrics can still be marred by awkward rhythm.
You may find this helpful: https://hubski.com/pub?id=207251
David Byrne, Stop Making Sense liner notes That said, nobody draws a staff and quarter notes on their trapper keeper. Here is the most important trick I have ever learned with creative endeavors: DO THE EASY SHIT FIRST. It is far easier to continue a project than to start a project. Momentum is important. A notebook full of ideas is far less valuable than a hard drive full of melodies, even if they aren't complete songs."Singing is a trick to get people to listen to music for longer than they would ordinarily."
Personally, I think they should evolve together. They should be considered as, and come together to form, a tight-nit whole. A piece of music or a particular melody intrinsically suggests a mood or demeanour. Similarly, the emotion and syntactical content of the lyrics also intrinsically suggests a way in which they might be intoned or rhythmically placed. If the writer does not judge the two as interdependent, then it can become a task to try and merge them. As a result, the music must inform the lyrics and lyrics must in turn inform the music. For a happy and productive writing process, one should not have precedent over the other. That's just me, of course.
I think everyone is different, but for me it's the melody first and then the lyrics. Sometimes, they come in tandem, but those moments are rare. I'll usually have the melody in mind and then mumble my way through a few vocal ideas before actual words come. Often, I'll find a chorus or a beginning line that will give momentum to what is to follow.