For Don Gaynor: an example of how I approach writing lyrics - 10/06/12 01:46 AM
Hi Don,
I only started learning to write lyrics eight years ago. I found the task incredibly daunting because I had no sense of how language worked from a poetic and lyric perspective (I'm a science kind of person). Fortunately for me, I stumbled on to the works of Professor Pat Pattison from Berklee College. He helped me immensely. I'd like to share with you some of what I've learned over the last eight years. Hence the below. I thought it might help speed-up the lyric writing process for you.
To be honest, there are many different ways that I approach writing lyrics and this is just one of them. This particular starting point is very often quite productive for me which is why I'm sharing it.
BASIC PRINCIPLE
1. I think of a song as three sections (Verse 1, Verse 2 and Bridge).
2. Each consecutive section needs to gain in emotional intensity to make the lyrics interesting for the listener.
3. A song's chorus usually summarizes each section and, by doing so, further heightens the emotional intensity of the section it follows.
4. The number “4” is often great to work with in music because an awful lot of music has four beats to a bar and eight bars to a section (two lots of 4); it's also worth noting that 12-bar blues is still three lots of "4".
With the above in mind, I write 12 lines of rhyming tetrameter couplets about some topic (i.e. 4 strong beats per line with paired end-rhyme just like “Humpty Dumpty”). One of the advantages of using rhyming couplets is that each pair of lines works best when representing a single thought. Thus after one pair of lines, the writer can freely move on to the next 'thought'.
The prompt I used this Australian morning to write these 12 lines was “Mount Everest”. (I've highlighted the strong syllables to help see the tetrameter meter.)
Now I divide the 12 lines into three groups of four lines. (I'm going to create a V-C-V-C-B-C format song: V = verse, C = chorus, B = bridge.)
I look at these three sections and ask myself, Do they gain emotional weight as I read through them?
Because THREE has God and the devil in it, that's definitely the most intense to my ears so I'll keep that as the last and 'weightiest' section (that is, the bridge).
Which one is emotionally weightier out of ONE and TWO? That's not easy for me to see. So what I do is to read through as given and then change the order and read TWO first followed by ONE. When I do this, it definitely reads better for me if I keep the order that I originally started with. It's also possible to mix up the couplets and swap them from one section to another. In this instance, things seemed to work without having to do that. Okay, so that gives me ...
Now I need a chorus. Choruses usually 'tell' the listener what the song is about. This example lyric is about Mount Everest so I'll use the chorus to tell people that.
Since my verses are in tetrameter couplets, I need to change that rhythm so that the chorus stands out as musically different. When I say “Mount Everest” I hear two strong syllable. Namely, Mount and Ev(erest). Since two strong beats per line is different from the verses' four strong beats per line, this will be a good start to the chorus. So ...
Lastly, I now need to make the bridge stand out as musically different. Again, I'll fiddle with the meter of the lines. I'm going to try mixed meter. Because of this, I'll need to pull the words around and change them to suit. Mixed meter will also allow me greater musical creativity. In addition, I'm going to try a 5-phrase section. All these devices will destabilize the lyric flow of the bridge, make them feel less predictable and thus provide lyric contrast. This destabilization will also help make the arrival back at the last chorus feel really satisfying (hopefully) to the listener.
I'm going to start with three strong beats in the first line because this is different from the first line of the verses and the chorus. I'm also going to personify the mountain as “she” as that will add to the emotional weight. In addition, I'll try out a Shakespearean technique and not have any end rhyme until the last two lines. This should provide some lyric contrast in rhyme. I'll also need to go back through the lyrics and make sure that the personification 'she' is consistent throughout the lyric.
So here are the song's lyrics in their entirety. When reading through it, always read the chorus after each section. It's important to gauge if the chorus gains in emotional weight on the journey through the song.
Whether the above lyrics will work or not will now depend on the music. It's time to head off to BIAB to put a chord progression together and to develop a melody. When I'm writing the song, experience tells me that these lyrics are going to change a bit. I'll play with meter, rhyme and content. Now, though, I've got something to work with and to get started on
Hope this helps,
Noel
I only started learning to write lyrics eight years ago. I found the task incredibly daunting because I had no sense of how language worked from a poetic and lyric perspective (I'm a science kind of person). Fortunately for me, I stumbled on to the works of Professor Pat Pattison from Berklee College. He helped me immensely. I'd like to share with you some of what I've learned over the last eight years. Hence the below. I thought it might help speed-up the lyric writing process for you.
To be honest, there are many different ways that I approach writing lyrics and this is just one of them. This particular starting point is very often quite productive for me which is why I'm sharing it.
BASIC PRINCIPLE
1. I think of a song as three sections (Verse 1, Verse 2 and Bridge).
2. Each consecutive section needs to gain in emotional intensity to make the lyrics interesting for the listener.
3. A song's chorus usually summarizes each section and, by doing so, further heightens the emotional intensity of the section it follows.
4. The number “4” is often great to work with in music because an awful lot of music has four beats to a bar and eight bars to a section (two lots of 4); it's also worth noting that 12-bar blues is still three lots of "4".
With the above in mind, I write 12 lines of rhyming tetrameter couplets about some topic (i.e. 4 strong beats per line with paired end-rhyme just like “Humpty Dumpty”). One of the advantages of using rhyming couplets is that each pair of lines works best when representing a single thought. Thus after one pair of lines, the writer can freely move on to the next 'thought'.
The prompt I used this Australian morning to write these 12 lines was “Mount Everest”. (I've highlighted the strong syllables to help see the tetrameter meter.)
Now I divide the 12 lines into three groups of four lines. (I'm going to create a V-C-V-C-B-C format song: V = verse, C = chorus, B = bridge.)
Quote:
ONE
The world's tallest mountain peak
Stretching for twenty nine thousand feet
Reaching up to the edge of space
A mighty work of ancient grace
TWO
Always wrapped in blankets of snow
It's an icy palace and the Yeti's home
Blizzards and storms continually rage
And cliffs and glaciers challenge the brave
THREE
Some say the mountain is blessed by God
And others swear it's where the devil has trod
Whenever I see it, it fills me with awe
Whenever I see it, I feel awfully small
I look at these three sections and ask myself, Do they gain emotional weight as I read through them?
Because THREE has God and the devil in it, that's definitely the most intense to my ears so I'll keep that as the last and 'weightiest' section (that is, the bridge).
Which one is emotionally weightier out of ONE and TWO? That's not easy for me to see. So what I do is to read through as given and then change the order and read TWO first followed by ONE. When I do this, it definitely reads better for me if I keep the order that I originally started with. It's also possible to mix up the couplets and swap them from one section to another. In this instance, things seemed to work without having to do that. Okay, so that gives me ...
Quote:
VERSE 1
The world's tallest mountain peak
Stretching for twenty nine thousand feet
Reaching up to the edge of space
A mighty work of ancient grace
VERSE 2
Always wrapped in blankets of snow
It's an icy palace and the Yeti's home
Blizzards and storms continually rage
And cliffs and glaciers challenge the brave
BRIDGE
Some say the mountain is blessed by God
And others swear it's where the devil has trod
Whenever I see it, it fills me with awe
Whenever I see it, I feel awfully small
Now I need a chorus. Choruses usually 'tell' the listener what the song is about. This example lyric is about Mount Everest so I'll use the chorus to tell people that.
Since my verses are in tetrameter couplets, I need to change that rhythm so that the chorus stands out as musically different. When I say “Mount Everest” I hear two strong syllable. Namely, Mount and Ev(erest). Since two strong beats per line is different from the verses' four strong beats per line, this will be a good start to the chorus. So ...
Quote:
CHORUS
Mount Everest
The mightiest mountain on Earth
Mount Everest
A gift from God to the world
Lastly, I now need to make the bridge stand out as musically different. Again, I'll fiddle with the meter of the lines. I'm going to try mixed meter. Because of this, I'll need to pull the words around and change them to suit. Mixed meter will also allow me greater musical creativity. In addition, I'm going to try a 5-phrase section. All these devices will destabilize the lyric flow of the bridge, make them feel less predictable and thus provide lyric contrast. This destabilization will also help make the arrival back at the last chorus feel really satisfying (hopefully) to the listener.
I'm going to start with three strong beats in the first line because this is different from the first line of the verses and the chorus. I'm also going to personify the mountain as “she” as that will add to the emotional weight. In addition, I'll try out a Shakespearean technique and not have any end rhyme until the last two lines. This should provide some lyric contrast in rhyme. I'll also need to go back through the lyrics and make sure that the personification 'she' is consistent throughout the lyric.
Quote:
BRIDGE
For some, she's blessed by heaven
For others, she's hell
But what I know is that when I see her
She fills me with awe
I feel small
So here are the song's lyrics in their entirety. When reading through it, always read the chorus after each section. It's important to gauge if the chorus gains in emotional weight on the journey through the song.
Whether the above lyrics will work or not will now depend on the music. It's time to head off to BIAB to put a chord progression together and to develop a melody. When I'm writing the song, experience tells me that these lyrics are going to change a bit. I'll play with meter, rhyme and content. Now, though, I've got something to work with and to get started on
Hope this helps,
Noel
