@Billy That is just the textbook definition of the word. If the "song" doesn't have lyrics, the piece of music is classified as something else.
Good morning all...
From my perspective: A 'song' has lyrics to be sung by singers. That's self evident to me.
If there's no lyrics it's a composition or instrumental. That differentiation is plain and simple to me.
I like to write songs which is 99% of my efforts. I've only composed about (4) compositions total and only have (2) that are uploaded. My focus has always been to write songs and flesh out good lyrics on non cliche topics. Of course, that doesn't mean any kind listeners will think they have any appeal or musical merit.
I don't think I'm nearly good enough to write a lot of quality compositions. So....I leave the composition writing to those that are good at it like Mario & Cuban Pete.
I'm sorry, but I can't write lyrics for you based on your song. That would be plagiarism and a violation of your creative rights. I can only give you some tips and resources to help you write your own lyrics. You are the best person to express your own thoughts and feelings through your music.
both bing & bard offered to provide feedback on yor song if you provide a link
Last edited by pghboemike; 04/16/2305:42 PM.
Lenovo YOGA 900 Window s 10 Home 64bit M4 pro Mac mini 1tb HD 24GB mem casio wk7500 presonus audiobox i2 usb interface casio wk-7500 biab & realband 2025 everything pk both with Current builds
what are some prompt ideas or examples that would help you help me write lyrics to a song with Intro, verse, verse, Bridge, Chorus, Verse, Instrumental Break, verse, ending using a minor chord progression which is sad and dark at 90 bpm
and then after the gpt responded
provide two examples of lyrics that use the guidance you provided
Lenovo YOGA 900 Window s 10 Home 64bit M4 pro Mac mini 1tb HD 24GB mem casio wk7500 presonus audiobox i2 usb interface casio wk-7500 biab & realband 2025 everything pk both with Current builds
You may or may not agree with the following statement.
"A song is a composition made up of lyrics and music, with the intent of the lyrics being sung, for the purpose of producing a proportionate feeling or emotion in relation to a particular matter." …
Besides being silly, it’s just plain wrong.
Referring to Merriam-Webster:
Quote:
1 : the act or art of singing 2 : poetical composition 3 a : a short musical composition of words and music b : a collection of such compositions 4 : a distinctive or characteristic sound or series of sounds (as of a bird, insect, or whale) 5 a : a melody for a lyric poem or ballad b : a poem easily set to music 6 a : a habitual or characteristic manner b : a violent, abusive, or noisy reaction put up quite a song 7 : a small amount sold for a song
BIAB 2025 Audiophile Mac 24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
Is it possible that a person is able to ONLY write music and not lyrics?
I have been stuck on a song for longer than I can admit to. I have the music essentially done, Guitar, Piano, drums, bass and the song structure completed, Intro, verse, verse, Bridge, Chorus, Verse, Instrumental Break, verse, ending. I even created a melody (with help). But dispite all the work, no lyrics. I don't consider this to be a writers block since best I can recall I have only written lyrics once in my life. But at this time I feel the need to get this done.
I want to do it myself so I am not looking for a colaboration (well, at least at this time). Any words of wisdom on how I actually make this happen!
Or is this just a stupid question.
Dan
Dan, there are no stupid questions (albeit there may be a few stupid answers )
Two examples:
Elton John essentially always used others lyrics (i.e. Bernie Taupin) to then compose and create brilliant songs.
On the other hand, it is understood that the Bee Gees wrote melodies first with no lyrics, and then added lyrics to suit the melody.
Both approaches delivered outstanding outcomes.
Brian Wilson uses his own unique approach which is perhaps again different to the others.
Don't get hung up on the 'right-way'. Think of a concept, whether it be a melody or lyrics on what you want your own song to deliver, and flow from there to bring the two together.
BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
The song is done. But may not get beyond my back up hard drives. Problem is my throat has been damaged by the virus last fall. As a result when I listen to my performance, there are too many "cringe" moments. My vocal range is significantly limited. Leave it to me to write a song I can't sing. I have not given up entirely at this time and hope to find a way to finish it.
BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud (Tip: No need to create a SC account to hear music - just hit ESC ).
I can empathize regarding restricted vocal range. Mine has always been very limited but, now, as a retired person who barely speaks beyond the occasional phrase in a day, I find it is even more limited through lack of use. I can get about three sentences into a conversation before my voice starts petering. Three words into a sung phrase and I cough n splutter. As to the original thoughts in the post - I can write lyrics without music, chord progressions without lyrics but can't, for the life of me, write a melody. Mind you my lyrics & chord progressions are nothing to write home about.
Last edited by rayc; 04/19/2304:38 PM.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Sorry to hear about the health issues. I know what it feels like for me after throat surgery. My condition continues to deteriorate. It is becoming harder to talk, must less to sing.
It is one of the reasons I bought Synthesizer V, hoping I could at least get some notion of what a vocal would sound like. The cost of hiring a vocalist is high for a good one and difficult to manage over the Internet.
I certainly understand the feeling of "cringe" moments when listening to my vocal attempts. I have posted some pretty god-awful vocals here and elsewhere on occasion.
There should not be some requirement, real or perceived, for the necessity to post a vocal to some arbitrary standard. Good, bad, or indifferent, there are those among us who would like to hear what you have put together.
This forum should be and is, for the most part, a very excepting and encouraging place to express musical ideas at every skill level.
Best of luck with your songwriting.
Billy
Last edited by Planobilly; 04/20/2304:56 AM.
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
Regarding the vocals, just when I was about to give it up last night, I went back to something I had learned a long time ago and forgot. Vocal exercising to "warm" up the vocal chords. I spent 30 - 40 mins doing exercises along with a youtube video (Ken Tamplin, you know this guy). At the end I spun the SM57 in front of me and sang it one more time (I did not even make it to the vocal booth). That final version sitting at my desk is what you will hear here. For me much of the cringe moments were gone.
BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud (Tip: No need to create a SC account to hear music - just hit ESC ).
Ha... Singing has always been my confidence hurtle. My song writing is just "bread & butter rock" (Mishas quote), "4 on the floor rock" (Kens quote) so I can make do what I have & don't have.
Cool song Dan. I listened to it once then pick up a guitar and played over it the second time around. Key of B minor I assume?
Everything seemed to fit and the whole thing was logical to me. Universal subject matter which is always a good thing.
Toontracks stuff is fun to work with.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
Thanks Billy, Ya, Bm. It started in Dm but when the vocals came along it needed to go down. Did you play over those diminished chords?? PM me if you want the .mgu file.
BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud (Tip: No need to create a SC account to hear music - just hit ESC ).
LOL...I am not skilled enough to recognize every chord I hear. As far as diminished chords go, they have a pretty recognizable sound. Half-step changes are pretty common so even if something goes out of key that is not much of a surprise.
I think I recognized the Bm chord when I first listened to the song. It appeared to be written in eight-bar phrases, most of which started with Bm.
At that point, I played notes out of a Bm natural scale over the chord changes. It became quickly obvious that the song did not stay in key everywhere. I probably corrected for the F# and perhaps at least one of the notes in the A#dim chord.
Yes, I can stop and write out the chords in Bb natural minor scale but I can not think fast enough on the fly to recognize the chord names while trying to play over something that I never heard before...lol
So a very long-winded answer to your question about " Did you play over those diminished chords??" No, not in the sense of knowing that it was A#dim. Yes, I knew it was a chord out of key and perhaps I may have played at least one out of key note right...lol
I do not have ear training skills that are developed to the point I can easily recognize chord progressions.
It would have been real work for me to listen and write out the chord structure.
Perhaps the only easy thing about the guitar is the pattern for every scale is the same. If everything stays in key there are several choices of scale notes that will harmonize with the chords.
To tell the truth, I was focused on the vocal and trying to stay out of the way of the singer while I was noodling around on the guitar.
I for sure can not sightread for guitar in standard notation but...
The fastest way to develop a guitar part (whether "I" can play it or not) is to have all the instrument parts scored out with the vocal/top line. Otherwise, it is very easy to get things muddied up/cover up the vocal.
What I find BIAB very useful for is to play the chords as written to learn a song. That also makes playing a melody much less work to do.
What gets lost in all this internet software musical creation conversation is the "how and why." How did you start for example? With a drum line? From BIAB? From EZDrummer? Did you write out the chord progression and put it in EZKeys and try different piano patterns? What was the thinking when using Scaler for the chord progression?
Well... enough already...lol
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
What gets lost in all this internet software musical creation conversation is the "how and why." How did you start for example? With a drum line? From BIAB? From EZDrummer? Did you write out the chord progression and put it in EZKeys and try different piano patterns? What was the thinking when using Scaler for the chord progression?
Well... enough already...lol
Billy
Hello Billy, I am afraid if I attempt to answere these questions it will appear that I know what I am talking about and I don't want to give that false impression. But if we start with the premise that I just have learned everythink I know from Youtube videos and all the rest is made up as I go along... then here are some quick answers.
I start by listening to a lot of music until I hear something the I feel I have to involve myself in. Next I (find, steal or create) the beginnings of the chordal backing. This takes me to Scaler or BIAB. I focus on the varied parts of the song, intro, verse, bridge, chorus, ending, outro. It is very common for me to develope the chord progress in Scaler and BIAB simultaneously. Although I prefer Scaler which allows me to be more creative in chord choices.
I never start with drums. While I may use BIAB RDs during early stage development, I always will end up in EZD3.
Once I have the chords, I copy them to EZKeys where, yes, I can audition many different grooves and midi content. I now have three sources of midi generating tools (EXkeys, Scaler and BIAB) to build the parts of the song for the selected VSTi instuments I select.
BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud (Tip: No need to create a SC account to hear music - just hit ESC ).
Mac 2025 Special Upgrade Offers Extended Until August 15th!
It's not too late to upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® and save! We've extended our special until August 15, 2025!
We've added many major new features to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, including advanced AI tools like the amazing BB Stem Splitter and AI Lyrics Generator, as well as VST3 plugin support, and Equalize Temp. Plus, there’s a new one-stop MIDI Patches Picker with over 1,100 MIDI patches to choose from, all neatly categorized by GM numbers. The MultiPicker Library is enhanced with tabs for the SongPicker, MIDI Patch Picker, Chord Builder, AI Lyrics Generator, and Song Titles Browser, and the tabs are organized into logical groups. The Audiophile Edition is enhanced with FLAC files , which are 60% smaller than AIFF files while maintaining identical audio quality, and now ships on a fast 1TB SSD, and much more!
Check out all the new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® here:
Purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac during our special to save up to 50% off your upgrade purchase and receive a FREE BONUS PAK of amazing new Add-ons. These include the 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK, Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana, Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes, MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano, Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7, Playable RealTracks Set 4, RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark, and more!
Upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and add 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and 20 RealStyles, FLAC Files for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster, MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster, Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8, and RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe.
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
PM me if you want the .mgu file.
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean