I'm a "write what you hear" guy, but have a process. I also have persistent auditory pareidolia, and hear music everywhere, even in white noise. (I'm not alone.) Often the music I hear sounds pretty cool to me. I lean on that.

My workflow:
1. Read the lyrics. I (almost) always start with a complete lyrics sheet. I've written lyrics before but dislike having the responsibility for "What does this mean??" My lyricist has an elegant response that somehow doesn't work for me: "What does it mean to YOU...?" Anyway, he's also a lot more talented than I am at lyric craft. So I yield to him completely.
2. Imagine what the lyrics mean. My lyricist is into ambiguity, so (a) he's no help and (b) I've got some leeway here. Sometimes I imagine a music video as an aid in interpreting the lyrics. A couple of times I've made this video, which is fun (and labor intensive).
3. Bound the music by tempo based on how many words there are in the lyric. I shoot for a 2:45 to 3:15 song, but those are just rough guides. I never remove lyrics but may recycle verses and/or choruses and/or title lines based on musical choices and avoiding the dreaded 1:30 song.
4. Find the "center" of the lyrics. Might be a chorus, or lyric, or bridge. But the song pivots around this "center". Ideally, it should roll off the tongue easily.
5. Look for an interesting way to sing the song "center" using a guitar for backing. I'm basically looking for a hook. If I hit on something I like I'll record it on my phone. My phone is my memo pad.
6. Repeat 5 and some of 4 with adjacent dynamic inflection points ("mini-centers") in the lyrics. I'm basically looking for a compelling way to tell both the lyrical and musical story from the inside (the "center") out.
7. Continue to work backwards until the lyrics are filled out with musical intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, outro, etc. At this point it's lyrics + solo guitar (live). But the song is done.
8. Until I listen to it and decide it's not quite right and go back to step 1.
9. Repeat 1-7 until I'm satisfied.

Then the fun REALLY begins.

Last edited by DC Ron; 11/01/23 01:41 AM.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
StudioCat DAW dual screen
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)