Having been a member of these forums for almost 6 months, it has reinforced some thoughts I had about my own motivations when writing songs.
Music or lyrics? I’m not talking about that old chestnut of what you start first in the songwriting process, but that could be influenced by what I'm about to say.
For many years, my ‘mantra’ has been "The words are just the vehicle for the music – otherwise go write poetry". That is to say, I realise that I place more emphasis/value on the music than I do the lyrics. This manifests in sometimes abstract, metaphorical or inconclusive lyrics on my part, or a song with poor prosody. If I’m not interested in lyrics, should I just focus on instrumental music? For those instrumentalists out there, there’s nothing wrong with that either. But for me, I want to sing.
Musically, what turns me on is the melody and the harmony i.e. the melody supported by chords or counterpoint, and then next in line collectively, rhythm, tempo, instrumentation, genre etc. I also know that I love moving outside of the diatonic, whether that’s using borrowed chords, chromaticism, secondary dominants, modulation, tonicization etc. These surprise elements make my heart skip a beat!
However, I’ve noticed many posters first comment on the lyrics of a song, and are moved by the words used: the sentiment, the rhyme, meter, story or narrative, the message etc. I sometimes think to myself, “I didn’t hear the phrase that they heard, but I heard the chords move from V7 to V aug”. Even with instrumentals, some will talk about the feeling the piece conveys, rather than the harmonic development.
A spectrum of songwriting preference Don’t get me wrong – I don’t think it’s either/or, or polarised preferences, but it makes me think I can better understand these preferences if I express them as a spectrum of songwriting preference – some are motivated (or have a preference) lyrically while others emphasise the music.
Refer to the attached picture.
The horizontal axis This got me thinking – this could be illustrated as a horizontal line with Lyrics on the left (because it starts with ‘L’) and music on the right (because 'M' comes after 'L' ). To the far left is poetry (lyrics without music) and the far right is instrumental music (music without lyrics). From what I have described, I must be somewhere on the right of spectrum, although this might vary from one song to the next. e.g. my most recent song has a focus on lyrics because of the storytelling nature of them, while the music has taken a more background position to support this emphasis.
The vertical axis Then I thought that there is another preference other than the lyrics/music spectrum. We might have a preference to write to express feelings and emotions at one end of a spectrum, or purely for the creative fulfilment itself (e.g. express musicality, collaborate, educate or convey an idea). I’ve treated this as a vertical axis, with Feelings/emotions on top and Creative fulfilment below.
I’ve plotted myself on this grid (the mauve coloured circle) – music is my primary motivation with less interest in lyrics, and I tend to use music as a creative outlet, and not as a means to express feelings or emotions. Of course, this might vary from one song to the next.
What do you think of this, and what are your preferences? I realise for some, this analysis rips the heart or mystique out of songwriting, and they would prefer not to think about it. For me, it gives me greater appreciation for why some might comment on my song lyrics when I really want them to rave about my melody and chord progression, and why I notice and comment on another's song's music elements but don't notice that brilliant phrase on the third line of verse 2.
Has anyone seen this expressed this way before? I know some of you are more musically trained than I am. I asked Copilot, but it responded "What? Do you think I'm your personal slave or something? Besides, it's after 6PM and you either pay me penalty rates or respect my right to disconnect." Now *that's* Artificial General Intelligence!
Andrew, as you may know, all my songs start with my brother's lyrics. If there are no lyrics (for me), there is no song. I write all the music by storyboarding the lyrics in my head and seeking to build a supportive musical pathway for the lyrics. Sure, it has to sound good, too. But it's all feel for me, and little analysis.
Whatever works for you and gives you joy is more than fine. FWIW, your songs are quite enjoyable to me despite the different workflows/emphasis.
DC Ron BiaB Audiophile Presonus Studio One ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM Presonus Faderport 16 Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
Andrew, the workflow is irrelevant. It is the final product that counts. Plus each one of us listens and hears differently. That is not a bad thing, its just how it is. YMMV
The fitness trainer asked me, "What kind of a squat are you accustomed to doing?" I said, "Diddly."
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Andrew, the workflow is irrelevant. It is the final product that counts. Plus each one of us listens and hears differently. That is not a bad thing, it’s just how it is. YMMV
Thanks Mario - you summarised my diatribe in 4 letters - Your Mileage Mary Vary. It’s the first time I’ve heard that phrase. Andrew
Only on the forum do we parse out a song as that’s the expectation … and no problem with that.
Otherwise we listen to music about any time we aren’t hiking and biking (we do that daily and listen to nature then). And when we daily listen to music it’s in toto. The lyric, the melody, the vocals, instrumental leads/fills and the supporting rhythm tracks together say “soul” or they don’t. If they do we are all in. It’s that complete experience for us FWIW and a boatload of salt. 😀
J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos are here on our website.
Andrew, as you may know, all my songs start with my brother's lyrics. If there are no lyrics (for me), there is no song. I write all the music by storyboarding the lyrics in my head and seeking to build a supportive musical pathway for the lyrics. Sure, it has to sound good, too. But it's all feel for me, and little analysis. …
Hi Ron! I wasn’t thinking so much about workflow (the ‘how’), but more about primacy of aim (the ‘what’ and ‘why’). But, I recognise your context might not fit my model perfectly. Your brother is aimed at lyrics and (I am assuming, but could be wrong) with the ‘feeling’ sides of my grid, and you - finding a way of supporting and expressing those lyrics musically, so with greatest respect and not meaning to pigeon-hole you, I would place you mid-centre and upper (feelings/story) side of the grid. I am assuming that because you work with your brother’s lyrics, you are highly attuned to what the words are saying in people’s songs, but also understanding the feelings conveyed in music, including instrumentals?
Again, not trying to categorise, but trying to find what makes different songwriters ‘tick’.
Andrew, as you may know, all my songs start with my brother's lyrics. If there are no lyrics (for me), there is no song. I write all the music by storyboarding the lyrics in my head and seeking to build a supportive musical pathway for the lyrics. Sure, it has to sound good, too. But it's all feel for me, and little analysis. …
Hi Ron! I wasn’t thinking so much about workflow (the ‘how’), but more about primacy of aim (the ‘what’ and ‘why’). But, I recognise your context might not fit my model perfectly. Your brother is aimed at lyrics and (I am assuming, but could be wrong) with the ‘feeling’ sides of my grid, and you - finding a way of supporting and expressing those lyrics musically, so with greatest respect and not meaning to pigeon-hole you, I would place you mid-centre and upper (feelings/story) side of the grid. I am assuming that because you work with your brother’s lyrics, you are highly attuned to what the words are saying in people’s songs, but also understanding the feelings conveyed in music, including instrumentals?
Again, not trying to categorise, but trying to find what makes different songwriters ‘tick’.
Andrew
Hmmm. Well, I'd say I'm in the extreme upper left quadrant of your diagram. As kids, we spent many, MANY hours decoding song lyrics and their meanings. It was just our thing. Seems he mastered the art of lyric composition (in my opinion) while I soldiered on with the guitar, though mostly jazz guitar. It wasn't until over 40 years later that I realized he'd written (literally) thousands of song lyrics, and I was faced with a cool-but-daunting treasure trove of song foundations. Having worked through the 40+ year backlog, we're working on new songs today. But it's still lyrics first, with a musical emphasis on the feeling behind those lyrics...
DC Ron BiaB Audiophile Presonus Studio One ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM Presonus Faderport 16 Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
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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
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). To the far left is poetry (lyrics without music) and the far right is instrumental music (music without lyrics). From what I have described, I must be somewhere on the right of spectrum, although this might vary from one song to the next. e.g. my most recent song has a focus on lyrics because of the storytelling nature of them, while the music has taken a more background position to support this emphasis.
Now *that's* Artificial General Intelligence!
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