Category Archives: Songwriting

I often get asked about my songwriting process. Do I write lyrics first and then put music to them, or vice versa? Or, does it all just happen at once?

Well, firstly, not all songs follow the same creation process. Without wanting to sound pretentious, I’d say that each song happens fairly “organically”, in the sense that there’s no set method that I follow, and the majority of my songs seem to just “write themselves”.

That said, it is most common that I will come up with a chord progression on the guitar first, and then start “scatting” (i.e. singing a melody using random sounds/words) over the top. Usually a line or lyrical hook will naturally come from this process, and then I’ll build the rest of the song around it (I might even change the original line or hook at a later stage, if the rest of the song goes in a different direction). So, although technically the music comes first (only just), I would class this as “all happening at once”, because all the components come together very quickly and seem to have an immediate relationship.

Sometimes, I’ll write a chord progression (and maybe a melody) first, and will then play around with it for weeks or months before I come up with lyrics to put to it.

Other times, I’ll have a lyrical idea, or a few lines written, and will put them to music at a later stage and let the rest of the song grow from that starting point.

I very rarely (if ever) write an entire lyric (i.e. the words for a complete song) and then put music to it later on. If I’ve done that twice, it’s a lot!

So which method do I think is optimal? Well, I’d say that it largely depends on the individual, but I will say that I think it’s MUCH easier to write lyrics for pre-composed music than the other way round. When you start with lyrics, you have to try and write music that works with those lyrics rhythmically, and that’s hard. I think it’s easier to write lyrics to a rhythm/metre that is pre-determined by the music. (Side note: It can be easy to recognise songs for which the lyrics were written first – the words often don’t “sit” well in the music, due to the emphasis being in a weird place, or there being too many syllables crammed into a small musical space.)

Anecdotally, I do tend to find that my best songs are the ones where it all seems to come together at once. Perhaps this is because I don’t have time to second-guess myself or get hung up on the small stuff.

If you’re new to songwriting, I recommend trying each approach until you find what works best for you!

Are you a songwriter? If so, what’s you’re creative process? Which of the above methods do you follow most frequently? Share your experiences in the comments section below!

 

Photo courtesy of Lel4nd

I think I was about 16 when I first got into Jackson Browne. I got hooked on the song, These Days, which he wrote when he was the same age. Aside from his great voice and the wonderful musical arrangements of his songs, what really grabbed me was the lyrics. As such, I’d like to share some of my favourite Jackson Browne lines…

I wanna know what became of the changes we waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams of some greater awakening?
The Pretender

When you see through love’s illusions, there lies the danger
And your perfect lover just looks like a perfect fool
So you go running off in search of a perfect stranger
While the loneliness seems to spring from your life, like a fountain from a pool
Fountain of Sorrow

You never knew what I loved in you, I don’t know what you loved in me
Maybe the picture of somebody you were hoping I might be
Late for the Sky 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEzZ8hSZU0k

There’s a need to be separate and a need to be one
And in the struggle, neither wins
Sky Blue and Black

Hunger in the midnight, hunger at the stroke of noon
Hunger in the mansion, hunger in the rented room
Hunger of the TV, hunger on the printed page
And there’s a God-sized hunger underneath the laughing and the rage
Looking East

The ladies come to see you, if your name still rings a bell
They give you damn near nothing, and they’ll say they knew you well
So you tell ’em you’ll remember, but they know it’s just a game
And along the way their faces all begin to look the same
The Road

Don’t confront me with my failures
I had not forgotten them
These Days

If you’re not a Jackson Browne fan already, I encourage you to check him out – particularly if you’re a songwriter!

Enjoy!
Mali.xxx

 

Photo courtesy of  El Humilde Fotero del Pánico

Imagery is exactly what it sounds like: the use of language to conjure up a mental image or picture. It is an extremely powerful tool for any songwriter, and can really bring a song to life.

Rather than try to explain to you how to employ imagery in your songs, I thought it would be more effective to show you how other artists have done so with great success.

Here are five examples of imagery being employed well in songwriting:

1. Up Against the Wall – Fiction Family (written by Jon Foreman)

When you’re down on the ocean floor
And the sand gets in your shell
Everyone’s been talking ’bout the pearl you’ll have someday
But right now it only hurts like hell…

I think this verse alone is worthy of a Grammy. The idea here is that although suffering can yield good fruit in the future, that doesn’t minimise the pain in the present moment. This truth is beautifully conveyed via the metaphor of an oyster, who overcomes the irritation of sand in its shell by building a pearl around it.

2. Nothing Ever Happens – Del Amitri (written by Justin Currie)

And by five o’clock everything’s dead
And every third car is a cab
And ignorant people sleep in their beds
Like the doped white mice in the college labs

It’s pretty much impossible to read/hear those lines being immersed into a mental picture that represents the mundanity of day-to-day that the author is referring to.

3. Lover, You Should’ve Come Over – Jeff Buckley

Looking out the door I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners
Parading in the wake of sad relations, as their shoes fill up with water.

These words transport you directly to the scene being described, which itself helps to convey the sense of loss that is central to the song’s story.

4. A Case of You – Joni Mitchell

On the back of a cartoon coaster, in the blue TV screen light
I drew a map of Canada, oh Canada
With your face sketched on it twice.

Amazing imagery is conjured by these lines, which communicate the concept of the song’s subject (i.e. the person whom is being addressed) and home being synonymous.

5. Drops of Jupiter – Train (written by Patrick Monahan)

Now that she’s back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there’s a time to change

The “she” of this song (i.e. the subject) has clearly been on some kind of journey, and this wonderful imagery helps the listener to comprehend the vast sense of distance that was felt between the author and subject whilst she was gone.

As you can see, imagery is invaluable in helping convey the central story or message of your song. It can take a song from black-and-white to colour, and can be the difference between a bored audience and a captivated one.

Do you have a great example of imagery in songwriting that you’d like to share? Do you think imagery is important, or have you underestimated its value until now? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!

 

Photo courtesy of Max Garcia – art photographer