Man, I don't care about architecture.Don't be getting' funny on me. Humour is unacceptable, you're reading this to learn damn it. Oh well?as always, to kick-start this lesson I'm going to explain what a writer's block is first. Have you ever reached a stage in your writing 'career', I suppose, where everything is coasting along quite smoothly, but then suddenly you find you can't write anymore? (And it will be exactly like that in the severest cases - can write can't write, just like the flip of a coin).
Have you ever suffered from a milder case, where you experienced an inability to write anything that - when being honest - could be termed "good"? Well, then I believe you've suffered from a writer's block. Maybe you still do. Are you currently suffering a drought of creativity and imagination? I think it's time for some rainfall, don't you? Are you downright tired of this lull that has suddenly come over you? Well damn; overcome it.
I am a satellite; I'm out of control.
It's a Queen reference, "Don't stop me?oh oh oh" - ah sheesh, forget it. Perhaps, even though you've realised your writing is lacking lately, you keep on writing. You're thinking, "This can't go on forever". That's exactly what you're thinking? Man, you're a genius. This is one of the most effective ways (in my experience) of overcoming writer's block. See, I had this problem recently where the writing wasn't exactly up to par, but I kept on writing?and you know what? I wrote one of the best songs I've ever written when I forced myself to write it. And I know that that goes against everything I've told you, but if it works why doubt?
Let's get this straight? You want me to write a song about my hand?I'm just taking it as an example, but if you want to do it, I won't stop you. Now what exactly am I talking about? Well, anyone heard the Incubus song, "Nice To Know You"? Mmm?it's about his hand going numb (you know, Pins and Needles). So what I'm saying is, take something completely ordinary and then make it symbolic. It's another sure-fire way to break out of a rut. Just symbolise, and think about your writing. This is one of those relaxed times where instead of feeling emotion, you think about what you could write, and the best way to express something.
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Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Friday, February 29, 2008
I am relaxed! Boris, find me a new anger therapist now!For some people, another way to overcome it is to write music instead of lyrics. This goes back to the point about having yourself in a totally relaxed frame of mind?You see, whenever you're making music sometimes you'll just sing some sort of melody to your chord progression. And often, you'll be singing words that you're making up on the spot. So record yourself doing this! You can then type up/write down - see what I did there, the lyrics and edit them so that they flow and make sense. Self-induced creative injury? Sounds like a failed suicide attempt. Occasionally a writer's block can be brought on by the writer's themselves. I mean, maybe they've been writing too much lately and have just used up all the material that they were thinking about expanding songs out of. For those people I would suggest going outside and chatting with some friends. There were other people I had in mind when I thought up this section of the lesson though. And that is the lyricists who also happen to be musicians. Suddenly, the area of focus, which they put all their effort into, has changed. Instead of lyrics it now happens to bemusic.
I kind of had a similar experience recently. I was playing lots of scales, learning theory and generally playing guitar more than usual - I. e. I played for like 6-7 hours in one day. This all in an attempt to get better, which is what we're all trying to do, in some form or another. Whenever your endeavour to become amazing at guitar (or any other instrument) increases, you'd think you'd lose focus on lyrics. And technically this is true, because all your attention shifts to the more musical side of the creative process. But in truth, if this is the case, then all your really doing is depriving yourself of the time to write. So now I'll let my experience do the talking, and try and remove anything humorous from the lesson; I'll replace it will philosophy.
I kind of had a similar experience recently. I was playing lots of scales, learning theory and generally playing guitar more than usual - I. e. I played for like 6-7 hours in one day. This all in an attempt to get better, which is what we're all trying to do, in some form or another. Whenever your endeavour to become amazing at guitar (or any other instrument) increases, you'd think you'd lose focus on lyrics. And technically this is true, because all your attention shifts to the more musical side of the creative process. But in truth, if this is the case, then all your really doing is depriving yourself of the time to write. So now I'll let my experience do the talking, and try and remove anything humorous from the lesson; I'll replace it will philosophy.
Other Things.
Try listening to new music (radio)?or reading new novels
Can I write both lyrics and music?To write you must be in a certain frame of mind - more precisely, one where you feel relaxed and at ease with writing what comes to you. To get into this state of mind, you must allow yourself a certain amount of time to write. You must think, okay now, I'll dedicate myself to producing some lyrics. Now is my time.
Musicians are people. People conform to human nature.We feel the temptation to shift our focus into music or lyrics. Sometimes, we feel it's too hard to do both. In truth, it's not; trust me. But before you can allow yourself to practice both making music, and writing lyrics, you must allow the time for both. If you can't write lyrics now, write them later. But don't deprive yourself of the time.
Closing Comments.
I wish you luck with your karate, (breaking that block)/overcoming that lull/whatever you would like to call it. Because in truth, musical, or lyrical... the creativity and inspiration is within you. The hardest part s finding that out, and then finding out what to do with it.
Try listening to new music (radio)?or reading new novels
Can I write both lyrics and music?To write you must be in a certain frame of mind - more precisely, one where you feel relaxed and at ease with writing what comes to you. To get into this state of mind, you must allow yourself a certain amount of time to write. You must think, okay now, I'll dedicate myself to producing some lyrics. Now is my time.
Musicians are people. People conform to human nature.We feel the temptation to shift our focus into music or lyrics. Sometimes, we feel it's too hard to do both. In truth, it's not; trust me. But before you can allow yourself to practice both making music, and writing lyrics, you must allow the time for both. If you can't write lyrics now, write them later. But don't deprive yourself of the time.
Closing Comments.
I wish you luck with your karate, (breaking that block)/overcoming that lull/whatever you would like to call it. Because in truth, musical, or lyrical... the creativity and inspiration is within you. The hardest part s finding that out, and then finding out what to do with it.
Writing Songs & Lyrics Based On Experiences
Ok, there are a few different aspects of writing I noticed while reading friend's lyrics and my own. I first realized that everybody has a certain style of writing. I know this is a pretty obvious statement, but then I thought about what caused different styles of writing.
My theory is that certain style of writing first depends on what style of music you like. Obviously if you like punk rock, you are most likely to be writing lyrics to a punk rock tune.
The second thing your style depends on is whether you’re a guy, or a girl. To be honest, girls ARE more emotional than guys are. Sorry my fellow ladies but you know this is true. If writing feelings about a recent break-up, a guy’s point of view would tend to have more anger than sadness, like a girl’s lyrics may. (But luckily today, the genre "emo", short for emotional, has emerged. Male artists all over are able to express their feelings of sorrow and heartbreak through this genre.)
The last thing I advise you to know and remember is that my song writing technique is truly spiritual. In other words, using my technique, a song will turn out to be just a piece of one’s truest feelings, so don’t even try to write a song in a room full of people.
The best thing to do is to go to a place, alone, where you feel most comfortable. For most, this would be their bedroom, but for some who share a bedroom, the most comfortable place may be the bathroom, with locked doors. What ever floats your boat will work.
The purpose for this is that a relaxed environment provides a place where it is easy to connect with your-self. Only you know your deepest secrets, and your truest feelings. Which means only you can write a unique song which is based on your feelings, thoughts, opinions, and point of views.
After you have followed what I recommended to you, it is time to follow the lesson. To tell you the truth, the advice I gave you above is the lesson itself, which means we are almost done! 8^D!
My theory is that certain style of writing first depends on what style of music you like. Obviously if you like punk rock, you are most likely to be writing lyrics to a punk rock tune.
The second thing your style depends on is whether you’re a guy, or a girl. To be honest, girls ARE more emotional than guys are. Sorry my fellow ladies but you know this is true. If writing feelings about a recent break-up, a guy’s point of view would tend to have more anger than sadness, like a girl’s lyrics may. (But luckily today, the genre "emo", short for emotional, has emerged. Male artists all over are able to express their feelings of sorrow and heartbreak through this genre.)
The last thing I advise you to know and remember is that my song writing technique is truly spiritual. In other words, using my technique, a song will turn out to be just a piece of one’s truest feelings, so don’t even try to write a song in a room full of people.
The best thing to do is to go to a place, alone, where you feel most comfortable. For most, this would be their bedroom, but for some who share a bedroom, the most comfortable place may be the bathroom, with locked doors. What ever floats your boat will work.
The purpose for this is that a relaxed environment provides a place where it is easy to connect with your-self. Only you know your deepest secrets, and your truest feelings. Which means only you can write a unique song which is based on your feelings, thoughts, opinions, and point of views.
After you have followed what I recommended to you, it is time to follow the lesson. To tell you the truth, the advice I gave you above is the lesson itself, which means we are almost done! 8^D!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
repetitions
Indeed…how to cleverly use repetition in your songs, and inevitably also a discussion of choruses, refrains, bridges etc. Initially, I’ll deal with lyrical repetition. This is whenever you repeat a phrase and keep the same structure but alter the content by adding another detail. For example, (and this is made up off the top of my head):
“I’ve never seen such a queen
In this town before
But then I’ve never been in this dream
Town before”
If you ignore the double internal rhyming, you will notice (hopefully), that the structure of both couplets is more or less the same, and the foundation line still deals with “being in a specific town”. Yet another detail is added, so that the reader if more fully aware of what is happening. That is the type of lyric that you’d sing with a smirk on your face…(like a country song). Now, I actually have a really good example, from the chorus of a great song by The Cooper Temple Clause called, “See this through and leave”:
“Please believe me when I say
This is how it has to end
This is easy on us all
Well easier than other ways
Sleep is all I ask of you
Sleep and not to wake again
See this through and leave my friend
Tears will come and I will end”
Other than the genius rhyming, there are two great examples of this repetition. They are a really good way of saying something differently, for example that “This is easy on us all / Well easier than other ways” is almost conversational, as if the singer is thinking aloud. He says something, but then is not quite content that he’s being entirely honest and therefore he adds in the “Well easier than other ways”.
As for the other one, well that’s just an ingenious way of telling someone that you want him or her to sleep forever/die. “Sleep is all I ask of you / Sleep and not to wake again”. Once more in these two lines he is going back to what he initially says and then adding another detail, and from this we grasp that either he doesn’t want the person to know that he is going to dead shortly (“tears will come and I will end”), of else he wants them to die. It allows open interpretation from the listeners, and all of those who read the lyrics. Does he mean he must commit suicide if the other person does not die? Or does he mean his suicide/death is inevitable but he is too ashamed to let the other person watch him crumble? Think about it…’cause that’s what high-quality lyrics have a tendency to do…they either ask you to think or they force you to think…
Now it is only fair to deal with this in the other sense… If we discuss repetition in the musical sense then of course, we are thinking about sections of a song where the music repeats. It is often the case that the lyrics to this section are also repeated. In, “See this through and leave”, that is the case in the chorus. Additionally, you’ll find a repeating bridge/pre-chorus quite frequently. And in a solo there is often a melodic motif, which is repeated, so as to allow the listener to recognise it and gives the illusion that the solo is completely coherent from start to finish. Without motifs, listeners often feel that the musician is just playing about without really knowing what he is doing.
The public seldom likes people who wander during their songs, either in their lyrics or in their solos or basically anywhere in the song. The person, who hears a song, will often not like it unless it has a hook or a chorus. For a hook all you really need is one good line that you can then repeat throughout the song, in an attempt to let the listener either sing along or just to ground the song. What distinguishes a hook from a chorus, is normally that it is only one or two lines, and secondly that the hook should, by and large, consist of an amazing line or two.
However, the main aim of a chorus is to be rousing, catchy and melodic…at this point in a song the listener wants to sing along. They are rarely too concerned whether the lyrics are any good at this stage…they just want to feel the need to sing. Or else they want to be able to jump around to it. This is why you’ll often find songs that have great lyrics in the verses but something mindlessly simple in the chorus. However, the melodic hook of the chorus is usually far superior to that of the verses.
“Moving on in this life
Losing out on a wife
Moving on in this life
Leaving you with the lies”
“I’ve never seen such a queen
In this town before
But then I’ve never been in this dream
Town before”
If you ignore the double internal rhyming, you will notice (hopefully), that the structure of both couplets is more or less the same, and the foundation line still deals with “being in a specific town”. Yet another detail is added, so that the reader if more fully aware of what is happening. That is the type of lyric that you’d sing with a smirk on your face…(like a country song). Now, I actually have a really good example, from the chorus of a great song by The Cooper Temple Clause called, “See this through and leave”:
“Please believe me when I say
This is how it has to end
This is easy on us all
Well easier than other ways
Sleep is all I ask of you
Sleep and not to wake again
See this through and leave my friend
Tears will come and I will end”
Other than the genius rhyming, there are two great examples of this repetition. They are a really good way of saying something differently, for example that “This is easy on us all / Well easier than other ways” is almost conversational, as if the singer is thinking aloud. He says something, but then is not quite content that he’s being entirely honest and therefore he adds in the “Well easier than other ways”.
As for the other one, well that’s just an ingenious way of telling someone that you want him or her to sleep forever/die. “Sleep is all I ask of you / Sleep and not to wake again”. Once more in these two lines he is going back to what he initially says and then adding another detail, and from this we grasp that either he doesn’t want the person to know that he is going to dead shortly (“tears will come and I will end”), of else he wants them to die. It allows open interpretation from the listeners, and all of those who read the lyrics. Does he mean he must commit suicide if the other person does not die? Or does he mean his suicide/death is inevitable but he is too ashamed to let the other person watch him crumble? Think about it…’cause that’s what high-quality lyrics have a tendency to do…they either ask you to think or they force you to think…
Now it is only fair to deal with this in the other sense… If we discuss repetition in the musical sense then of course, we are thinking about sections of a song where the music repeats. It is often the case that the lyrics to this section are also repeated. In, “See this through and leave”, that is the case in the chorus. Additionally, you’ll find a repeating bridge/pre-chorus quite frequently. And in a solo there is often a melodic motif, which is repeated, so as to allow the listener to recognise it and gives the illusion that the solo is completely coherent from start to finish. Without motifs, listeners often feel that the musician is just playing about without really knowing what he is doing.
The public seldom likes people who wander during their songs, either in their lyrics or in their solos or basically anywhere in the song. The person, who hears a song, will often not like it unless it has a hook or a chorus. For a hook all you really need is one good line that you can then repeat throughout the song, in an attempt to let the listener either sing along or just to ground the song. What distinguishes a hook from a chorus, is normally that it is only one or two lines, and secondly that the hook should, by and large, consist of an amazing line or two.
However, the main aim of a chorus is to be rousing, catchy and melodic…at this point in a song the listener wants to sing along. They are rarely too concerned whether the lyrics are any good at this stage…they just want to feel the need to sing. Or else they want to be able to jump around to it. This is why you’ll often find songs that have great lyrics in the verses but something mindlessly simple in the chorus. However, the melodic hook of the chorus is usually far superior to that of the verses.
“Moving on in this life
Losing out on a wife
Moving on in this life
Leaving you with the lies”
building lyrics 7 steps
Step 1 - Main Idea.The title could be the first thing you do, or the last thing you do. But make sure that you think of your main idea. The main idea is usually something you feel strong about, something you want to persuade others, a story, an experience, etc. Just write down something that you want your song to be mostly about. You could now base the title off of your main idea or just wait and see if you want to use something else, but you are now ready for step 2.
Step 2 - Chorus.Your Chorus should be about your main idea, it shouldn't be very detailed tho. You should write about how you feel about your main topic; even though the chorus doesn't have to say your main idea, just write about how the main idea makes you feel or thoughts that you have. You don't even have to rhyme yet, just jot down your feelings, rhyming could come last if you wanted it to. Now onto step 3.
Step 3 - Verses.Your verses should support your main idea and/or your chorus. Now, the verses should be detailed. Still not having to rhyme, jot down reasons for the main idea, thoughts about the main idea, emotions that you feel while experiencing the main idea(you may have used these in the chorus, but you shouldn't have been detailing them, now is the time to go more in depth with your feelings about the main idea, etc. It's always best to use the five sense six if you see dead people) during the writing process, the audience will be more into the song this way. Do not make your versus too long or the song will most likely become boring. There is usually two to three verses in a song, but it is up to you.
Step 4 - Bridge.You don't need a bridge, a lot of music these days don't have bridges. Bridges are usually used when your main topic is something you feel. The bridge could be like what you do when the feeling comes over you. Usually a more aggressive part of the song.
Step 5 - Rhyming.Now that you have your chorus, your verses, and maybe your bridge, its time to make it rhyme. Go back to your brainstorming and start piecing it together, rearanging it, and tweeking it. If you can't make some of the words rhyme, find a thesaurus to find synonyms of the word you want to rhyme with, and start to piece that together (I suggest www.rhymezone.com for synonyms and rhymes, and many other ways to build your wording). You will also need a rhyme scheme, meaning how often the rhymes occur and in what order they occur. Having a good rhyme sheme is also very helpful when making the melody of the lyrics.
Step 6 - Melody.Melody always depends on what kind of song it is and what rhyme scheme you have. Sometimes it's easier to have a riff on a guitar or piano or something similar. I can't go in too deep on melodies because I have my own style and everyone has a different style (except pop music).
Step 7 - Structure.Time to put the pieces in place. The verse usually comes before the chorus and then theres another verse, and maybe a bridge, sometimes there's also a prechorus which is basically tying the verse and the chorus together, like a transition. but you can put your song together any which way you like.
Step 2 - Chorus.Your Chorus should be about your main idea, it shouldn't be very detailed tho. You should write about how you feel about your main topic; even though the chorus doesn't have to say your main idea, just write about how the main idea makes you feel or thoughts that you have. You don't even have to rhyme yet, just jot down your feelings, rhyming could come last if you wanted it to. Now onto step 3.
Step 3 - Verses.Your verses should support your main idea and/or your chorus. Now, the verses should be detailed. Still not having to rhyme, jot down reasons for the main idea, thoughts about the main idea, emotions that you feel while experiencing the main idea(you may have used these in the chorus, but you shouldn't have been detailing them, now is the time to go more in depth with your feelings about the main idea, etc. It's always best to use the five sense six if you see dead people) during the writing process, the audience will be more into the song this way. Do not make your versus too long or the song will most likely become boring. There is usually two to three verses in a song, but it is up to you.
Step 4 - Bridge.You don't need a bridge, a lot of music these days don't have bridges. Bridges are usually used when your main topic is something you feel. The bridge could be like what you do when the feeling comes over you. Usually a more aggressive part of the song.
Step 5 - Rhyming.Now that you have your chorus, your verses, and maybe your bridge, its time to make it rhyme. Go back to your brainstorming and start piecing it together, rearanging it, and tweeking it. If you can't make some of the words rhyme, find a thesaurus to find synonyms of the word you want to rhyme with, and start to piece that together (I suggest www.rhymezone.com for synonyms and rhymes, and many other ways to build your wording). You will also need a rhyme scheme, meaning how often the rhymes occur and in what order they occur. Having a good rhyme sheme is also very helpful when making the melody of the lyrics.
Step 6 - Melody.Melody always depends on what kind of song it is and what rhyme scheme you have. Sometimes it's easier to have a riff on a guitar or piano or something similar. I can't go in too deep on melodies because I have my own style and everyone has a different style (except pop music).
Step 7 - Structure.Time to put the pieces in place. The verse usually comes before the chorus and then theres another verse, and maybe a bridge, sometimes there's also a prechorus which is basically tying the verse and the chorus together, like a transition. but you can put your song together any which way you like.
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