I write lyrics all the time but want to start writing music to go with them any tips? My mind has just gone blank and im not getting anything.

L0tusFl0w3r said:

Maybe lyrics is your forte then, and not the music. Find a musician in your area to work with, and get your stuff out there.

Find an instrument that captivates your interest and develop a style as a player. Melodies will find their way to you.

Just think of a melody (or beat) to put your music too, it's that simple. WHen I write lyrics, I most of the time think of a little melody in my head, and go along with my melody. You know how many hits I made just in my head ...

L0tusFl0w3r said:

What type of instrument(s) do you play? Can you read music and/or sightread?

TD3 said:

I play piano and am learning guitar & i read music

LittleBLUECorvette said:

I agree. When I started songwriting I only knew how to play drums so I would just sing a melody in my head. Once I learned Piano and etc., I began to find the notes I would sing. Also, another thing I do is grab my guitar or sit at a piano and just record what I play. Sometimes I'll hear something that matches with words I wrote.

Or like ernestsewell said, find a musician to hook up with.

speak your lyrics aloud, hearing the emphasis of the words & syllables. When we speak there is a natural melody

For example the word "MEL o dy" the first syllable could be higher in pitch than the second two. That's a rule that can be broken, of course, but it makes the lyrics sound more natural to the melody to keep it in mind.

The same concept applies to the rhythm of the words.

Just speaking your words enough times might make music appear out of thin air.

Without learning an instrument it'll be harder to write songs, but that something very basic & important.

TD3 said:

Sorry, it took my a bit to get back to your question.

Of course there is no set way so you can start.

Melody first: find a melodic phrase or motif that you feel comfortable with, that you can sing (la-la-la) or play with one finger on the piano/guitar. Put it in a key that's easy to work with. Once you are comfortable with a basic melodic idea, start to add a chord progression. Find the main beats in your melody and look at the note that is there -- then you have many choices as to how to harmonize it.

Chords first: Play some chord progressions to find something that works for you -- you can stay totally within a key (Key of C = C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim) or use borrowed chords, i.e. chords whose root is outside the key. When you have a progression that you are comfortable with , just start humming (la-la-la) melodic phrases over the progression until you get something that you like -- if you have trouble, then pick a note in your first chord and "follow" it from chord to chord to help get you started. Being able to sing/hum a melody is a good way of knowing that it is "working" as a melody and not too disjointed.

My first attempts at writing music was to write songs using 3 to 4 notes major chord progression. Example for guitar, the key in bold type.

I-IV-V-I chord progression C-F-G-C,
I-IV-V-I chord progression G-C-D-G
I-IV-V-I chord progression D-G-A-D

I'm not very good at explaining theory but here's a U-Tube video lesson on chord progression and melody. Also, I would recommend a music "Fack Book".. it helped me a lot in familiarizing myself with how music is structured.


http://www.youtube.com/wa...2jKH5PNwkA





The Easy Fake Book (Paperback)
http://www.amazon.com/Eas...gy_b_img_a





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[Edited 8/14/09 19:35pm]