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The art and craft of songwriting

Posted: Jul 6, 08 8:32am

Common questions from the muggle community to songwriters are: "What do you get first, the words or the music?"

Or "Are your songs personal?"

Since there are only two of us in the group so far I'll say what I do. Usually music comes first. Mostly a chord progression on the acoustic guitar. That comes from the mood I'm in before I pick up the guitar and usually what caused me to pick it up to begin with. What I play first is the mood. That becomes the cradle where everything is held, the theme, the lyrics, the melody and mood of the way I sing them. I like songs that have an atmosphere that sets the mood of the lyric. All of it working together to make you feel whatever that initial mood was.

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What do you do?

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lyric, pop, songwriting, artist, musician, music, guitar, studio, perform, live show, open mic, contest, indie.

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2 Comments // 3 Members

Gregg Standridge

Posted: Jul 28, 08 9:15pm

I work in much the same way. I will play with a progression and then try to work a melody using what ever words or sounds come to my mind. Sometimes this gibberish will give me an idea to write about but at the very least it will give me a melodic template for lyrics.

I rarely try to write a song about a specific subject. The most important thing for me is to turn off the critics in my head while I write . There are a bunch of em!! )

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LillyNash

Posted: Sep 23, 08 9:58am

Jackson Stonehill wrote:

"What do you get first, the words or the music?" Or "Are your songs personal?" What do you do?

I get them both at the same time. A word or thought will "speak to me" and voila, the words come, accompanied by a melody in my head. I have been writing songs since I was 15. Most are not necessarily personal, I just haven't tried to publish them. I don't want to perform them, and have no clue as to how to market them. Most of the lyrics I write are totally made up, not based on my experience, however, I do have a few that are. Since I play by ear,I teach myself how to play the song on a keyboard or guitar, nothing fancy.

What I want to know is:

Where is everyone?

Not much activity here,lately.

Have you moved into better digs, or closing shop altogether?

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