How To Write Songs Homepage

Question: Does anyone have tips oh how to write songs?

(Posted by: Austin on 2009-01-26 10:00:00)

Im in a metal band with a friend of mine (he plays bass and does half the vocals i play guitar and do the rest of the vocals) i can write riffs with no problems at all and i can write lyrics sometimes but not every time i want. how do we write vocal melodies to go over instrumental parts? any and all responses are greatly appreciated! thanks!

Posted by: Lee T on 2009-01-26, 10:06:58

Let it come from the heart!

Posted by: Cullenaah on 2009-01-26, 10:11:15

Find the root chord- then just play around with that!

Posted by: lee.meixing on 2009-01-26, 11:07:07

Try and use the sound to create a beat in your words. Also, a good song comes from what you're feeling. Even if it's, I don't want to go to school...Take that and work on it. Write down everything you feel and fix it up. Remember, a great song could be written in a day or it could take a year. Good Luck!

Posted by: Mickyfan on 2009-01-26, 11:21:09

It's generally easier to write the lyric first, then find a melody for your words and then find chords that fit and enhance. It's a lot easier to fit music to words rather than the other way around. As you write the riff first, I would guess that's were your difficulty is. Only a very few people can write great melody and lyrics over a riff. Have a listen to Led Zep who are probably the masters of this, but even then they have plenty of songs were the riff breaks for a chord sequence to get some melody. What you could try is making a chord sequence out of the most dominant notes from your riff, writing the lyric and melody, and then replacing the chords with your riff when you're done.