Writing Styles

I write lyrics

I can 't play the guitar or any other instument ( but I am learning )

I'm one of those people that likes to try different styles. Normally, I try to write the music first and then the lyrics, although I sometimes write the lyrics without music.

I think its all a combination.

Its a question like 'how do you eat your dinner , do you eat bread first or the chicken first or the drinks ?'

So its all a combination of what you have mentioned.A bit by bit moving ahead works for me...

Rahul

What the heck is 'music first' supposed to mean? Anyway, I start with the melody. Once I've got that I just add the chords to it and decide on which instruments are going to be playing the backing, and how. By then I usually have a pretty good idea about what kind of music it is going to be and I work it out from there.

Example: last week I wrote a nifty melody on piano which turned into a nocturne-kinda thing. A bit later though the song turns into a country/blues and a variation of the melody gets played by a overdriven guitar. The backing piano is now done by bass and drums and the feel is much different. Tempo, time/key signature and main theme/riff/melody is still the same. But the feel is totally different.

When I say 'Music First' I mean, any instrument first, like a piano tune, guitar riff, guitar chords etc. I wanted to separate it from melody, which is commonly played on the piano.

If the options above aren't sufficient, let me know and I'll modify them, or just pick 'other' and then post something.

I was just curious to see how other people go about it.

I write the riff/chords first, mumble a melody over top of them and then work out the lyrics later. Walla! Music First. 8)

I usually start with a catchy phrase, or a nice one-liner, and find a melody for that. Then I'll try to find a chord progression that fits that melody. Then I add more melodies, lyrics and chords which all together often turn into the chorus of the song (sometimes a verse). Then I'll have to add more verses, choruses and bridges, but by then the basic idea of the song is there. Although I need a line to come up with a melody, I answered "melody first", because in the end the chords and the lyrics have to fit the melody, and the lyrics are of secondary importance to me.

It's tough to answer this question with a singular answer though, because in such a creative process it's hard to determine which thing came first. A lyric may inspire a melody, which in turn suggests a chord progression, which in turn inspires a second melody line, etc. I never come up with a full set lyrics before putting it to music.