songwriting w/ lyrics

ok i have good music for this song but i want to lyrics in it. And i'm not the best at putting words together and making them sound catchy or good. So i'm wondering if anybody knows good techniques that would help me write a song with lyrics. Thanks. :)

Erm... plan it out. Have a long think about what you are going to say and where in the song. Also... do some reading on how to use metaphors and similes effectively.

Rhyming is important... but if it sounds good and it's not rhyming - then just go for it. Don't try and force rhymes just because it's the easy way out.

Look for some lessons online, they're not as common as guitar lessons but you'll find some if you google 'lyric writing' or something similar.

thanks man. i'll do it.

try making them go along with the feeling of the song...if the music sounds angry then it's an angry song. You can't make a speed metal love song...it just doesn't work. And make the lyrics sophisticated too.

Lol, I think you could make a speed metal love song.... but generally, yeah, he's right.

Try to make your lyrics and vocals sort've match your playing. If the song is fast or aggressive and heavy, try to make the lyrics match.
The aggressive/heavy lyrics part is easy if you play some death metal lol.

Look up stuff on "Phrasing" too. It tells you stuff about "singing" what you are playing, and helps with singing and such, and sort've harmonizing your lyrics and vocals together, which is good for country/rock/maybe punk.

Might actually might be a good idea if you told us the type of songs you'd like to write...

sup

good day doz
fish n chips

whats your taste in original music. like wha do u like to play or create

im intrested in how easy it is for britt's to write lyrics

dont ever fucking try to sing in a pretty tone quality if your playing metal that shat is wack and very mtv2 pop metal

im intrested in how easy it is for britt's to write lyrics

whats your taste in original music. like wha do u like to play or create

You can edit your post, so you don't need to post loads of times. Infact on forums it's seen as a bad thing to do. Looks like you're just trying to get a post count. -_-

heres what i do when i have chords but no lyrics in mind (though i usually try to fit chords to my poems as i write)

after i have the chords down, i hum or sing (La Las, Doot-n-Doos) a melody out while im playin..

then i fit words into the context of the melody

This says a lot, but is very helpful if you find it so difficult.

http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=459065

My honest words are is that i never wrote a song from mind(meaning that)if i write a song its something i experienced(good or bad)and have to get out or i'll explode!expresions and the look in people eyes tells a story(dont mean to be corny)but there are things that do not lye. EX. I wrote a song on the piano 15 yrs ago called (miss Me)and i did forget the song but the band i played with at the time ( that i ran into a month ago)asked me to play that song and it took me 20 min to remember it but the people that heard it never forgot it.
The song was about my mother dying of cancer .I have to experience things to write music my self i cant make it up!

Doz is right, speed metal or metal love songs are rock or metal ballads. Like....."Every Rose has its Thorns" and......."Can you Take Me Higher" by some 80's metal glam band.

LoL I was anticipating Doz's response to the numerous posts. I recently answered this question in a thread. Basically start with music. Rhyme if you're going to play a riff as rhythm.

Small world Notim! I had a similar experience when my Mam died (also with cancer). I wrote a song in my head but never had the good sense to commit to paper or tape. Now 10 years on can I hell as remember how it goes!

It should be about what the songs 'vibe' is. if It is heavy and fast and dark you may want to consider dark heavy lyrics.
If it is like acoustic with chord progressions it should be kind of brighter or happy. I lot of songs on the go today are about love with acoustic guitars, but it doesn't always have to be.

Think about what's on your mind and/or what you went through in life. try to get something out of that and fit it in with the chords.

go to; www.ehow.com or www.wikihow.com (maybe .org) and type in either 'lyics, lyrics writing, song writing' etc. and see what comes up there. There is usually some good guides on how to write lyrics and songs and everything. Sometimes it will require a little bit of searching.

But then... if you're only good at one genre of music it limits what you can write about then doesn't it?

Of course, to some degree, the song needs o reflect the lyrics but not change the genre completely.

Yeah, so of course it is better to be open to more than just one genre. It is good to get into a range of them, learn how they are played, understand them a lot, then get into it.

yeah you would not want like black metal guitar with some kind of like def leppard lyric like "have you even needed someone so bad?" over that. That would sound like crap most likely

I don't write often but usually it starts with music and some really bad lyrics just to get the idea out. then i rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite

I think you get the idea, but I'm also a freak, and overly anal about what i create sometimes. There are several different song writing groups, they could give some insight, advice and critiques.

hehuehueheuhe... You said 'anal'

Don't you get annoyed at being treated as a kid on these forums, and then laugh at something like that?

Heh.

I don't really care. No one takes me serious anyways cause I am immature (:
I'm just here to learn and stuff.. and annoy people... :P

Heh, fair enough...

-I start buy writing a song, or at least the main parts that have the main feeling in it. Then since, my brother writes the lyrics, I'll play it for him. He just likes to close his eyes while I play it a few times through and then he'll free write about how the song makes him feel while I play it. Free writing is when you dont pick up your hand. Ya just write whatever pops in your mind at the time. When I write I do the same, but i'll record it so that the song can keep going while -I free write.
That allows you to figure out the theme of your song. You can then turn your writing into verse form, maybe altering words to create a better rhyme scheme. Trying to keep some sorta rhythm is important too since your free verse will usually create all different kinds of syllablizations within verse lines. Just tweak it a little...
-I think the most important thing is not to make some kind of genius poem verses and just write how you feel because if you really feel it then others will too!
-I know all kinds of good bands do it this way and I've heard that the lyrics for "yellow ledbetter" by pearl jam were what came into Eddie Vedders head when he first heard it. He just walked in without writing and recorded what he said as the song played

yeah it really depends on how the song sounds... NEVER EVER EVER(!!!) write a crushing metal riff then write lyrics about girls or rainbows =p

its alot easier to write about something youve experienced. and read lots and lots of lyrics from other bands, if you want some dark lyrical ideas children of bodom is gd to read.