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Who Comes First...Music or Lyrics?
This is one of the most asked question to songwriters, right up there with "what type of music do you play?".
I have to say, I've struggled with answer both these questions, though in recent years I've found that people responded well to "Desert Eclectic" as being both accurate and intriguing as the "type" of music I play.
As for the "Which comes first, music or lyrics?" question, it has been more difficult to answer.
In recent years, I've always relied on muse to simply flow, sometimes lyrics came first, sometimes music came first, & sometimes they both flowed at the same time (those are my favorite moments).
But one thing I've learned is that we shouldn't rely on "Muse", instead we should learn to exercise it.
So I've started keeping notes & journals, when ever I hear a word, or a sentence that strikes my curiosity, I would write it down in my "Words & Lines" note that I've accumulated for the past few months. And when I'm practicing my guitar and cool riff reveals its self, I would record it and document it on my song journal.I've started looking into artists whom are successful, and whom I enjoy their songwriting, and I found something interesting. They tend to write lyrics first, and allow that to guide the music. Hmm.
Sting is known for using full binders of papers, just to get the lyrics right for one song. Elton John & his songwriting partner use the "Words first" method as well. U2 tend to create characters & story lines for each song.
I do recall that when I was 17 years old & wanted to start songwriting, I started by taking my already written poems, and set them into singing patterns. At that time I didn't have the privilege of owning an instrument, so I would use what ever objects around me to create a beat for me to hum along to, until I found a singing pattern for the lyrics.
Also, a few months ago I collaborated with my good friend Joe Scala on a song, in which we wrote the lyrics first, and I must say "Fall Into The Moon" came out pretty darn well for a 24 hour song exercise using that "words first" method.
Yet the song "Lucid" with the awesome songstress Sahffi, came out music first. Hmmmm
I must say, writing the "Novella" album has taught me a lot. I've learned that "Muse" is like any other muscle, if you want it to be stronger, you have to exercise it. It is also energy, and can learn to focus it. So for the past two years, I've been focusing my energy on writing specific songs, for a specific album, to get a specific point across.
To me that proves that as artist, we don't have to wait until "something" inspires us, its great when that happens, but I think if we exercise our muse, then suddenly "everything" will inspire us.
As I'm wrapping up the Novella project, I'm already thinking of other creative projects for me to dive into. And I will also try to my best to follow in the big foot steps of my legends, such as Sting, Elton John, & U2.
What do YOU think? have you found success using one method over the other?
Let me know :)
Shukran, Thank You, & Much Love.
Mosno :)
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