I'm learning a lot too. My usual way is to play an instrument (guitar or piano) and after randomly messing around for awhile, I find myself repeating a chord pattern, just 'cause I like how it sounds...that's usually the first thing that happens for me...then I take things from there by adding further structure, and words, and melody.

Since I've joined this forum, I've tried all sorts of new things. The last few songs I've written started with lyrics, and I NEVER used to do that. Now Jack has introduced the idea of first making a melody just by assigning notes to the words, but not necessarily chords yet. That's just fascinating to me.

Kristi, Jack says this song is going to be "riff-based"...so he's going to come up with a cool riff, and that will have it's own rhythm. Based on the length and style of that rhythm, some lyrics will just plain flow differently...maybe the lyrics will sound better syncopated between the notes of the riff, or maybe right along with them...it sort of remains to be seen until then. And what's a riff, anyway? Y'know, like the intro guitar in The Beatles' "Day Tripper", or "Louie Louie"...those are riffs that drive the rest of the song and sort of dictate the way you place your words when you sing them. I'll leave that for Jack to REALLY explain...

One way to play with assigning chords is to play a song you know, let's say one that has a section that holds onto the C chord for a bit. Now sing along to that same bit--same melody, same notes--but play an A minor chord while you sing it. It probably works...but sounds different. And these are the sorts of choices we can make with tunes we are creating.

http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman