JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum Lyrics or melody first?

Hi travrocks

Could be either or both

I write in many ways but my preferred style is to take a lyric and then write the song. However, I never see the lyric itself as cast in stone, so it’s not necessarily a case of ‘starting with lyrics limits your melody’. I suppose I see the lyric as an interesting piece of wood that I can make a nice carving out of. I am first and foremost a musician and the music side comes fairly easily to me so that’s why the lyric is my driver most of the time.

Going back to ‘starting with lyrics limits your melody’. I agree that a lyric can influence style e.g. country or rock, but I don’t think it limits the melody. The opposite argument would be that the ‘melody can limit your lyric’ – but I don’t think either is true, it just gives a reason to be more creative.

Nige