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

Ahhhhhhhh, the age old question... Most of the musicians I work with have been able to work very nice melodies out of lyric as long as I am there to give them the flow/lyrical phrasing. What has worked best for me is bring the song to my picker with chords laid in with BIAB and sing it to him. He'll say we need to change a chord here or there, put a pause/rest before this word, lengthen or shorten this word, sing a little behind or ahead here etc. Then he records a rhythm guitar and drum track and a simple melody lead track. Then he calls in a vocalist and after they are done he goes back in and redoes the lead to flow with the vocals and adds any other instruments/harmonies to make it work. I've also worked with a couple of classically trained singers who want to be there from the initial session so they can have input on the lyrical phrasing and melody from the start. That is a very nice way to do this. I have tried writing to existing music but I am terrible at it. For me, lyric first but I "Hear" the feel of it in my head as I am writing it. That isn't always how the song turns out but it is usually pretty close. My genres: Country, Western Country, Christian Country, Gospel, P&W, Contemporary Christian, Jazz, Blues, Pop, Southern Rock, Bluegrass, and one Rock Opera I'm still looking for a musical co-writer for. I hope all this rambling answers your question.