Music, Lyrics or both.. what's your preference?

Whiskey Devil

Thought I'd start a new thread after the debate we had over tbay's song.. all sorted by pm by the way. :pac:

Personally, my favourite songs are usually a combination of good lyrics with a good melody and good music. I do like some abstract songs where you have to look for the meaning but sometimes I don't think there is one. I do appreciate that they are very creative pieces though. Some good songs have terrible lyrics but I think you need the lot to write a really great song.


What do you all budding songwriters think? :cool:

tbaymusicman

thats a tough one!!!i know in myself if i could write better melodys and song structures i could write better lyrics so to me the music is the most important part

Aridstarling

To me it has to be a marriage of the two (if you are writing a song with lyrics, I dont always.) to make a great song. If one part is weaker than the other then I will always be a little disappointed in that aspect of the song.

tbaymusicman

Aridstarling wrote: »

To me it has to be a marriage of the two (if you are writing a song with lyrics, I dont always.) to make a great song. If one part is weaker than the other then I will always be a little disappointed in that aspect of the song.

ye iv a few songs where either the music or the lyrics let the other down and take away from the song

JohnnyIrvine666

Music n lyrics in equal measure..... im not g8 @ writing music meself mostly lyrics but the 2 always mix wel even if 2 different people r doin em

niallon

At the moment I'm mostly writing for a band so I find that I concentrate more on the lyrics and allow the other guys to come on board to flesh out the music side of things. What I write as just a few basic chords then turns into a much fuller piece with the melodic shifts of a second guitar and the dynamics of a drum kit.

When writing on my own however I'm extremely aware of the music. I will always strive to try and make sure that I am working with original music that is a little bit away from convention wherever possible but I have to admit, often times I'm perfectly happy to just tag on a basic three or four chord pattern to the lyrics and allow the lyrics to take centre stage.

Of course then it depends on what we're talking about when it comes to music. Look at the Rock and Roll tracks of the fifties for example, most of them were all the same chords in the basic rhythm level, it was in the riffs and leads layered on top that the difference became clear. The best way to see this nowadays is to take any current single on the radio, pick up an acoustic guitar or sit down at a piano and you'll see that chord wise they are basic songs following well precedented blueprints, it is only in the additional instruments and musicians that they take on a unique persona.

At the end of the day I would say that music is by no means just an addition to lyrics and that it is just as important, but for me, from a songwriters point of view I tend to put more time into the lyrics. However, not everyone is listening to them, and that has to be kept in mind always!!

Music-and-booze

melody wins hands down, a song without lyrics is still a song, still music, other way around and you get poetry, thats cool if thats what you're into, but its the music and the melody that i always connect with, lyrics come second...

ralphweddell

i prefer writing good lyrics but when more often then not, when you listen to a song they come second to music.