How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

TwilightOdyssey

TwilightOdyssey

Darkness on the edge of Tone
Do you write the lyrics and vocal lines for your music?

If so, what method do you use?

I have always had zero interest in writing lyrics/vocal lines but two recent events presented that role to me and, while it's been a real challenge, I have been enjoying it:

The first event was the availability of the singer/collaborator I used on the last album. Gary is very busy launching his own band right now and rather than wait, I decided to hire a session singer. That means I need to provide both the lyrics and completed vocal guide tracks.

The second event was reading Yngwie Malmsteen's autobiography, Relentless. I found the book to be very inspiring to me as a solo artist and there are a lot of lessons to be learned from that book if you read between the lines.

So, I put it to you: how do you write vocal lines and lyrics for your songs ?
 
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Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

I haven't wrote lyrics in 4 years or so. grain of salt. I was looking at the Harmony Central songwriter forum, reading articles with the thought of good lyrics, and writing a diary/lyrics on a daily basis. some stuff I wrote was just there, not really song material. The song is supposed to convey feelings, so I would listen to the song I was writing lyrics for, then would look through my lyrics I already wrote and then find one that fit and then re-write it to make it flow better and enhance the quality.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

For me, the basis of lyric writing and good melody come from the same place: rhythm.

There's nothing more difficult for me than trying to sing a line and the emphasis on the syllables is all turned around.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Idont like wrtiting lyrics or vocal melodies. For some Reason I always end up with the same melodi when I try to do it.

Sent from phone...
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Melodies are just obvious to me, I guess. It's just music; it's easy. Words, ha! I don't write them. There is nothing I'd like to sing about. I've written words a few times, only out of necessity, and I really hated the process, as well as the results.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

oh ya as far as melodies go,

I sing something in the same scale as the music. when I was really into it I would use melodyne to pitch correct everything, and then re-sing again listening to the pitch-corrected version in the background.

I was wanting to use melodyne to then create harmony singing at various scale intervals, and then I would re-sing to match to those scale intervals. but I stopped TRYING to sing at that point and did not buy that capacity of the software. I know this is thread is not about aspiring to be a singer, but having great singing tone takes a lot of daily work and effort, much like the guitar...
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

I read lots of good books and poetry, get really inspired ...then find someone else who has real talent and let them do it.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Depends - sometimes I'll be in the car and bust out a cool line, then write it down or quickly record it on my phone, then add to it. Sometimes lll hear a riff and then hear a melody line, then fit some writings into more of a poem by trial and error. Most writings can be massaged into lyrics, just by adding and taking away words. I like the Ray Bradbury approach - pour it all out in a free form no rules way, like automatic writing. Then you have something to work with.

My problem is, I'll make something up but I can't sing worth a crap so it either sits there for all eternity or I get up the nerve to record it and then everyone bags on the vocals.
 
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Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

I don't have the skill to just decide to write and suddenly do it. I have to have a reason to write ... not a need to write because a song needs lyrics but rather because I have an urgent need to express something that can't be contained. The best lyrics I've written were inspired (almost forced) by an event or series of events or even some realization that charged me up emotionally.

That said, there is danger in making a song too personal. You don't want people to cringe or have that TMI feeling or feel that by listening they've been eavesdropping.

IDK. Lyrics are easy for me and the best songs tend to write themselves. Melodies elude me. They are the real challenge. It seems that most often I have a cadence in mind. For the lyrics I only have to match syllables to the cadence with only slight variations when the words don't quite fit. Those variations are more of a blessing than a curse because they keep the vocal line from sounding too mechanical.

The only observation I can make is that you have to have something to write about. Beyond that I would suggest that the substance of the lyrics not conflict with the style of the music.
 
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Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

For me, it always starts with one line. Just like a song starts with a riff, I always start one phrase, one group of words, with a certain melody. And I build the rest from that one line/melody.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Lazarus1140 said:
You explained why you started writing vocal lines and lyrics, but let me ask you ... what method do you use?
Click to expand...
Ha! Caught out! :)
Yes, I deliberately left that out ... for me, the concept comes first.
Case in point, even though I had already started writing the music, once I read Poe's 'The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym', I knew I had to write a concept album based on it.

With that in mind, the songs are then very generally written with parts of the story in mind. For example, 'Sailing By Moonlight' and 'The Mutineers'. Anyone familiar with the book will know immediately what the title means, and if not, will still have a good idea.

Then I let it go and finish writing the songs without any more thought on the matter.

Once the song is done, I start humming melodies and kicking around lyrics, usually with the source material in hand. Still, it's all rather casual.

Once ALL of the songs are done, I am ready to go.

I take my fragments and work song by song, playing the melody on guitar.

I then write lyrics to the vocal guides. That is the hardest part for me, by far.

Then I send it off to the singer, he does his thing, and a couple of weeks later I have my finished vocals.

Nothing too special about the process, really. I have always had great singers in my bands and was spoiled by it. But ultimately, for me, it proved to be WAY to inefficient. I work so much better using studio musicians.
 
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Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

I don't know what you think of my vocals and lyrics but using the last album as an example: (stream:) fragmentametal.bandcamp.com I would think of vocal lines like I would any kind of lead and go for something catchy, that serves the music and doesn't all end up sounding too similar to the other songs or like it's been thought of too separately to the music. Riffing and singing isn't particularly difficult so that isn't so much of a factor. If nothing is coming to me that works, I will just leave it come back.

Sometimes I imagine a song in it's entirety vocals and all. Eternal Flame is the first thing that came out when I picked up the guitar after my close friend died. You can also jam out to a song and then start playing with simple lead stuff and you might find a catchy vocal melody that way. Works with keyboard as well. At the end of the day there are no rules besides "whatever works".
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

start with a simple phrase and use that as a seed from which everything else grows.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

When I attempted musicality I would come up with maybe a verse and back-burner it for expansion. That's about the extent of my muse, so to speak. I'd then write a riff that'd work with the lyrics, or maybe pull a riff out of the old riff box. Then I'd formulate some solo that'd work for the riff and use that as the melody for vocals, then figure out a 4th-based bass thing that falls between there or an octave.
Somewhere I have a bunch of songs written but now I like spartan vocals.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

I'm bad at writing lyrics, which is odd, because I can write fiction very efficiently when I put my mind to it. I would like to improve, but whenever I try to write lyrics, I get about 5-10 lines in, and usually hate what I've written and scrap it all.

:doh:
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Lyric writing CAN be surprisingly difficult; I am finding it a unique mental challenge.

It really helps me appreciate master lyric writers like Billy Joel, Weird Al (seriously), Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, Neil Peart, &cet.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

I am a riff writer so I will typically have a hook or a chorus in my head then I build on that.
 
Re: How do YOU write vocal lines and lyrics?

Here's a taste of the song I am working on right now, Tempest Suite:

Three
Adrift at sea
We must survive
We must keep ourselves alive
Her sails are drawing near
We reach out for life

She
Death on the sea
He, Death in Life
Not one of her crew survived
Now in death they will ride
For eternity
 
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