How many of you here write song lyrics/ musical poetry?

I can't just sit down and write or it feels forced. I have to wait to get a line in my head and then go from there.

I have a friend who is a very accomplished song writer. He is CONSTANTLY writing ideas, lines, etc on a little note pad.

He will have hundreds of little phrases, words, ideas, etc that never go anywhere. But, every once in a while, a little blurb will catch and it will become a song worth recording / selling.


He may overhear a conversation of two strangers and one just uses an interesting turn of phrase....writes it in the book. I'll make a humorous observation....writes it in the book

Does it ever happen, when whole songs just write themselves?

I've heard some songwriters say that it happens to them sometimes.

If that does happen to you, How do you think about that song?
Do you feel like you got a gift, or something else?

Would you tell which genre he is mainly involved in?

Thank you, he sells them them instead of publishing?

I mean, he takes cash up front, and signs away royalties, or does he get credit on liner notes?

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Thank you, he sells them them instead of publishing?

I mean, he takes cash up front, and signs away royalties, or does he get credit on liner notes?

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I have no idea

I do not go that deep with his business.

He says "Hey, I sold a song to ____" and I say "Congratulations!"


That is the end of the 'business' part.

I know it his only source of income and he is doing pretty well. He has sold jingles, etc from time to time and has collaborated with other writers.

He also sings locally and has recorded some music. Typical stuff for that industry. He is getting to be "known" and folks call him and ask 'you got anything I can hear' (Recording artists looking for songs)

i bust rhymes during football season sometimes - usually about fball stuff

I'm most successful when I start with the hooks and flesh it out from there. Generally, my songs start with a great intro hook. Then, I find a good riff for the verses, then one for the chorus, and one for the bridge. Words usually come last. That's the part I struggle with most. I'm great at coming up with catchy hooks and counter-melodies, but I'm not a great lyricist.

I find that I have occasionally been successful when starting with the words and then adding them to music, but that usually doesn't work at all.

The key to writing great music is just to not put any pressure on yourself and just play what comes naturally. Not every song has to be some world changing anthem. Let your emotions flow. If you're angry, play it. If you're happy, play it. If you're sad, play it. The rest will come. I find that my best hooks come when I sit down, take a deep breath, and completely center myself. I let go of all of my thoughts, distractions, and frustrations and just play. Nearly every time I do this, within 5 minutes I've got at bare minimum one part (intro, chorus, verse, or bridge) of a great song.

I have found that sadness and heartbreak fosters the most creativity (probably because the brain is more active during heartbreak than any other time on average). True contentedness is the enemy of creativity, especially with regards to lyrics.

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Thanks man for a great reply.

Do you pitch stuff, enjoy it for yourself and friends?

How do you handle it?

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I play for myself, just for the fun of it. I've been wanting to put a band together for years to play some of my stuff, but I've never had the time AND the other other musicians at the same time.

When I graduated high school, a bunch of my close friends who played instruments joined the military or moved out of state while I went to college. About halfway through college for me, they started moving back home, but I started getting slammed with work. I had the opportunity about 6 months ago to get a band off the ground, but then I got shipped out to a field job that had me working 60 hours/week. Then, one of the guys who was in between bands (a phenomenal bass player) found another gig. Now, I have people to replace him with a drummer, bass player, and lead guitarist all in, but my drummer is in school several nights/week, my bassist is in the National Guard so he has to go out of town at least once per month, and I have a big boy job now. Hopefully, we'll be able to work out some kind of practice scheduling and start playing together by the end of the summer.