Have you ever written a song or dreamt of becoming a lyricist? I’ve been a songwriter since I was in grade school but I just didn’t realize it. I used to write poetry and sing it while playing my guitar.
If you are a poet, you can turn your poems into lyrics. Just be sure to write a chorus, a few verses, a bridge, and a coda. It’s easier to write good lyrics if you have strong feelings towards what you are writing about. Songwriting is a creative way to feed your soul!
It’s also a great way to stimulate your brain by trying something new. It’s a whole new process to learn. You end up listening to the songs that you love in a whole new way. They give you ideas for writing your own song lyrics.
It’s easy to find popular song lyrics on the Internet to review. There are also some great songwriting books and information out there to help you understand the options for rhythming and to learn the structure of a song.
Hugs & Hope
Taking advantage of all that and some coaching from my friend, Chris, I was able to evolve the lyrics of my very first song to fit the melody that he wrote. My nephew, Ty, wrote the piano accompaniment. Now it has been produced and recorded. It’s called Hugs and Hope!
I wrote the lyrics last May while journaling on my patio one sunny day amidst the pandemic. I started to write a poem and then decided to turn it into a song. In the process, I ended up learning some new songwriting lingo.
I already knew what a verse and chorus were but I learned what a bridge and a coda were in a song. I scaled back the original four verses in my song to three after adding the bridge and a coda.
The song went through about fifteen iterations as the words were put to a melody. It’s quite a collaboration between the lyricist and the composer. You realize some words sound better together than others and create a better visual for the listener.
A Jazz Ballad That Speaks To Your Soul
Once you have a chance to listen to the scratch audio of your song from the composer, it’s easier to collaborate on the instruments you want in the song and the style of music you want it to be. My song was originally written on a guitar with a country melody but was soon changed to a jazz ballad on the piano.
Listening to the scratch audio was so very exciting. It was great to hear the lyrics come alive with the vocals and the melody. It’s amazing what you can do when you put creative minds together!
An Incredible Learning Experience!
Selecting the voice for the song is essential as well. You need a singer who can comfortably sing in the key the song is written and who can make a strong connection to the lyrics. We started out with one very good singer but ended up going with another.
The whole experience from writing the lyrics to the final production of the song took about ten months. This was due to decisions made and the availability of all involved. It was an incredible learning experience!
Positive Unintended Consequences
In addition to the song, I was able to introduce my friend, Chris, to my nephew, Tyler, both of whom are very talented musicians. I had been wanting to make this connection for a long time and it finally happened. They came together to discuss the piano accompaniment for the song.
That’s another wonderful thing about creative endeavors, they tend to naturally create opportunities to connect artistic minds. It was great to see the collaboration between the two of them as composers and musicians.
It was also interesting to land on a vocalist who was from another country. She’s from Austria. It gives an international flair to the project and hopefully some additional exposure to the song.
Feedback Is A Gift
We’ve received great feedback on the song so far from another lyricist and some listeners including:
- the melody suits the lyrics
- the lyrics are timeless because it works for all sorts of personal and public crises
- Love it, Debbie!! What we need right now!
- Absolutely beautiful
- You wrote a beautiful and timely song! I love it!
Here’s a link to the song for your listening pleasure. Give it a listen and let me know what you think. https://soundcloud.com/barcus-poco/hugs-and-hope
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