If I ever get to sit down with a famous singer/musician/group I already know what I'll ask them.
When coming up with new songs, which comes first... the music, or the lyrics?
I'm a very analytical person. I like numbers, and order. When I try to write a poem, I agonize over how well the the words rhyme and cadence flows (instead of actual connotation). When I played the piano, I found that I was pretty good at playing other people's music. .. but I couldn't write any of my own.
I just don't have that free spirited artsy trait that some people have.
That's why music impresses me so much. That you can take a vague idea, or emotion, and express it in poetic words... and then add a music track. It's really amazing.
I guess that's why I'm a computer programmer and not Dave Matthews...
But back to the point. Does Dave just wake up one day with a melody in his head? Then add words to it? Or does he get an idea for a song and start writing lyrics and then figure out the music later on?
Any musicians out there feel free to chime in...
Friday, June 30, 2006
Chicken or the Egg?
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2 comments:
In my band, the music tends to come first, then the lyrics. But that's just us. We'll mess around with a melody for a while and see if anyone can come up with good lyrics. But I'm sure there's plenty of bands that do it the other way , too. I'd be interested in seeing which way is dominant.
Um, I'm not a musician but I'm feeling pretty free to chime in anyway. I'm not sure which way is dominant, but I know a lot of the musicians I like write their own songs based on their emotions and then put that to music with an appropriate pace. That's how I'd do it if I had the talent.
This post also makes me think about which I care more for: music or lyrics? I'm a serious music lover in general, and I certainly appreciate a good beat very much, but I'm definitely way more affected by the lyrics (unless there aren’t any and it’s just really incredible music- that’s cool too). Ben Folds is one of my favorites because he puts out the best of both worlds and just blows me away. I just can't bear to listen to a song with bad lyrics.
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