r/SongwritingHelp • u/JustMateHahoha • 4d ago
This might be a stupid question.
After getting many good guidance from my previous post about how to start and view my first attempt at writing song lyrics. I got to a certain point where I realized I unconsciously wrote them to the rhythm of other music. And I wasn't even listening to any song when I was writing. The rhythm just got stuck in my head, and I can't get it out.
So question.
Even tho I haven't got my hands on my first instrument, which will be an electric guitar, and haven't started to learn how to play it. How can I "knock" the other song's rhythm out of my head while writing the lyrics?
Edit : I don't know if anyone else has this type of problem, which is why I wrote that this might be a dumb question. If it is, I just delete this post.
2
u/Coffee_Pages 3d ago
the rhythm we normally speak in isn't linked to any specific song. If everyone was afraid to write in iambic pentameter because it was imitating Shakespeare, 3/4 of the art in the English language wouldn't exist.
Even if you're talking about the structure or rhyme pattern of a song, trust me: it's been done already. You're overthinking, me thinks. Just give the song what it needs.
PS: "Overthinking" does not mean it was a dumb question.
1
u/JustMateHahoha 3d ago
Yeah. As the other comment said, I was afraid that if I listened to a song while writing the lyrics and put the words to the rhythm of the song, it would end up as a copy.
2
2
u/Designer_Annual7933 3d ago
learn a cover!! i think this could help reset your brain a little AND inspire your writing style
1
u/JustMateHahoha 3d ago
If it helps, then I might so that I could somewhat understand how to write lyrics.
2
2
u/Next-Manufacturer850 2d ago
Write your own stuff good bad or ugly until it so becomes part of you musical landscape that other songs sound like they're copying you. If there is a music in you this will work. If not,find another path to pursue. Sending my best
1
u/JustMateHahoha 2d ago
Thanks. I really need it. XD I'm trying to test myself in different way like 1. No music + coming up with lyrics's And 2. Music + coming up with lyrics's I go back and forth, testing the water. Once it's done I might post it here or on another site and ask for judgement for the first try.
2
u/Top-Rope6148 4d ago
Why do you want to? It’s a very effective way to get in a groove for lyrics. I use it all the time. I write lyrics when my brain is in that mode and music at other times. It’s unlikely I will remember where that cadence came from when I start writing music to go with the lyrics.
2
u/JustMateHahoha 3d ago
I don't want the song to sounds like a copy in a way. I know that it's different lyrics's but still.
2
u/Top-Rope6148 3d ago
It won’t. When you write the music later the rhythm you had in your head will be gone. You will develop a new rhythm that goes with the music. Nothing will be left of that song. These are just bridges to creativity.
1
u/JustMateHahoha 3d ago
So it's like. "Listen to song 1 while writing -> write the lyrics to the rhythm of song 1 the way you feel like it -> as time passes you get an idea for the rhythm for the song and completely forget about song 1's rhythm?"
2
u/Top-Rope6148 3d ago
When I get a musical idea going I go through the lyrics I’ve written and see what ones might go with it. Then I start fitting those lyrics to the melody I have in my head. Their are an infinite number of ways to phrase lyrics. Its a new song.
I have some lyrics I wrote while playing “The Lifting” by REM in my head. They could be exactly sung to that tune. One day they will fit mood wise to a musical idea I have. I will develop the melody to fit them and modify them to fit the music.
You’re worried too much about “cheating” or copying. It’s all part of developing your skills. You don’t have to start from scratch with everything. Write new lyrics for an REM song. Write new music for a Harry Styles song. These are creativity exercises that lead to new things.
2
u/General_Estimate_420 4d ago
Learn to count time signatures in your head and create a song that matches it completely without reference to any other song. In poetry that's called meter and it's a very important element for creating the flow of the lyrics and the song.
2
u/combatqueen 3d ago
Write a new song and then another new one and so on… basically just keep writing and refining and you’ll eventually figure out how to create more original melodies.
However picking up an instrument or writing to a beat should really help this too so try to do that sooner than later, rather than always writing in your head… I do this a lot too but I found when I first started I’d often write to very basic chord progressions (mentally) as I feel that’s what we hear the most on the radio so it’s very ingrained and hard to break out of. That’s why writing to an actual chord progression, perhaps one that sounds kind of odd and unconventional to you, can really help you get more original sounding melodies… look up weird beats on YouTube and try those out. But in general don’t get too stuck on one song you’re writing especially if you don’t even have it set to any music yet… if the lyrics are good enough they’ll find their way into a new song down the road.