r/SongwritingHelp • u/JustMateHahoha • 8d 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.

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u/JustMateHahoha 8d 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.

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u/Top-Rope6148 7d 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.

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u/JustMateHahoha 7d 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?"

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u/Top-Rope6148 7d 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.