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Lyric Writing Strategies

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 Whenever I write a new song, the lyrics always seem to take the most time.  Interestingly enough, the first thing I come up with is the title of the song.  After I have the title, I start brain-dumping into my Google Docs document, just typing whatever lines fit that title.  That title using comes from a whole bunch of thoughts that metaphorically relate to one another on the same topic...like details of a painting.  After the brain dump of lyrics, I match them to a chord progression I've written in the past.  One that fits the mood, and sometimes the mood AND the rhythm.  Or, the lyrics inspire me to write a new guitar chord progression/riff.  But, whenever all is said and done, I have to admit...sometimes I write the lyrics to a guitar part I have in mind.  The freedom is never ending.

That is when I start really getting picky with word choice, because I want to say a certain thing with each line, but making it fit the rhythm can be tricky.  Sometimes it's not word choice that makes the lyrics fit.  Sometimes its a change in rhythm that gives the melody a change up.

Every single time I make a lyric decision, I trust my gut.  I don't worry about any best-practices, well-known strategies...etc.  I truly just like it that way.  Being an independent songwriter/musician without anyone telling me what to do is a beautiful thing.

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