HOW TO ADD LYRICS TO A MELODY (like a pro)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ค. 2024
- Knowing how to add lyrics to a melody is challenging, but it's an important part of the song writing process. In this video, we get songwriting tips from professional artists on how to come up with vocal melodies and how to write lyrics to a melody. We go over how to make a melody for a song, generate lyric ideas, and how to match lyrics to your melody.
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0:00 intro
0:24 what is your melody saying
1:00 establish the flow
3:00 hearing words in the melody
3:46 let the music tell you a story
4:18 emotion in your melody
5:19 creative exploration
5:43 dummy lyrics
7:00 what are you writing about
8:23 flesh out the idea
These videos are meant to break down the songwriting process into easy to use tips, techniques, and tools that spark creativity and help you apply them like the pros. I do my best to make videos that share the 'secrets' of writing great songs without holding anything back.
My main focus with this channel is to pass on the tools of the trade that I have learned and found to make a big difference to my creative flow and songwriting. There is an old saying that goes "everybody has one great song in them", I hope to show you that once you know what makes a song great, you can apply it to all the songs you write. Start from the heart, follow your gut, and revise with your mind.
#songwriting #vocalmelody #HowToWriteLyricsToaMelody
This video is about how to add lyrics to a melody
• HOW TO ADD LYRICS TO A...
• HOW TO ADD LYRICS TO A...
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I've been doing all this for more than a decade without even put a thought about the process. It all just came naturally to me. It helps if everytime you play the new song, you record your gibberish vocals, and every time something different will come up in your mind, so the melody almost writes itself.
Hey man, I'm able to make a melody with my guitar , however I can't seem to fit lyrics into the molody without it sounding so cheesy or amateur, any tips would be highly appreciated !! Thanx
I’ve always done this naturally too…melodies come to me and I just kinda feel out what they want me to say. But then I get stuck feeling like I want my lyrics to be deeper, more impactful. So this vid was still super helpful
@Brandon Stoltz do it 100 times while being serious. Then look back at it as if you were in high school
same
Us
One time my cat was eating from his food bowl in the dark and a melody popped in my head with the words 'eating in the dark'. I ended up using that to write chord progressions and later changed the words to 'even in the dark'. lol
Billy Squire wants his royalties now! 😅
It would be awesome to have an album of great singer/songwriters doing gibberish songs. Likely still great music AND great in every language 😉
This is exactly right!!! This is the first time I've heard somebody accurately explain the actual process of writing a song in a way that's true to life!! Thank you Mr Chop Shop!!
Cheers Colin, glad you enjoyed it.
I tend to write lyrics first, but there are some great ideas here for doing it all the other way around! Thanks for sharing. 👍
No worries Luca. Yeah, it's good to be able to do it both ways. Keeps things interesting.
Thank you for this. I have been struggling adding lyrics to my songs for a while now and I really needed guidance :)
cheers josh, glad it was useful. keep going, you'll get there.
I just wrote lyrics for two melodies in this manner. It really works. I was doing this before I saw this video. But it works for sure. I let the melody tell me what to write.
This is the only way I can write lyrics. It's better if I start writing them as soon as I finish the melody, while is still fresh in my head. But sometimes can take weeks to finish the lyrics of a song that took 20 minutes to come up with the melody and chords.
Great technique for two people: One sings gibberish - while the other writes down what they think they hear.
(I’ve found it a very productive way to collaborate )
Nice one Gareth, thanks for sharing 👍
This is full of good ideas. Love the Sia clip. I just feel compelled to say that writing words first is just a choice. Some people are more facile with music so they start there. But if you are as fluent with language, or more, it’s going to be the spark for a song as often as melody. And in some genres, like folk, or the musical (where pop hits can certainly originate) , inseparable from it.
Absolutely, follow the inspiration wherever it starts from, words, music, melody, or rhythm.
@@SongWritersChopShop Rhythm! Rhythm is way under-explored except for rapping. Which values words as much as rhythm.
@@PSTroise Absolutely. all lyricists should study rap and poetry. The rhythm and internal sound (vowels and consonants) of words play a huge part in creating a unique lyric.
Love seeing pros using the same process to writing songs as I’ve used since I was a kid. It’s very validating.
Im having a writers block right now and this video is eye opening, thanks.
This channel is just incredible. Im so grateful for all the work you put into your videos. Thank you
cheers jay cee, glad you're getting value from it.
Couldn't agree more. Kudos to you Tony for distilling so much information into these pure gem Videos.
Nice work ! Yeah,long before indian music producers used to write melody and compose song for the lyrics given by songwriter....but at present, game has changed producers used to provide a melody restricting a lyric writer to write lyrics for that particular melody and cutting down the increased competetion for lyric writing!
cheers jagadesh, glad you enjoyed it. Good point. being able to shape lyrics for a melody is an important skill to have in today's music scene considering how many artists and producers make the track first.
I really appreciate this video. I was doing a lot of this myself-so this helped drive home that I’m doing something that works!
Great video. Awesome interview sections. Could be a documentary.
I love your teaching style, letting the music speak, cheers bro!
Cheers Oliver, I really appreciate that. 👍
Wow I wish I found this channel way earlier, I love the work you're doing. It's helped so much.
Cheers Colo. Glad you're getting some value from it.
Definitely one of my favorite YT channels! Keep up your hard work. I will always appreciate it
cheers jet lag beat. really happy to hear that. plenty more to come.
Really inspirational vid. Great advice and another great insight. What a channel you have.
Cheers lee. Really glad you got something out of it. keep on rockin in the free world (what's left of it)
I love your channel, it’s really helped me with my songwriting. Thanks so much 😊
This is exactly what I think many of have had that burning question on how to write a song , this is what I needed to know , and to hear it from really great singers and writers of their own songs is just amazing , thank you everyone who shared their information to help people who struggle with the concept of writing songs and music . 🙏
Dude...Great video, super well put together. I appreciate the effort. This is like validating?watching my own process as if I was floating from above looking down on myself. Stellar on you. Thank you
cheers vincent, glad you enjoyed it. yep, pretty much my process too.👍
Your channel is just pure magic… thank you so much!
Great tips!!
Great video! I've seen lots and lots of videos about writing lyrics and melodies. I thought that this would be just another one of all those I've already heard, but it was actually really nicely made and awesome advices! Thank you for posting this!
Cheers Gabriela, glad you enjoyed it!
Great vid, some really nice tips in this one!
Cheers eXorZm, really glad you enjoyed it.
This is so relatable thank you ❤
This was exactly what I was looking for
Yeeey! New video ❤️🙌🤩
hope you like it, it's a good one.
Wow. This was really good.
I can come up with chords easily enough, but putting lyrics to them is what I struggle with most.
I write poetry, then wonder which of the chord progressions I'm working on fits the poem, if any...
I'm scared to jump off and do this thing. But there's a thrill, an excitement...
Thank you.
It’s really encouraging to learn that I’m not a weirdo for improvisating and writing melody and speaking in tongues with syllables etc then I add the lyrics last , all my demos and stuff are just gibberish and I’ve never known that this process is a normal , you got no idea how much this just effected me I don’t even know what to say now except Thankyou so much I swear the universe lined this up for me today of all days , I’ve been a music artists since before I could even walk , a channeling gifted , fully self taught multi instrumentalist that’s had to struggle and sacrifice almost everything just to get my hands on a guitar or get studio time or anything music and I’ve always just gone with whatever makes sense and now after 20 years I’m just learning that I’ve been on the money for the first time . Stoked 👌 mark my words I’m gonna shine when it’s time and just know I love all of you before I even got there xx
Nice, go forth and write those songs Noompsie
A lot of people write songs like that. I keep singing gibberish until I come up with a cool phrase or rhyme and start to build from there. Most of my songs are like that, no lyrics, just random words that I find better to remember the melody rather than singing la la las or na na nas.
What a great video. Just what I needed to watch. I come up with melodies. I don't do lyrics but may challenge others to try that for me!
cheers infinity sound & melody, glad you got some value from it.
Really interesting as always. I have awful trouble starting lyrics but no trouble at all letting the music tell me where it wants to go. All I have to do is transfer the skill of allowing myself to be led to my lyric writing and who knows what I’ll achieve. I Might wait for the wife and kids to go out before I start singing gibberish at the top of my voice though. 😉 Thanks. 👍🙏
cheers Jeremy, good stuff.
Great breakdown
This is awesome
I wish George Harrison talked more about his writing process, I’ve heard Paul so many times now it’s feeling like I can’t glean anymore from him in a way (which isn’t to say “stop putting in clips of Paul”)
totally agree with you, george had a lot to offer.
George's first few songs were'nt very good at all, but he really matured and grew into an all time great. Just shows you that even the greats have to mature into it, its not all natural talent.
George Martin commented on this.
@@Table-Top So true. it's no coincidence that the most talented are usually also the ones that work the hardest.
Best channel ever!
cheers shredder, glad you enjoyed it.
This video is perfect, thank you so much 💜
cheers Stephanie, so glad you got some value from it👍
I usually hum with a mixture of jibber lol. Never knew it was a method. Very cool!
Great man!
cheers Ahmad, glad you enjoyed it.
great vid, thanks
hi Tt, long time no hear. glad you liked the vid.
FANTASTIC MAGIC JOB
cheers Outsider Introspector, glad you got some value from it.
I was doing this not knowing it was a common practice 😅
Amazing Bravo!!!
Cheers Katarina, glad you got some value from it 👍
some people write music then lyrics, but some write lyrics then music
Love your videos
cheers Sahra 👍glad you're getting some value from them.
It's magic, but not always the way artists think. People who don't believe in the muse (or think they are the muse) will probably never achieve greatness. Some artists cheat and open the muse with coke or something else. But a genius doesn't require any drug to tap into that muse. I get songs in dreams, or I can listen to someone else's comp and hear something that's not even in the composition. Writing music is a spiritual process, and because of that, I never burn out or make a song that sounds even remotely the same as another and I can do so in nearly every genre.
4:27 A Vibe
This is the best video of all time!
Cheers Mr. Night
Everyone has their own way.. very interesting to see how different artists write. I never write the music first. The melodies come to me and then I put music on top. I know a few top artists that do it that way also. Works for me anyway. Also the words aren't crushed into the song. Great video's man. 👍
Cheers D👍
@@SongWritersChopShop Anyway to contact you personally Tony?
If it would interest you, I'd love to see some videos analysing different artists to explain what makes *their* sound. For e.g. I'd love to write music that has a retro 60s or 70s feel, but I don't have enough music knowledge to understand what's going on! There's people on YT (like Good Future) and TikTok who make videos like "Hotline Bling but it's Talking Heads" and they're so GOOD, they've clearly got such a great understanding of how to re-create that artist's sound with any song. Videos analysing what motifs make a quintessential Beatles or Bowie sound, something like that, would be really interesting to me. I feel like Arctic Monkeys are really good at re-capturing a by-gone era of music but completely making it their own, Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino being a perfect example, IMO.
Hi Frances, great idea. I'll add it to the list.🔥 Any specific examples (apart from Bowie + The Beatles), just let me know.
0:24 So tough, coach... I've been sitting on a particular vocal melody for 2 YEARS and dedicated cumulatively months to it (Unbelievable, right?). I have tried it all. I am going cuckoo, brother.
Write a bunch of melodies, I mean loads. It's the best way to come up with a good one.👍
geat video man
cheers man, really appreciate that.
Learning always something new thanks Tony, what if you writed the lyrics first and whant melody?
Cheers Kaka. I'll be doing a full video on getting a melody for your lyrics soon. The best place to start is to use the rhythm of the words. speak them out loud to hear their natural rhythm. After you've done that a couple of times, start exaggerating the emotion in your voice until you are singing. That's a very basic exercise you can try to start with. Here are some short videos that cover the topic th-cam.com/video/8rgPMwPyhI4/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/nzd7BSnRnpc/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/gffsekOTWW4/w-d-xo.html Let me know if you have any other questions about getting a melody for lyrics and I'll include it in the upcoming video (when I make it) Thanks Kaka.
Thanks
no worries Life Music.
I actually can write lyrics, since i firstly started to write poems. But my problem is how would i add a melody on my songs. Thanks, this helps me.
that's great to hear Azzyla, glad it helped.
I can relate. I've been saving my poems, and actively writing them when inspiration strikes for coming up on nine years. Then there are the chords ... and how to connect everything. I don't hear things in full in my head like some people. I get stuck on detail :(
You need the melody first I don’t know how many lyrics I’ve read where they look great on paper yet a total nightmare to sing. Words them selves have a shape
i need captions, please! i dont understand english as good, but i love your videos!
John Legend just wrote a song on stage in Simlish. He doesn't need that pesky English language lol But seriously though, not trying to sound arrogant or anything, but I thought I was the only one who did that and always felt stupid doing it when sitting at a DAW trying to come up with melodic but somewhat legible ideas for vocals. Now I'm going to feel a lot less dumb knowing the greatest artists do it. There's another method I use which always involves lyrics first and then try to make it work with the melody by cutting and replacing words, because I find that when I do gibberish melody writing, the same words and motifs keep 'appearing' and lyrically would get repetitive unless I use a thesaurus lol
oh my gosh wow that's exactly it I am fluent in "gibberish". This is what I am stuck on, Its so hard to pair lyrics with the melodies. I have 3,416 recordings of melodies, over 2 days worth of ideas but Its so difficult to add words....
So Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald just didn't bother finishing songs hmmm? 🤔
yeah, works in progress i guess.
ah nice. exactly how I do it lmao
Gibberish lets you sing without thinking. It is the is lube for good fun ideas to flow.
4:30 can anyone let me know what that song came out to be? I dont know the artist, but that music was so pure!!
the song is called 'three hour drive' by Alicia keys and Sampha.
@@SongWritersChopShop thanks alot!! And yes your videos are excellent help!!
@@adivarma95 cheers Aditya, happy to help.
Is it possible to add subtitles please?
Sir I Have friend who know to play guitar can I tell him to play chords. And I make Tune for my lyrics. Is it possible to hear Beat and make Tune for Song
Yep, you sing and get them to add the chords.
@@SongWritersChopShop Thanks sir now I will tell them to play chords. Later I will learn to. Thanks for replying all my quest.
Absolutely! :)
You can do that. Just have your friend play the guitar, and you hum or sing a tune, or melody. Whatever comes to you. Sometimes it changes.
0:39 😂😂
it works tho!
@@SongWritersChopShop It made me chuckle, but also listen more carefully, because maybe they're all onto a good, valid point here!
My fiance was singing jibber earlier, and then came up with random words just like that. It was awesome.
Totally agree. It can feel silly at first but this how most of the pro topliners write melodies and lyrics.
I can add lyrics and make something out of nothing literally...but no idea how to add melody or beat to what I write
The John Legend thing is so good! That's exactly how I come up with vocal melodies... It just came naturally to me a long time ago, I suppose because I'm a singer. One day I heard Devin Townsend use the term "nonsense words" in an interview, and it surprised me to learn it's actually a pretty common practice!
I think my melody game is really, really good... But even though I'm a pretty damn good writer, my brain is so locked into "prose mode" after years and years of perfecting the craft without writing a single line of poetry, much less lyrics.
I have been trying for two years to write just one song I am happy with, and at this point I have about 40 fully fleshed-out songs and ONE has lyrics that I can tolerate. One. Something's gotta give. How can I get out of my own way? That's pretty much a rhetorical question since no one here knows me, but maybe someone else has been in my shoes when it comes to writing and can knock me loose a bit. Maybe?
some call it "singing gibberish". I'm right there either, and it doesn't help I tend to don't care too much about lyrics in other people's songs, and focus more on the melody and arrangements. Another barrier is that I don't write on my native language, and I'm a little bit of a perfectionist myself. A thing can sound good today, then next day I think it's rubbish. I keep singing the melody with nonsense/gibberish phrases until I come up with something that matches the melody good enough as a start point. It's a slow process though.
my problem is I make a rhythm and write the lyrics but i always tell myself i can write better so i’m never finished and unsatisfied. the problems you have when writing alone all the time 😭😅
Sounds like a bad case of perfectionism! Try reaching out to people to do a co write. The songwriting sub reddit could be a good place to start.
i fuckin hate this part. its like staring down a big hole and your not certain there's a bottom
I hear that!
I love Sia!
Let The music write the lyrics.
Genius
A lot of this video seems like something I'd maybe show either a complete beginner, or someone with no interest in being a songwriter but are just curious what musicians go through in the process. One tip I can add here, is I'm amazed at how (when looking for how to sing notationally to an existing melody, long before you know what the lyrics will be) so many ideas come from simply reading (singing) a random short sentence and trying to make it fit to the melody. The syllables, along with the words themselves, will force you to present them in a certain way, to make them fit in a way they sound good. Try it. Pick any sentence whether it's off a jar of peanut butter or in a book. You will find brilliant notes to use as placeholders for your future lyrics. Syllables will force you to hold some notes longer, or shorter (half note, whole note, eight notes, etc). I'm a bit perplexed as to why I've never heard this tip before anywhere, but it's really helped me come up with some unique vocal notes/styles I wouldn't have otherwise thought of.
Example off the top of my head using a song everyone knows: Think of the beginning of Eleanor Rigby, since Paul talked about it here. Instead of singing: "I look at all the lonely people" Pretend you have to fit "Who is at the door my friend" into that space. This happens to be changing the syllables from 9 to 7. Notice how you have to do it to make it not just fit, but sound good, in that measure. It changes completely the feel of that part of the song. If you can't get it to sound good then this exercise is probably not a good one for you. But it's saved my ass many times from writer's block
People : making songs must be so hard , etc etc
Musicians: 😂( it is, wtf do you think it's easy?)
Mayer's claim that music is easy to come up with is probably the reason I find his music so insipid. Thinking GOOD music is easy to write is a great way to write mediocre music.