vic wrote:
Wise words Keira......however if he has that natural instinct and a good ear, it won't be too much of a problem. Writing good lyrics...that's the challenge !
Lyrics are the same story: the skills can be learned. The mistake is assuming that it's all innate. Writers of any kind must learn theory and practise. It's important to learn the flavours of words, and recognise clichés so you can avoid them like the plague (that's my little joke righ there). And practise. Always practise.
The innate song-writing you and Keira are talking about, comes from listening, and trying to reproduce; a lot. You may not understand why something sounds right, but you may be thinking "If I heard that melody, I'd be excited." That's why I think it's usually better to hear the sound in your head and then work it out on your instrument, than to fiddle on the instrument until you get something that sounds good. With the second approach, you're limited by your proficiency on the instrument, and your tendency to play similar patterns. It's not that you can't pick up good stuff that way, just that it won't free you to write what you'd like to hear.
But nothing ever beats the combination of theory and aesthetic sense. The appreciation of what works, what's good for you, and the knowledge of why it is so, combine to give you the most possible power.
And let's not get too down on working out other people's songs. The Beatles were known as pretty fair song writers, and they learned it through learning to play a large repertoire of their favourite songs and playing them to perfection. When they sat down to start writing their own for the first time, they had an extensive tool kit.
