The song writing process

[Scruffydog777]

I remember in one of Alizee's interview when she discussed their (AJ/MF/LB) song making process, she said the way they produced a song is LB would write the music, then MF would write the lryics. I'm sure that was an over simplification of the process. I'm sure LB would have to know first what the song was about and whether they wanted i.e. a slow paced sad song, or a fast paced happy song.

So is it that simple or is there more to it than that. I know we have some members here who are very talented in the music department. Maybe they can shed some light on the subject. Also is the process much different for Alizee where LB writes the music, MF writes the lyrics and Alizee who does the singing and another singer let's say Cheryl Crow who I believe does it all for a lot of her songs?

[Euphoria]

Yes, in most songs they're going to have kind of a base. Desenchantee doesn't have happy lyrics at all, but the music is catchy and upbeat. It's different for every artist because some do everything. Some might start writing lyrics and write the music to go along with it. Or some will come up with a melody and find words that fit. Here is a song by kind of an amateur songwriter using fruity loops. He wrote the song and his girlfriend wrote the lyrics and melody.

[lefty12357]

Well, I can only speak for myself, but I almost always write the music first. Sometimes I have a general feel or concept that I am aiming for when I start. I begin by noodling around on the piano or a guitar until a melody and chord pattern start to take form. As I work on the melody, I may just make up words off the top of my head so I have something to sing to the melody. They usually don’t make much sense at that point, but often this process ends up giving me a few good lines to build on later for the lyrics. On occasion, I will write the lyrics as I’m working on the music. I almost never start with the words first.

Music is much easier for me to write than lyrics. I usually write some music almost every day, but I end up forgetting most of it. It’s only when I finish the lyrics for a song that it becomes something permanent. I used to write with a friend who was a great lyricist. That was great for me because I would just write the music and pass it to him and I was done and could move on to the next idea. I never decide whether I am going to write a slow or fast song. I just write what comes to me. As I accumulate a lot of both fast and slow songs, I can pick and choose where and when to use them, or to never use them at all. My guess is that LB had a lot of musical ideas that he would run by Mylene and they would go from there.

I don’t have much experience writing songs for others, but when I have, there are a few things one must keep in mind. The style, the vocal range and the content of the lyrics must fit the person you are writing for. These things may seem obvious, but it’s not easy confining your creative process to stay within the boundaries of someone else’s parameters. I have written music for outdoor videos and a few documentaries, which also requires you to stay within the boundaries of the video, but at least you don’t have to worry about lyrics.

[Naft]

I think they all three first have to sit down and discuss it, the potential and if everyone is "comfortable" with the idea, after all they were a team. I have never been in the song-writing business nor have I ever researched around it, but I would say that they create the base together, then go off to their own "branch" and do what they do best.