Got lyrics, need advice on applying music

[austinm08]

The morning star and a hazy moon is all I see
A lukewarm breeze and the dew damped grass is all I feel
I hear the early birds singing some sweet songs for me
And through all of this your wild presence feels so real

Your breath will forever fill this beautiful place
Your melody will slip into the blue skies
I won't ever let you from my gaze
and the truth of you I will never disguise

The scattered clouds trying to hide the sun just won't admit
That he is on the rise and soon will light the whole wide world
If there are a million choices, only one can be true
I for one won't settle for wrong, and I hope neither will you

Your breath will forever fill this beautiful place
Your melody will slip into the blue skies
I won't ever let you from my gaze
and the truth of you I will never disguise

Your breath will forever fill this beautiful place
Your melody will slip into the blue skies
I won't ever let you from my gaze
and the truth of you I will never disguise

And maybe repeat one or both verses, and repeat chorus again once or twice.



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The thing is, I can build this into a song with say 4 chords per line in the verse like D - Am - C - G and then 2 chords per line in the chorus like D - Am then C - G.. but I feel that maybe that leads to a boring song, just repetitive chords.. how do you write music that isn't boring.. what are the 'rules'? Is that the universal method, a chord progression like that, or do you switch it up a lot, or maybe you just add lead parts to make it more appealing?

Sorry for the numerous questions. I'm just kind of lost.. and I guess I sort of need help coming up with a catchy melody for the lyrics.

If someone could help me out in this area, it would make my life so much easier. Thank you

-Austin

 

[Sydney]

good question!

I wish I could answer your question, but maybe I could bounce a few ideas off of you that would get you thinking a little.

that's a great chord progression, and no matter how repetitive you make it, you can still do a lot with it. although, I would still say, get familiar with a lot of different chords and try throwing a different one or two of them in - even a chord that makes no sense at all, and see what becomes of it - based on how you feel artisitically.

also, coming up with a melody, to me, is truly a mysterious thing. Try creating it one note at a time. Start with one that sounds good, then add another, and if you like the next note, try that note out with different timings, then keep building on it. Be patient, play with it, and even sit on it for a few days. The thing about melodies is that it must be something that sounds natural, not contrived.

seems to me though, there is no formula for creating a song. but people do seem to find their own techniques for doing so.

hope that helps a little.

 

[Newbie dude]

If you wannamake a good yet "plain jane" progression, theres a few different techniques you can use. I like to add fourths on to some of my chords. For example, if you're playing this on guitar, on your D chord, instead of playing the f sharp on your high e string, play the 3. And change up the rhythymn from what is expected. Instead of giving all four chords two quarter note strums each, maye give the first two chords each two quarter notte strums, the third chord three quarter note strums and one eighth note strum, and the fourth chord just an eight note strum. Does that make any sense? you don't have to do alot to spice up a bitter melody. Litttle things help. Just don't go overboard with trying to maje your chord progression "different", or you'll end up with an awkward, new age song. Of course, that might be what you're going for.

 

[ido1957]

The thing is, I can build this into a song with say 4 chords per line in the verse like D - Am - C - G and then 2 chords per line in the chorus like D - Am then C - G.. but I feel that maybe that leads to a boring song, just repetitive chords..

If you like what you've got so far, four chords can work just fine.

Try recording the whole song with just the music and hum/sing along trying different melody lines until you find something that you think is "catchy".
Record the takes and keep the good parts, so you don't forget what you've got so far.

Sometimes you can hear a melody within the chords you play. That can become boring too if you play them in the same position, so try playing the chords in different positions on the fretboard to open up more melodic possibilities.

Lastly, try singing the words with no musical accompaniment. Just let your imagination and the words inspire you to come up with a melody (record the takes of course). Then once you have something that you like for a melody, find the chords that fit. Usually when I write the lyrics first, they have a kind of built in melody or rhythm - at least a basic one - that I work from.

how do you write music that isn't boring.. what are the 'rules'? Is that the universal method, a chord progression like that, or do you switch it up a lot, or maybe you just add lead parts to make it more appealing?

You might study your favorite artists to see how they wrote their tunes and emulate them. Listening, playing and writing music all takes practice.

Your bio says you are 16. If that is true, then you have a good grasp of writing/grammar/spelling for your age. A lot of 16 year olds are functionally illiterate (lol). That's a very big plus in songwriting!

ido1957

 

[austinm08]

Thank you very much, all of you! Nobody replied to this for the longest time, and I was just now browsing the forums and to my surprise I saw this as the last-replied to thread in the Songwriting forum. That was great.. thank you so much. I will use your advice as best I can.

And yes I'm 16.. yeah, I've always been good at spelling.. ever since elementary.