Micah King
From St John the Baptist
12 July 2008 - 7:34pm
Hey all!
OK I've been a guitarist for a long time now, and I'm an active worship leader at my church, and I've been trying to write my own songs almost ever since I first picked up a guitar. I'm really good at thinking up a theme, and in my head I go "Wow this is going to be the best song ever!" but that's pretty much as far as I ever get.
I keep a worship journal (courtousy of Tim! Thanks for the idea) and I always write down any ideas to try and build on song writing. But as for producing lyrics and matching it to music... I just can't get my head around it.
So what stages do you think any song writer needs to go through if they're too stand any chance of producing a half decent finished product?
bobbob
From unknown
12 July 2008 - 8:52pm
I am the same in many ways. Theme's come into my head, and i sit down to think of some lyrics to express how i'm feeling, but nothing seems to happen.
I guess a tip i would give is to always when you have a theme, to look up passages in the bible on that them. Psalms is always a good place as they are songs. Then write down all the different passages that stand out, and try and write them into a song. Best to start with a guitar i always find.
Then once you've got a few ideas in your head, one of the key things to do is to play some of your ideas to a fellow worship leader / musician / christian leader or whoever, preferably a christian! This is the best way to see a song develop. Then I would just keep seeking God, delving into his word on the themes, and keep going for it! Not all songs work and so many have to be let go, but when you know that God has birthed a theme on your heart, and you make the effort to read the bible on the theme, it is a great feeling!
Hope this helps!
God Bless
TC
Hi SS
Maybe you could look into Co-writing? I find that having other people's input is really helpful...maybe there are people in your church who can help.... people who dont necessarily play an instrument but are good at writing poems etc... maybe you could pick their brains for ideas and use your musical gifts to help shape around that?
The only other thought is are all worship leaders called to be song writers?
I've known some amazing worship leaders who love and radiate Christ and don't write songs (in the sense of songs that they would use corporately)
other than that try checking out http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/ I use it a lot to help shape songs.
blessings :)
www.chrissayburn.com
I have the same problem- I can get guitar riffs, melodies, even lyrics for hook lines and choruses but find verses a nightmare. When i have finally got a first verse that I am happy with that has taken several re-writes and a lot of screwed up bits of paper (that are all recycled- I still do my bit for the environment) I then realise I ought to write a second verrse. I too have a worship journal and keep it by my bed- it is amazing how manny ideas come when you are just about to nod off or when you wake up in the middle of the night, some turn into songs- some don't but if you write everything down you can always refer back to them.
I have found that patience is a key skill to have in this,
Advice that I have found really usefule include:
Reading around the theme of your song- obviously in the bible, but other books, bible commentries, blogs etc- submerse yourself in the theme.
Having a team of people around you who are accountable, some who are more musically minded and some more lyrically minded- they don't have to be members of your church actually I would say the most constructive advice I have had is from close friends who live miles away who have suggested changes.
Prayer and meditation is a must- is seemed like a waste of time when I first started as I just wanted to get stuck into song writing, but it just helped me to focus on who God is and why I am writing the song in the first place. I find a creation Psalm really helpful to kick this off.
Get a rhyming dictionery- there are several online, mine is indispensible.
If you haven't already read it, I would recommend "Now let's move into a time of nonsense" by Nick Page- it is a good book about song structure and what makes a good congregational song.
Have fun- worshipping God should be enjoyable, it is one of the most (in my opinion: THE MOST) important thing that humans are commisioned to do- leading others into a place of worship to the one true living God- that's pretty exciting, pretty scary but a lot of fun.
Sorry for waffling- hope some of this has been useful to someone- these are the things that have really helped me,
Nick (minichanic)
Thanks guys! That's really helpfull advice and thanks ffor the website links too.
This is somthing I forgot to mention in my origional post, but sometimes I pick up my guitar and come up with a really good melody or riff but I can't put any lyrics to match the music. And sometimes it's the other way around, I get some amazing inspiration and I fill pages of my worship journal with lyrics I'd love to use but I can't match then to any music.
So which do you think is more important? Is it better to write music and then try and match lyrics to that music. Or is it better to think up some epic lyrics and try to match music to it? And is there a process which can make this any easier?
Couple of other resources you might to have a look at - 'God Songs' by Paul Baloche and Jimmy & Carol Owens is pretty much the only seriously in-depth look at worship song-writing around, and is an essential purchase if you want to develop your gifts in that area. Nick Page's book has already been mentioned and is great - you might also want to look at the book 'Writing Better Lyrics' by Pat Pattison. It's not a Christian book, but the principles that he uses for general song-writing are often applicable to worship songs, and I've found them incredibly useful in opening up new lyrical areas. The chapter on different types of rhymes is worth the purchase price alone as it means you'll never have to be stuck rhyming praise/days/always and sing/king/bring etc etc ever again!
Hope that helps,
God bless,
Matt
www.RESOUNDworship.org
Free New Worship Songs
Thanks for the tips.
Do you think it's a good idea to start a co-write from the beginning?
Or do you think it's better to start writing on your own and then look for an input on your song with a friend?
Starting co-writing with a completely blank sheet of paper is hard work! I've found it to be most fruitful when I've at least got an idea for a verse or a chorus and can pass it over to someone else to play around with for a bit. Alternatively a couple of times I've worked with someone who has a song that's basically finished but the music isn't that great - it can be quite refreshing sometimes to take a completed lyric and give a new musical perspective on it.
Even if it's not a strict co-write, I'd say it is pretty much essential to get at least one other person's perspective on a song before saying it's 'finished' - kinda what this forum is about really - other people tend to spot things you've totally overlooked. I'm part of a group of writers that meets together every couple of months and continues on-line critiquing in between for exactly this purpose, and we've all found it a really constructive (if at some points annoying!) process. You can check out some of the results at the web-site below.
Cheers
Matt
www.RESOUNDworship.org
Free New Worship Songs
The songs I am most pleased with are the ones that I have written almost as direct lifts from the Bible! Is that stealing (or copyright infringement)? Another good, although possibly cheeky, way of writing songs, especially if you've come up with a good melody but can't think of lyrics, is to take old hymns and use their lyrics. It is important that these hymns be fairly old as there are issues around copyright if they are not in the public domain. A good resource for doing this sort of thing is www.cyberhymnal.org
It is always best to check the theological content of the hymns first, as despite popular belief, just because the hymn is old doesn't mean it's right!
Hope this helps!
Alex B
Oh thats a brilliant idea! Especially a I have that exact problem right now!
Your an absolute legend Alex thank you :-)
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