How do I begin songwriting?

[kevinmathie]

OK, I've decided I want to take the plunge from being just an instrumental composer to being a songwriter as well.As a composer, I understand song form, rhyme scheme, and all that, and actually, I've written the music for many songs. In fact, I've written the entire vocal score for 3 musical theater shows, all of which have been produced on stage -- two of the shows have been produced in multiple theaters over the past 15 years.But, I'm now interested in taking ahold of the lyric reins, as well as the music. In particular, since my career has specialized in musical theatre over the past 20 years, I have two shows rolling around in my head that I want to get down on paper.Here's my problem. I need some tips on getting started. When I think of starting a song, the whole task seems so daunting -- especially when I think of writing the lyrics to an entire musical theatre production (or, 2 productions, actually!). Adding to my angst, my lyric heros are Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, and Lynn Ahrens, who are heavyweights in the musical theatre world. So, whenever I try to put some rough lyric down, I automatically compare what I wrote to their lyrics. It's really hard for me not to do that.On the other hand, when I write the music, I tend to break things down into smaller chunks: I often sit at the piano or computer and figure out the emotion or groove first, then the melody, then the harmony, or sometimes vice versa, then the instrumentation, and it all grows bit by bit. And, I don't usually start comparing my work to Sondheim's or Jason Robert Brown's until the music is getting closer to completion.But, I don't have enough experience with lyrics yet to do that. How do you songwriters break your lyric-creation process down into bite-size chunks that you can deal with easily? Or is the process more haphazard than the music end of things?Thanks for your advice!Kevin

[Vissequ]

Hey,

I don't know if you saw this article on Songwriting Tips Taxi sent out, but I thought it was very helpful:
http://www.taxi.com/newsletter/songwrit ... LS00000054

The article offers one suggestion of writing a song based on the emotions and plot of a TV show from a character's perspective.

I think it's most important to think about the story you want to convey through the lyrics, because then when you're working on your rhyming structure, you can make sure that the words don't just sound musical, but also convey information that the audience can interpret to some degree. That's usually how I begin, unless a particular rhyme or phrase randomly pops into my head. Then I focus on jotting down whatever comes to mind, and not worrying to much if there's one syllable too many on a particular line, or the rhyming scheme changes momentarily. I'm more focused on the chronology at first. If you want to break the song down into smaller chunks like your music, you could focus on the first verse, or just the chorus, or whatever may work for you.

I hope that's helpful to a degree!