[Kevin j]

normally for me, i'll write the lyrics first, but have some kind of a melody in mind while i write them, then comes the music, and finally the title,
which is normally the hardest part for me

is it the same for most of you? or are your methods very different 

[shuffs]

When I had a dull job, I couldn't stop writing. ..used to a be phrase, a title or one word and I'd have written the full lyrics with the music mapped out in my head.

So for me its generally the words or theme so I knew where to go with the music. 

I tend to find it a little harder to write the music first.

There are exceptions though.

[GTB]

I find that if I use the same approach for too long I stuck in a rut, so I deliberately change things around.  Recently tried writing one completely backwards (to me that means guitars last), what a nightmare! but it's different ;-)
GTB

[Mark Ryan]

Personally I never ever sit down with the intention of writing a song. I pick my guitar just because I love playing. Usually I will be trying to learn a new technique or be messing around with some effects or something and while doing that I'll accidentally play a wee lick or piece of music that I like. I'll then take that forward and just do what I feel comes naturally and then a lyric will pop into my head. hen that happens I usually get a song down in less than an hour. If it takes any longer than that or I'm having to try too hard I usually bin the idea. I don't like forcing a song, because I find that when I have to look for a lyric it normally ends up a cheesy cliche, so I don't bother. Because of the way I write, I never write in any particular genre. I just do it when it happens, and do what feels right at that particular time. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't
So i guess my basic method is I never try to write, I just play, and sometimes things happen. Sometimes they don't But I'm never left disappointed because all I set out to do was play my guitar.
When I was in college though, we used to be given assignments where we would be given a magazine article headline or a film title, and we'd be asked to write a song based on the article. For that I would basically close my eyes and develop the pictures that came into my head which the headline brought. 1 in particular I remember was 'The Stones That Echo', which was in a Scottish Tourist magazine.
Here is the lyrics for the song I wrote

This bloody foreland, I call my home
No diamond mountains, or fields of gold
It has no treasures, of any worth
But it's my country, land of my birth

All the old stories, you lived right through
The pain and hunger, and bloodshed too
Your children leaving, for foreign shores
Lost in a moment, for ever more

And the stones that echo sing your song to me
Tell a tale of many years held in captivity
And of your longing to be free

Through every landlord, you have survived
Years held in bondage, your freedom denied
Borders and boundaries, houses and fields
Never to falter, never to yield

And the stones that echo sing your song to me
Tell a tale of many years held in captivity
And of your longing to be free

[keith21583]

I write both on a melody line as the base for my lyrics, and even write lyrics on an imaginery melody that cames to my mind.

Though, nowadays I prefer to write a song having the actual melody to write on, because that way I can understand better how the song will sound once recorded.   

[Mr.Chainsaw]

Personally I never ever sit down with the intention of writing a song. I pick my guitar just because I love playing.

Totally agree. If I think too much I get writers block!

And going against usual method of writing is a great way of learning more about yourself and the process

Peter

[kiltimaghlad]

I used to think of melodies on the guitar now I just write words and phrases and go it that way now. There are no hard and fast rules to music or lyrics just write what you feel

[Ramshackles]

Usually everything gets developed together for me.

[Bernd]

> ... finally the title <

That's weird! I mostly just write lyrics and tend to begin with the chorus because that's what is supposed to stand out in the end. Only as for my own folk songs I begin with writing the verses - they often tell stories, and I write the lyrics in the chronological order. Quite a few have no chorus at all.

When I write for MotorPlanet, blues-rock band, the music is already there before the words, I don't have much of a choice there.

When writing lyrics 'freestyle' I have some tune in my mind - that I usually forget...

My own songs - if one could call them that (I'm a lousy musician, if at all) - I begin with playing the guitar bacause that's what I like most. Sooner or later I (try to) complete the backing track. Only then I begin to think about fitting lyrics and a title. My own lyrics, that I've written over the time, never seem to match ;-)

Cheers,
Bernd

[Stephen Palmer]

Julian Cope on songwriting in 1991... well worth a watch.

[seriousfun]

I am pretty much like Mark and Ramshakles. I fiddle with my acoustic guitar and if I strike an interesting chord change, or rhythm I see what sort of lyric will fit it.  Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I don't try to force it. If its not working but has potential I will keep a basic recording of it and revisit one day. If its crap then it is binned.  I must add there are many times that I get something together and think wow this is good and then the next day it sounds crap and gets binned. I think sometimes you get too close to what you are doing and you can't hear the major problems that exist. A revisit after a break always finds those areas out.

[Stylus]

Hi  Kev
            I dont think there is any one method in commencing a song. Its that certain vibe of concievement that comes out of the blue,sometimes unexpected. I have had ideas whilst on my acoustic & other times some words become apparent which I scribble down.
                   Its then that I pursue it further & then if it works sounds ok then continue...If not it is either shelved or binned. Sometimes a wisp of a melody can begin something which easily draws lyrics
          It is possible to write a song from scratch  i.e   Think up subject/context/title  etc  & then
see what unfolds but I too think its better for inspiration to  appear & thus the creative process begins.
            sometimes I will find just a beat & then play guitar or bass to it then keyboards  & write lyrics
once a groove has transpired.
                                        Hope that helps                R'gardz      STYLUS

[hardtwistmusic]

For me, what comes first is ... well.... whatever comes first.  Sometimes I'll fiddle around and come up with an interesting set of chords or notes and build out of that. 

Sometimes I'll have an interesting set of words come to me out of the blue. 

I once woke up with a full lyric in my head with a melody. 

My favorite way to get to an end result is to listen to a stunningly beautiful instrumental, then just listen over and over til I get a sense of a lyrical direction, and then follow that lyrical direction. 

But whatever comes to me first is what determines the song.

[Olie]

I find it a lot easier to write with the beat playing the background, i naturally get my timings and line lengths right without thinking about it because i can hear how it would go over the beat right away. I write raps though but i imagine it would be the same for melody.

[Random Stranger]

I have no music, only words, so I write words.
Sometimes I start with a melody, sometimes with words. If I start with words, I find that once I get a line right, the melody in built in. It's harder for me to start with melody, and harder still to start with actual music. Melody has an emotion built in, for me. But music has the emotion, the context, and the tempo all built in, so harder to find the right words.
I do all three.
If I start with words, I send the words to my collaborator, who then writes the music that was in my head. No idea how he does that, but almost always the music is a match to my mindmusic. Sometimes he sends music and I write words to that. I can often tell that there are words built into the music. Sometimes I use them, sometimes not. Most often, I try to turn them around so they aren't predictable.

The most fun for me is to pick a method I haven't used and try that. It's hard, and I like challenges, so I find that invigorating.