First the lyrics or the music to compose a song
When composing a song... first the lyrics or the music?
By Jose Rafael Frasquet Lopez - composer member nº 29280 in SGAE
The truth is that after more than 300 songs that I have behind me, it should be easy for me to advise you, but no..., it's not like that...
Here is my honest opinion...
Someone has said that it depends on the circumstance, the day, the state of mind, etc..., it is true. That is why you have to take advantage of any moment of inspiration for either of the two facets... the lyrics or the music.
In my experience it is that a lyric made on a given melody is more difficult than the other way around and for this reason most of my songs are without lyrics or with unfinished lyrics... because it is very difficult to "place" the words with the sense of rhythm and the melody already created....
On the other hand, if you make a poetry or letter with a foundation, that is, a mini story with the correct development, introduction, idea 1, idea 2, conclusion, (possible repetition of some part) and end, (musically speaking, intro, chorus1 , chorus2, chorus and coda.
One of the best known formats is AABA, A=chorus, B=chorus)
You can create a melody (later the arrangements) that "nuances" the words very well or, in other words, place harmonious notes in each syllable, writing them down on a score like karaoke.
The "more than going home" version of this formula to create a melody is to sing the lyrics over and over again (recording them, of course) with a guitar or keyboard making chords (preferably in your singing tone) and looking for the coordination of the song.
When I do that, I usually sing in D Major or in A minor because it suits me well for my somewhat serious texture, although the most traditional is in C... (note, I sing very badly but in tune, yes, .. my thing is to make songs)
Kind regards
Pepe Frasquet
Hola Gorka, me parece que has hecho un muy buen comentario. No existe fórmula mágica. Lo que tu haces al componer me gusta y lo intentaré copiar. Un abrazo
José Rafael
Muy buenas. Soy Gorka L.P., cantante y compositor del grupo de pop-rock Sin Mala Intención, y compositor por encargo para otros artistas y géneros musicales.
Si hubiera una fórmula para escribir una canción (al igual que la hay para hacer pan, un tornillo o la declaración de la renta), no sería ni tan emocionante ni tan divertido hacerla.
Me imagino que cada compositor tendrá su manera de trabajar, que no siempre es la misma. En mi caso, la mayoría de las veces comienzo por la letra, o mejor dicho, por el boceto de la letra, ya que, al ir puliéndola, ya empieza a asomar en mi cabeza el estilo, el ritmo… Por tanto, una vez que tengo clara la arquitectura de la canción y métrica de los versos, con la guitarra comienzo a darle forma a lo que en mi cabeza ha ido sonando mientras escribía la letra, para terminar a la vez con la letra y la música.
Pero no siempre es así, ya que a veces tengo una melodía rondando en la cabeza, así que no es más que ir encajando la letra, cuidando mucho la métrica, la acentuación de las palabras…
En definitiva, no existe la fórmula mágica (¡y menos mal!).
Un abrazo. :)