Musicians Dojo

Lyrics have always been a very picky subject with me. Everybody has their own perception of what constitutes as “good lyrics” in terms of what the subject matter is. But subject matter is not the only thing, and especially not the most important thing to consider when deciding what makes a song’s lyrics work well with the music.

It’s good to fit in.

As a musician, you need to understand the relationship and cooperation between all the instruments being played. For instance, the bass guitar usually conforms to the rhythm of the bass drums, or simply its basic rhythmic tempo. The guitars have a relationship too. Lead guitars either double the rhythm guitar, or create a harmony with them. In this same way, the vocals should find the best fit into the music when they form a cooperation with one or more elements to the overall rhythm of a song.

Harmony isn’t just for hippies.

Just like the rhythm guitar, lead guitar, and bass, the human voice is a tonal instrument that must participate in the musical shaping of a song. Because of this, you should consider the vocal scale of tones and notes you use. If you use a scale that isn’t compatible with what the guitars are doing, for instance, it can easily ruin the song’s overall feel.

Patience is more than a virtue.

After recently listening to certain artists such as Megadeth, I’ve been reminded of another aspect of lyrical development. Dave Mustaine is a magnificent vocalist. He’s very unique in many ways. But, personally, I have fallen disappointed in his method of lyrical writing. In the past he was known for generating lyrics through clever, metaphorical (and thus more artistic) means. However, during the past three albums, he sounds more like he’s reading his lyrics strait out of a political magazine. In effect, he sounds incompatible with the rest of the music. This not only makes his vocals lack artistic word-usage, but it also flattens his use of vocal rhythm with the rest of the instruments. Compare vocal material from the album “Countdown to Extinction” (1993) to “Endgame” (2009). This usually results from a lack of patience in the development of lyrics. It can happen when there’s a close deadline in the release of an album. As a result, song writing becomes hurried.

Your signature style is where it’s at.

Make sure you have your method of lyrical structure developed and mastered. You’ll know when you have it down when you can transpose any topic written in any form to your own lyrical form without using the same words. A good singer/vocalist develops the mental skill of creating their own template(s) of word structuring, using them on command during song writing.

When you consider writing and singing lyrics as much a work of art as writing and performing guitar riffs and drum rhythms, the skill of creating your own signature vocal style becomes very important. Much the same should go toward the consideration for how your lyrics will rhythmically conform to the rest of your band’s music. Consider this entry a simple introduction into the world of lyrical usage. In later entries, I’ll be going into more specific detail on forming your vocal style.