Tips on creating vocal tracks to a song?

[the3kgt2]

I've recording a few songs without vocals and I have never had a problem with creativity for instruments. Now it's time to add my first vocals/lyrics. How do most of you go about adding vocals to a song where the instruments have already been laid down. Do you follow the song with a hum...then create lyrics? I'm just having a really hard time coming up with my first vocal track.


P.S. The song I'm trying to add vocals to is here

[MatsonMusicBox]

Wow - I think there are probably as many methods as there are artists here. All I can do is talk about how I do it.

I do music first - almost always - there are some who write lyrics first or compose for already written lyrics. I've never done that. About the closest I've come is sort of writing them at the same time.

For me - if I don't have a melody and/or lyrics figured out, I'll mix a scratch with the music on it, put it on a CD, and take it back and forth to work with me every day, listening, humming along, etc. in the car until a melody and the lyrics start to form for me. I purposefully try to come up with very melodic lines as opposed to hanging on the same 3 or 4 notes, which is really boring most of the time and sort of where most of us go by default unfortunately.

When I get enough of that done to run with, I'll do so and then start working in harmonies, changing parts if needed, etc.

This is a very personal thing - so my technique might not work for you - but there it is. HTH

[Autobahn]

I would tend to agree with Ken. There is no one method to songwriting with respects to vocals (or any other part for that matter).

There are those who write songs from their poetry/writing that will somehow find a way to put it exactly to song.
Those who write the music first and then try to work the vocals around the arrangements.
Those who forge an initial melody and work the lyrics and arrangements from that.

Personally, I'm a big melody fan. 70% of the time I don't care too much about the lyrics..unless they're really cheesy. Melody hits me the strongest, so for me it's the first thing that needs to be found.
I think creating a strong melody has to be the most difficult thing to accomplish. Once that melody is found, I'll usually start arranging the music whilst using make-shift lyrics. When the melody and arrangements are complete, that is when I'll tackle the lyrics.

Again, that is just the way I do it, but it will be different for everyone.

Hard times and cheap wine help as well.

[sparqee]

Melody is king for me as well. I start with a chord progression and a groove that inspires a melody. I start scatting on the melody. Sometimes words will pop out that just fit the groove and I then "write" the rest of the lyrics around that. Sometimes those original words get dropped but sometimes they stay. For me the most important part of the process is finding those moments of inspiration, where something comes out of my mouth and I think "wow, I gotta use that".

[dlh]

Before I place the lyrics in stone, I have to have the chords and the melody. And they have to be smooth with no bumps.
Even if I have lyrics coming before the music is down, I sometimes change the whole lyrical section.
When I feel that there is a marriage between the music and lyrics and melody, then I proceed, but not before.

Like the others said, so many ways to do it.

I'm very close to the same style as sparqee is.

When I hit a hard spot and can't seem to go anywhere for a long time, I begin changing things, tempo, key, instrument, etc. Pretty soon, something gives and the flow starts again.

Writing a song is like anything else, practice, practice, practice.

[brandondrury]

I never hit the record button until I have a vocal melody of some kind. For most of the music I listen to, if vocals are going to be there, they must come first. I'm not big on the write a riff, toss a vocal on top method of songwriting although this works well for some.

Brandon

[zildjohn01]

Originally Posted by sparqee

I start scatting on the melody. Sometimes words will pop out that just fit the groove and I then "write" the rest of the lyrics around that. Sometimes those original words get dropped but sometimes they stay. For me the most important part of the process is finding those moments of inspiration, where something comes out of my mouth and I think "wow, I gotta use that".

Same here, I could have written this

If you've already got the instruments down, sounds like you're a "notes" person, not a "words" person. Try just jamming along on solo guitar, and see what comes out. Once you have the melody, start "scatting" (thanks sparqee) and see what else comes out.

Then blend to taste, and start tracking.

[him666]

I'm putting in another vote for the melody-driven ideas. I am a slave to melodies, and although I am blessed to have them just pop in my head sometimes, it's not always the case with vocals.

alot of times, you might have a melody that another instrument might be playing, and that can be inspiration for your vocal lines. You can sing along with the melody, or sing around the melody and create some interesting harmonies.

Also vocal harmonies for me are what seal the deal. There's something about them that is very appealing to me, so I'm always listening for them, or thinking of harmonies (sometimes non-traditional ones) as well.

But ultimately once I've established my sense of melody for a song, I'll do a 'rough draft' scratch track. By this point, I'll probably have a mood in mind based on the rest of the music. From there, I just hit record, and improv sing... I've gotten alot of great lyrical foundations this way.
It's something about, just letting go and opening your mind, and some really cool stuff will come out.

Once I'm done with the scratch vox (you can do as many takes as you like) I'll go back and listen, and write down what I said. Sometimes it might sound like jibberish, but with a creative mind, you can form phrases and lyrics. A few times I've actually kept my scratch vocals as the final product because the performance or the lyrical content was just dead on! but don't think that will happen often haha

But ultimately having a foundation of lyrical content to revise and revisit (for me at least) makes writing lyrics much easier.
Hope this helped,

Check out my songs at
MySpace.com - Clandestiny - Savannah, GA & Elyria, OH - Alternative / Folk Rock / Ambient - www.myspace.com/clandestinymusic

Matt
Savannah, GA

[Phlipper]

For me, the best way is to GET AWAY FROM ALL RECORDING AND MUSICAL EQPT. Seriously, these are distractions at the best of times, so when you're struggling they are the absolute antithesis to creativity.
For me, a quiet room with the track in my head and peace to hear everything that's going on in mind. If you still struggle, try and imagine yourself performing the track and see what happens.
One other thing... once you start coming up with something DO NOT JUDGE IT UNTIL YOU ARE FINISHED! This is the most common pitfall that stops us songwriters from completing work - we are too quick to judge and edit it and most stuff ends up in the bin long before it should be appraised.
Listening to your track instantly put a vague melody in my mind - but I'd still go to a quiet room to expand on it.

[Auals]

I was a poet before a songwriter, so my songs always start with lyrics, or a line that randomly jumps into my head (for instance, the other day the line "If I looked like John Lennon, I'd be perfect" appeared in my head with a melody line) and so I will write the lyrics and finish the song TOTALLY that way, then decide on music. I figure out the melody on my guitar/piano and then I set about figuring out the rest of it I will figure out the basic chords, and then some more intense ones, whether I want light sounds or dissonance.

I know that Jimmy Eat World does it the other way around. Music first then melody/lyrics.

But as the guy above me says, DEFINITELY wait until you're finished, I have over 1200 poems and lyrics on my computer, I know that there's be almost half that again if I hadn't stopped halfway through a song/poem and then decided I didn't like it, and wiped it.

But to me, my songwriting is story telling, if you write the lyrics to a melody already set, you won't be as... strong, lyrically, as you could be. And to me, Lyrics are just as important as melody.

My favourite bands are Say Anything and Jack's Mannequin, simply because of how well they mix it all together while still making their music sound intense, no matter how simplistic the chord changes might be.