SongBay Blog

Songwriting thought of the Day

Lyric Speed

Lyric SpeedLyric Speed

Have you given thought about the tempo (speed) and the type of rhythm/ groove of the song that will work with your lyric? So, when writing a lyric, at the outset, a lyricist  should think how the words are going to work/interact with other instruments, singers, melodies, harmonies and rhythms, etc It's important to have a clear idea: of the speed of the words, the style of music required, and if possible, a rough idea of the type of melody and a rough idea of the rhythm/groove emanating from the words. It makes things much easier when pitching your work to  songwriters looking for lyrics- “Hey,  I’ve got the perfect lyric for your music, here’s why,,,,,” (you we really sound like you know your stuff! If you haven’t thought about this - you might want to read this article: How to write the Perfect Lyric >>  


Featured Artist Martin Hampton

Martin Hampton at Songbay

Featured Songbay Artist: Martin Hampton This week we take a look at the work of the runner up of the 2020 Songbay Lyric Writing Competition – Martin Hampton.   “How did you get in to songwriting?” I was given my first acoustic guitar and a John Pearce learn to play guitar book when I was eleven. I drove everyone mad by trying to learn ‘She’ll be coming ’round the mountain’. My fingers were red raw afterwards! Around the early 1970’s  I was introduced Continue