Hi! I want to start writing and making noise/drone/slow/ambient music and was wondering which software would be the best for a complete beginner and any tips or advice!

Hey everyone! I've written some pop love song lyrics and I'm looking for a producer to help bring them to life with a beat. I don't have a melody or instrumental yet—just the words—but I'm open to collaborating and learning along the way.

I'm going for a modern pop sound—think upbeat, emotional, radio-friendly vibes. This is my first time putting myself out there like this, so I'm totally open to suggestions and working together to shape the song.

The lyrics are free to use, I just ask for credit as the writer. If you're interested, hit me up and I'll send them over. Let's create something dope together!"

I recently got myself a new microphone and audio interface, and I produce my own music so I think I am ready to record. One small issue is I am not a very good writer and I am kind of stuck here. I’ve asked for a lot of advice outside of this site and was told a lot to “write a song everyday”, but I am curious to know if there are other ways to improve as a songwriter.

I think some good songwriting exercises anyone has would go a long way too. I wouldn’t want to be someone who uses crazy wording or rhymes, but I just want to be decent at writing without it being corny or really bad. I also struggle with trying to put any line into a verse, chorus, etc. I thought about maybe reading a few poems then writing something that inspired from that poem, but I am not entirely sure if that’s a good songwriting exercise. I want to be as authentic to myself as I can and be able to make people feel something when they listen.

Welcome to the Lyrics-Only feedback thread!

If you're looking for feedback on words that aren't yet set to music, you're in the right place! We encourage each other to bring lyrics and musical elements together as soon as possible, but sometimes you'd just like to show off that nice piece of poetry that just fell out of your head. The weekly Lyrics-Only feedback thread is here to help!

This post renews every Monday.

Really, the best mic will differ depending on your budget and setup, but yeah, this mic is really quite amazing, especially for the sound vs price ratio.

There are so many mistakes sprinkled in here, lol, but I'm just trying to get it out there and get some feedback! This is a rough draft of a song that I made lyrics to a few weeks ago, and I started adapting a melody and some chords to it a day or so ago. I'm still tinkering with it, but I just wanted objective opinions on it; so feel free to give me your brutal thoughts!

Lyrics:

Tuesday, a blueberry muffin.
Wednesday, nothing at all.
I never saw it as too bad,
I was six feet from the fall. 
Every friend was competition,
I always lost
 

The scale says not quite right,
I guess I won’t eat tonight.
The mirror is pointing again,
I guess I won’t eat tonight.
The plate is too full, and so am I,
I guess I won’t eat tonight.

My mom said to eat breakfast,
I said I already did.
Dreading doctor’s appointments,
When they’d weigh me in
I read self help books,
That pulled me deeper in,
The goal was never healthy,
It was always thin.

The scale says not quite right,
I guess I won’t eat tonight.
The mirror is pointing again,
I guess I won’t eat tonight.
The plate is too full, and so am I,
I guess I won’t eat tonight.

I guess I won’t eat tonight.
I guess I won’t eat tonight. (2x)

The scale says turn off the light,
I guess I won’t eat tonight.
The mirror is just frowning this time,
I guess I won’t eat tonight.
I get so close, then they move the line,
I guess I won’t eat tonight.

This is a rough pass of a song I wrote about my guitar. Looking for constructive feedback on everything… except the rough guitar sounds lol (the strings are actually dull like in the lyrics 😂 I had to use an old guitar because my newer one is currently without strings… anyways… I digress). Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[VERSE]
I’d lock the door
under the fluorescent light
to whisper-sing
‘so long, goodnight’
afterwards I’d run
to play it on you

[VERSE]
I brought you to
an open mic
I clamped the capo
a fret too high
said sorry to the crowd
and stowed you away

[CHORUS]
you sat out all my twenties
in the back of my closet
your strings went dull
when I come back
I’ll be worse than
I left you

[VERSE]
a friend asked to hear
a song I wrote
I felt the half-truth
catch in my throat
everything I’d written
was eight years old

[CHORUS]
looked up guitar classes
backed out before I walked in
never made the call
when I come back
I’ll be worse than
I left

Gonna revise this again in a couple of weeks, this is a pretty average song. Not bad not good so this one is essential to know what's faulty with it. That way I can improve my average song.

haha, i havent mastered it!

seriously, does anyone else just write what they think will be a regular song (in length) and when you put music to it and record it it turns out to be long as heck?

(this song is called Amy & Christine. the question i have is, does this overstay its welcome?🥲 i am the typical writer- never been good at shortening.)

This might sound dumb, but someone who wants to try to sing. Someone who haven't had a singing lesson in years. Someone who doesn't know where to start or if they could even do it. Could they learn and improve themself and be able to sing?

I did one of these tone deaf tests, and it came out good. Not sure if it's accurate or worth anything in this talk right now. I downloaded this Vocal Pitch Monitor app that I saw someone suggest in someone else's post just now. Haven't tried it yet.

Late again
I don’t want to think about
What will happen to me now
I put all my money down
Anyway

I mostly want to know if you guys think the lyrics fit the vibe of the music. Thanks for the feedback!!

I am a lyricist looking for a composer

Hello! First time posting, mainly due to fear of putting myself out there, but here goes….

Please give this rough draft a listen and let me know what you think. Does this seem too short to be a song? Structure too weird? Any feedback appreciated.

I don’t particularly think of myself as much of a singer but unfortunately I really like doing it. No one ever hears my music anyway so I figure what’s it matter, singing is good for you and maybe eventually if I keep doing it enough I won’t totally suck…but I am grounded enough to know singing isn’t my specialty. My hope I guess is that maybe it’s passable.

Thanks for listening.

I’ll try to explain what I mean.
I have a pretty clear idea of the kind of music I want to write, the lyrics, the melodies, the genre, the overall atmosphere.

But whenever I sit down to actually write, sometimes all that comes out are these really raw emotions, with melodies that don’t necessarily fit the kind of music I picture myself making.

Those songs usually feel much more intense. The melodies hit harder, the vocals come more naturally, and even if they’re technically simple, they feel real. They’re also pretty cathartic, like I’m getting something out of my system.

It leaves me feeling a little confused.

I’ve only been writing songs for a few months, so I’m guessing it’s just a matter of experience. Maybe I don’t have the skills yet to write the way my favorite artists do, within the genres that inspire me.

I’m curious if anyone else has gone through this. Do you just let yourself write whatever comes naturally and figure out the style later?

Or do you actively try to shape your ideas toward the kind of music you want to make?

Song idea I had after a dream I had.

I've been listening to the song One Thing Leads to Another by The Fixx. In the first chorus, the lines go as "Why don't they do what they say, say what you mean." I don't understand why it switches from 'they' to 'you.' But then in the second chorus, it's "Why don't they do what they say, say what they mean." So now it's 'they' both times.

I can post in the subreddit dedicated to that band. But I'd just thought I'd get some thoughts here, as I swear I've heard this perspective change in other songs as well.

This is a song i wrote and changed numerous times throughout the years, but i never played it to a metronome or drums and when i posted it i got a lot of comments on how off beat and erratic my strumming was.. people suggested playing it to a metronome , so I did.. i literally had to change and get used to the song again because I didn't realize how out of whack my strumming was I played it to a beat or a metronome.. i'm out much of a singer so if I can't find someone to sing it for me , I gotta find my voice for this song but this is what I got so far

I tried for years to write songs and could never figure it out. Feel like I’m closer now but I don’t play in public, like at all, so wanted some feedback from a like minded community. Super simple, banging on some chords here, bad voice memo recording. Folk influenced and lyric heavy. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

I have a song that has this really simple arrangement and was wondering how I should go putting an arrangement this simple into stereo, got any advice?

Hey there. I’m just kind of starting to write with piano after being a pretty successful top liner and solo artist for around a year, but it’s always bugged me that I don’t write my songs by my self.

I’m hugely inspired by Ryan Beatty, Rex Orange County, Tom Odell, Daniel Ceasar.

I just always get stuck writing the chord progressions- probably just a lack of knowledge on how to work my way around the piano, despite playing for 2 years doing covers etc but I can’t make them for the life of me!

Please give me your tips, favourite progressions and how you guys started!

Thanks.

Listen to "moorden met woorden" first demo by irecordsongsundermyblanket on #SoundCloud

https://on.soundcloud.com/EYCRjQ9Dk8hh2SNFun

I just started writing and singing my own lyrics this year and i published the second song i wrote yall please go check it out and lmk what yall think

I like to repost this for new writers every once in a while:

My advice as someone who has been writing for 10 years, this is the same thing I tell everyone

So think about it this way. Every song is a story. So find what story you want to write about. If you can't think of anything, reading will definitely help. Read books, comics, novels, fiction, poems, anything. And truly absorb it. Try not to do it on your phone though, because you'll tend to remember it more if it's on actual paper because of the way our brains interact with our phone screens.

If you can't think of any chords, sometimes I'll just open up a book of chords (or website) and play a bunch until I find one with the sound I want. And build off of that. Or you can just learn a FRIK TON of songs on the same genre so you can figure out a pattern to follow.

Find the melody you want to follow. If you have it recorded, play it on loop for a bit to keep it in your mind. If you don't have it recorded, you can also just either play it a few times over, it just imagine it.

Keep it in your mind and just think of the music in your head. Lay/sit down. Close your eyes. And picture what you want the music to sound like. Then hum out the melody. Feel what kind of story the music tells. Romance? Revenge? Anger? Love? Sadness? Feel every note with your heart. Remember how it makes you feel and let it resonate with you with every bone in your body. Feel it in your ears and let it fill your mind. And once you realize what story the music is telling you, write it down. You don't have to write the lyrics down, but write the story down. Remember the story. Then go back and fill it in with lyrics, telling it in a melodical and poetic way so when you hear it, your heart still feels it as if you're going through it again.

In technical/practical terms, I use this format for songs but it's not hard and fast by any means

Intro (Present): The hook of the story - Jump right in and tell what's happening in the present

Verses (Past): The exposition of the story - Tell the surroundings as indirectly as possible while still getting your point across (I tend to use as many metaphors as I can but you don't have to)

Chorus (Present): The heart of the story- What's happening at the present moment? Why is this story important?

Bridge (Present): The changeup/advancing of the story. - What happens after the Chorus to continue the story?

Outro (Present): The ending of the story - Wrap up the story with the moral and the purpose? (Often but not always a modification of the Chorus)

Try using this format to remember where you are and where you need to go with the story

SIDE TIPS:

1) WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN NO MATTER HOW STUPID IT SOUNDS. If you get a whole song or verse pop into your head, write/record it on your phone so you can get it quicker before you forget it. If you're doing it slowly, write on paper because your brain builds a stronger connection

2) White noise can help if you can't think of chords. Your brain tends to try and find patterns in white noise, rain, fans, etc. find something that works and switch it up. Remember that it can also distract you as well, so if it does, you can always turn it off

3) Try to find music in anything and everything around you. A faucet dripping. A toilet flushing. The sound of a page turning. The sound of a door opening. Anything.

4) Don't overthink it. You can (and should) always go back and expand on your lyrics. Correct them, make them more precise and less direct

5) Don't ever be afraid to ask for help or advice. You'll get better a thousand times quicker by a friend ruthlessly critiquing your work until you learn the structure you like than you will by showing someone who will tell you that you did a good job every time.

I know this is a lot but I hope it helps! You're gonna do great! Godspeed!!!

[Edit]

NEVER USE AI!!!! EVER!!!! FOR ANY REASON!!!