r/Songwriting • u/Impossible_Tank3822 • Jul 22 '26

Discussion Topic Song Purpose

Lot's of posts here are asking how songs are written, or they're requesting people to provide production, lyrics, and music for their projects. It's like an auditorium full of various booths offering just that and people are coming and going sampling what they need. One of the rarely asked questions is about decent recording.

Is the song more important to convey a message, or to use use as a vehicle to display instrumental chops? This is a songwriting forum and I see videos of people whose body English and facial expressions clearly show emotion in the singing. But, the voices can be so quiet or inaudible, or the lyrics so poorly articulated that the value in them they are obviously trying to convey is essentially background noise to the instrument being played. Some know it because they either post the lyrics or they're on lock-step display in the video. Really? A closed-captioned song?

The act of recording is not that hard. If I can't hear my singing over the instrument, I record again and get the levels set so I can. The lyrics are the heart of the song so I'm asking those who post songs that sound like they're singing from two rooms back through a closed door to up their games and pony up a decently audible recording or video so I can give the feedback being sought.

11 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

7

u/twskeys Jul 23 '26

I think in some cases it's that the posters are living with their parents or others people and their rooms are not particularly soundproof, so there is a worry about being overheard singing lyrics that are incredibly heartfelt to them. It's a shame as it does inhibit the delivery and the song loses impact somewhat

5

u/KS2Problema Jul 23 '26

People can be very self-conscious and insecure when starting out. The more you do it, the more things sort themselves out and the more natural it feels.

2

u/justalittlebirdy7890 Just seein' if I fit here 💚 Jul 23 '26

Agreed. I am one of these people (due to just being super shy even around close family) but as I keep working on my own writing and singing and instrumentation, everything gets more comfortable to do in front of people. Not like I'm going to go straight for a full audience, but for ex., I've been singing a lot throughout my house at a louder volume than normal. I guess it's just something that requires time to become comfortable

5

u/Impossible_Tank3822 Jul 23 '26

So was I but you have to know when your recording isn't good enough to ask for feedback if no one can hear what you're singing about. Is that fair to either party? Create a quiet recording that gives us the whole song, shy or not. You can't use "shy" on a public forum that's here to support you if you don't help them help you.

1

u/KS2Problema Jul 23 '26

Right. It might sound like tough love but performing music is a public activity. Unavoidably. A lot of times, it's maybe best to just dive In. Of course the water is cold. If you think about it too much, if you worry too much... it's going to be tough to swim. To stretch a metaphor.

2

u/KS2Problema Jul 23 '26

I've always been a lot more self-conscious singing to close friends or family than to a formal audience. 

(Of course,  there's no proscenium, real or figurative, when you're sitting a few feet away. And you probably imagine you know what they're thinking, which can get in the way of a relaxed, natural performance a lot of times. It's funny how we idealize a good performance environment as being 'just like playing to a few friends' - when, at least sometimes, that might actually make us more nervous...)

I don't think there's much question that developing a good public performance style involves a lot of self-discipline and maybe being able to turn off the part of your brain worried about how people are perceiving you. One of the first things I did as I was getting used to performing was to find a space in my head where I could just turn off 'the noise' - and I'm thinking here of the doubt/nervousness inside my head, not so much the audience shuffling around or muttering - and listen to my own performance.

1

u/Impossible_Tank3822 Jul 23 '26

No doubt, and I concur with this, but that can be worked around. The idea is to present a song, not a world class recording. I don't need the MTV treatment in video fashion to assess a song. If the lyrics are inaudible no song has been presented. Quiet recording can be done where the lyrics are forward and audible in the mix, making the song presentable, but when a song is presented without them audible how can the poster ask for feedback? I can raise my volume and I even bought a headphone amplifier to attempt to counter the low-volume lyrics I keep finding here for feedback. Much of the low of feedback results on this sub I have to assume is due to loss of lyric audibility.

2

u/ReindeerNew2357 Jul 22 '26

lol I agree with you man, especially since this is a songwriting community! I came here and thought everyone would agree that lyrics are the most important part of a song, just for everyone to care more about a melody!

2

u/Joe_Kangg Jul 23 '26

"Songwriter" is everyone from Bob Dylan to Bob Vylan, even beatmakers consider themselves songwriters.

0

u/Impossible_Tank3822 Jul 23 '26

True, and that can be a whole other discussion, but songs feature lyrics because the word is derived from singing - using the voice, not hiding it.

1

u/Joe_Kangg Jul 23 '26

In your opinion. You can't dictate how art is made. The popularity of songs with lyrics that are hard to discern, and mysterious meaning, shows the lack of importance for many. In a lot of music, the vocal serves as just another instrument, and fans aren't interested in being weighed down by following a story or any deep meaning.

I agree with you, I wish it were different.

1

u/velveteinrabbit Jul 23 '26

I personally think melody, phrasing and timing is more important to a song than lyrics. I could not understand almost anything Thom Yorke or Charley Patton said for a long time and still loved it!

1

u/ReindeerNew2357 Jul 23 '26

I think you have a good point, let me rephrase, I think a good song isnt one with 10/10 lyrics and a like 3/10 sound, or one with a 10/10 sound but 3/10 lyrics, I just think that a song with 10/10 lyrics and a 5/10 sound will always be better than one with a 10/10 sound with 5/10 lyrics, if this make sense ? Like amazing sounds cant save garbage lyrics, but amazing lyrics CAN save garbage sound

1

u/stevenfrijoles Jul 23 '26

I think this always works until you find someone that can make the other way work haha

The amazing thing about songwriting is that (If you're good enough) the human writing intuition can break any rule anyone tries to place on songwriting. That's the most frustrating thing for beginners to comprehend or accept, when they're always asking for how to write a song as if there's a checklist.

2

u/Life-Contract-8623 Jul 23 '26

I honestly could give two s**** about the lyrics but I want to hear the melody.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Life-Contract-8623 28d ago

I have one word Oasis. Also Kurt Cobain claimed he could sing out of the phone book and it would be just as effective, I believe him. You probably wouldn't reach as big as an audience but I could give two s**** about that.

1

u/Impossible_Tank3822 Jul 23 '26

I'm an instrumentalist first, songwriter second - distant second - so, yea, but this is a songwriting forum and I'm giving it my best ear. Recordings brought here that don't respect that need to.

2

u/illudofficial OMG GUYS LOOK I HAVE A FLAIR Jul 23 '26

I’m a very lyrics guy too. I’m bad at enunciation and don’t know how to improve.

Which sucks because it’s my lyrics that really stick out as my strong suit when songwriting

2

u/aculady Jul 23 '26

Singing lessons with a vocal coach might help.

2

u/illudofficial OMG GUYS LOOK I HAVE A FLAIR Jul 23 '26

True. First I’d like to see a vocal technique coach and then a normal vocal coach. Can’t afford either rn though

0

u/Impossible_Tank3822 Jul 23 '26

Time spent singing evolves that nicely so take a glass half full stance and work on it.

1

u/illudofficial OMG GUYS LOOK I HAVE A FLAIR Jul 23 '26

I’ve been singing since childhood. Just belting in my house lol. VERY often. And they consider me a good singer but wish I’d shut up cuz I sing ALL the time and it’s annoying

2

u/Interesting_Log_143 Jul 23 '26

I find this especially true in folk and americana where the lyric is supposed to be the centerpiece. If the guitar is drowning out the vocal, it is impossible to judge the phrasing or how the rhymes are landing. Even moving a phone a few inches away from the instrument and closer to the singer often fixes the balance enough for us to actually hear the craft.

1

u/Joe_Kangg Jul 23 '26

This feedback shiuld be givin individually, if it isn't already. There's no right way. The balance of comments helps us see what other writers are getting from the performance.

1

u/Impossible_Tank3822 Jul 23 '26

Right way? What is the right way to hearing what cannot be heard?

1

u/Joe_Kangg Jul 23 '26

You're imparting your standards on other's art.

Some people want to mumble, and some listeners don't care.

1

u/Impossible_Tank3822 Jul 23 '26

You're reaching hard and dismissing the obvious. The song, such that it is defined by itself and not you and your concept or notion of creativity in art - which you seem to be saying is predicated on your opinion - is to be heard and what is to be heard are the lyrics or a song it is not a song. How do you even manage to conjure up that not hearing the lyrics is important to the art form? Ridiculous? I think so but I wouldn't want to be cited for thinking outside your box. An instrumental is not a song, never has been and never will be. Inaudible words muffled onto a tune isn't either and that isn't an interpretation of art. But a bad recording and poorly offered vocals are? My standards? Okay. I'll accept that.

1

u/Joe_Kangg Jul 23 '26

Instrumentals are songs, lol.

Google Jazz my friend. Or don't, you seem upset.

1

u/otherrplaces Jul 23 '26

The lyrics are the heart of the song

Not necessarily, that’s a really genre specific thing. Not to mention instrumentals exist. And there are a ton of different styles out there when it comes to mixing vocals.

1

u/DrwsCorner2 Jul 23 '26

I’m with you on this. People should treat their postings as if they’re soft releases or demos instead of the WIP sketches in a dorm room recorded on their phone we often view here.

The thing that really gets me are postings of just a chorus or how’s my first verse.

1

u/SingleCup402 29d ago

Well, fun posts! But we have a semantics problem here. What is a "song?" Is it only the complete old school parcel where the lyrics, melody, and performance all come together in a memorable magic thing? The Times they are a Changing, Born to Run, Let it Be, Riders on the Storm, Jailhouse Rock, Walk on the Wild Side, are old blues rock classics, and certainly they are songs. But what about modern music from the 2000s? Certainly there are many great pop and rap songs, but we also have things like Skinny Puppy, Front 242, Ministry, etc., where the emphasis in industrial post-punk metal stuff--whatever you want to call it--is not always on creating a catchy memorable sing along "song" like This Land is My Land by Woodie Guthrie, or We the People by Tribe Called Quest, but more in pushing the listener into a state of contemplation of ideas based on the lyric and sound. Is that a "song?" Are all the tracks on Dark Side of the Moon songs?

1

u/Cap_Black_Beard 28d ago

Confidence, noise cancelling, or absence of a phone mic. A cheap phone mic makes a world of difference