Words
are my life! There are thousands of words and hundreds of thousands of
combinations of words. The words are always my starting point when I sit down
to write a song.
Most
people who wish to write an original song have something they want to say. Something
is on their heart that they wish to share, or they have a unique viewpoint on a
topic or strong feelings about an issue. But they just don’t know how to go
about getting it down on paper.
Having
been a songwriter for over 40 years, I’ve found that the more *creative* you
are, the more creative you *are*. You’ll never create anything if, at some
point, you don’t discipline yourself to face that blank page.
It
may be difficult to get started, but set aside some time when you can concentrate
and remain undisturbed. In fact it’s a good idea to set some time aside on a
regular, if not daily, basis if you are truly committed to writing. Choose your
tools—I still love pencil and paper but often use a word processor on the
computer for speed and flexibility. I have rhyming dictionaries and thesauruses
and other resource material all around my desk area. Close your door, turn off
the TV and the radio, and ignore email and other distractions. Take a couple
deep, cleansing breaths.
Start
by writing your theme, or the topic that you will be focusing on. Usually when
I start writing and have chosen a theme, what comes first is the chorus with
the “hook” —the catchy phrase that people will remember, and which often
becomes the title. (Country music is full of examples of good hooks—Achy, Breaky Heart, On the Other Hand, etc. You may not like the song, but you can’t
forget that hook!) Begin with a goal of writing one small set of lyrics. It may
end up being the chorus or the first verse, or even just a beautifully poetic
line. But put something down as a starting point.
Don't
be afraid to write everything down that comes to mind. Often as I work on
lyrics, I move lines up and down (the benefit of a word processor; copy & paste!)
and keep building the strongest set of words I can. Something might not fit in,
but it will help me think of something else that does. It's not unusual for my
notes of unused words and phrases to be three or more pages long for a given
song!
When
working on a new lyric, I don’t worry about a rhyme scheme. Instead I think of
the most beautiful, descriptive, and poetic words that could be associated with
my topic. In fact, I’ve often been willing to sacrifice a rhyme in order to say
something I wanted to say in a beautiful way. If you have a page full of
poetic, descriptive, and beautiful words or phrases, you will find the best ones
for your important message. Alliteration is another great way to give your
lyric an internal structure that seems like a rhyme scheme.
A
very common mistake is to try to say too much. The main thing is to keep the
main thing the main thing! Pick your topic and explore it, but stay with it. You
can always write another song about a related topic or expound further in a
separate work with a different focal point. (That might be a good use for your
unused words and phrases!)
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Ruth Elaine Schram wrote her first
song at the age of twelve, and her first octavo was published twenty years
later, in 1988. In 1992, she became a full-time composer and arranger and now
has over 2,000 published works. Over thirteen million copies of Schram's songs
have been purchased in their various venues, and Ruth has been a recipient of
the ASCAP Special Award each year since 1990. In addition to Schram's choral
music for church and school choirs, her songs appear on thirty albums (four of
which have been Dove Award finalists) and numerous children's videos, including
sixteen songs on four gold videos, and four songs on one multi-platinum video.
Ruthie's songs have also appeared on such diverse television shows as The
700 Club and HBO's acclaimed series The Sopranos.
Ruthie began piano and theory
lessons at the age of five. She studied music at Lancaster Bible College and
Millersville State College and taught Elementary Music in Pennsylvania for
several years. Schram now lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, Scott,
and they have two grown daughters, Crystie and Celsie.
Ruth Elaine Schram's current published works,
including pieces published by Exaltation Publications, Monarch Music, Laurel
Press, Heritage Music Press, and Lorenz Publishing Company (all Lorenz
companies) are listed on her web site, www.choralmusic.com, with samples of audio excerpts and select pages of
the scores.
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