Skip to main content

Forums » Smalltalk » Song writing tips?

North-Wood

Anyone have some tips for writing a song for a character whom has duel personalities? (Dark side and her regular side)


Plus, any other song tips you want to share with others. :)

Thank you in advance!
Kada

Jot down everything! Words, phrases, cool sounding titles...then when you actually sit down to write you'll have some fuel for the fire. Even write down the emotions your character feels or wants to feel....things like that.

Best wishes!
North-Wood Topic Starter

Alright. My issue is I get a general tune in my head, but then the words don't go with it. I want it to start slow, but then become powerful.
Go listen to music, see how they do it. Some suggestions that might help with what you're going for in terms of tone...

Embers Rise by Miracle of Sound plays with soft/strong a lot.

Eye of the Storm by the Cruxshadows has music that sort of amps up, but the singing stays oddly even against it.

Day 3: Pain or Day 12: Truama by Ayreon toy around with intensity a bit. (Edit: Actually, Day 2: Isolation might be a better one?) In Pain, there's actually one transition that my mind always processes as one voice shoving another aside to just freaking yell at you. The main guy behind Ayreon is also really big on making lyrics available, so if it's hard to understand, it should be easy to look up.

Uh... There are so many songs that do it, but I'm not good at remembering, and I'm pretty tired right now. ^^;
Think of adjectives that describe your two chars. See which ones rhyme. Think of synonyms. See if they rhyme.

After that, use metaphors to build that powerful feeling. "crying a river" that sort of thing, but not as cliche...haha.

Build a narrative. What does the same event look like for each character?













NOW I WANT TO WRITE A SONG TOOOOOO.

Have fun.
Always have a rhyming dictionary page open, and don't be afraid to be flexible if something doesn't work out exactly the way you want. In the case of a split personality, I would listen to songs featuring duet singers engaged in some kind of conflict. "Let My People Go" from The Prince of Egypt comes to mind. The musical "Hyde" is also one I would recommend.

Aside from that, depending on what direction you want to take the song, you might consider having one character sing lines with rapid lyrics and the other with slower lyrics. This creates nice effects if you decide to layer them over one another.

Then again, if the song is merely ABOUT the two sides rather than being sung BY them, then first decide the tone and/or point of the song. Does it play the condition for laughs or pathos (etc)? From there, you can begin to alternate shedding light on each side, either line by line, stanza by stanza, or verse by verse, depending on your preference.

You are on: Forums » Smalltalk » Song writing tips?

Moderators: Mina, Keke, Cass, Auberon, Claine, Ilmarinen, Ben, Darth_Angelus