Question 'bout beat

[aerialrevenge]

How important is verbal beat count? By that i mean the beat your words make (with everytime you use a vowel, or open you mouth). I try to count the beats per line and keep it in a patteren. Should i do that? It makes the song sing weirdly. If i'm doing it wrong tell me, i'd like to fix it if it's wrong.

Also, as far as rhyming, does it matter what patteren i use there? As in if i use AAAA, ABAB, and such. Is it bad to mix patterens in a song?

Oh, and another thing. How do you go about writing lyrics without the music being made first? I put together music better then lyrics, so i need help doing that in reverse to make better lyrics that arent forced.

Sorry 'bout the multi-topic post, but it's stuff i've been wondering.

[VanitysNewGun]

first question - usually I'll just write out a stanza (sometimes syllables being the same for every line, sometimes not) and then for every following verse use that same syllable pattern...other times I'll just use the same amount of syllables for every single line......then there's times when no lines will have the same syllables...it's just whatever I'm feeling.

when I'm not following a particular pattern sometimes it's more difficult to let it flow well.

second - about rhyming...I tend to switch it up in my songs/poems...I may start ABAB for the verses then go AABB for the chorus (or vice versa). Other times I'll just use selective rhyming, whenever I feel like a rhyme...I'll rhyme! (some people don't like that, but if it's what I'm feeling..I'm gonna use it.) Or you can go this route too (which some people don't like) which is I won't rhyme the verses but rhyme everything else (usually AABB).

So to me...it's not bad to mix patterns in a song so long as you don't let the song become choppy, keep the flow!

third - I find it very hard to write lyrics to music, I just do...so I'm always writing the lyrics first. I have a very......unique.....way of doing it.

Here are my two methods:

A) I'll start from the middle and work around it...expanding...I'll just get a stanza down that just pops in and say, "ya know...this would be better as the chorus..so I'll build around this." or say "this should be the bridge..." then go from there.....you get it :)

or B) I'll just start writing down words...words that have some association like, um...panic, sweat, paranoia. And then sit on those words for a little bit until the words just start to pour out...that's usually how I'll tend to start, it seems to get my thoughts flowing and also helps me when I have writers block.

Well hope this was helpful and not just a waste of your time!

[aerialrevenge]

Thanks alot. I'll keep up the different rhyme patterens, and I'm sure as can be I'll use that similiar words thing to start out writing. I like that idea. I'll prolly have to read all that again to soak in the knowledge ;p