Waxing Lyrical with Andy Barrett
Waxing Lyrical with Andy Barrett (2014-10-06 17:18:31)
Terry welcomed Andy Barrett on 29 September who was leading the evening’s talk – ‘Waxing Lyrical’ about writing words for music. Andy is a singer and songwriter but apologised at the outset for being unable to sing on the night because of nodules on his vocal chords.
Andy said that in order to write lyrics it was essential to have music or a musician or composer as well. In other words it has to be a collaborative exercise. He compared writing lyrics with writing poetry and highlighted the different demands of each discipline. Lyrics are generally one dimensional, allowing more freedom for the writer with chord sequences dictating the mood of the lyrical story.
Andy gave examples of different song lyrics and defined four song types. Those with a construction of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-middle eight-verse-chorus (Type 3) being the most popular formula for hit songs. As with many forms of writing, Andy said that the opening ‘hook’ was very important in establishing the mood.
Members were asked to vote ‘good’ or ‘bad’ from a list of song lyrics, some of which were standards, which demonstrated how lyrics on their own can sometimes be uninspiring.
Andy then played two musical compositions for which members were asked to supply lyrics. These will be disseminated as MP3s and submissions will be sent to Andy to review and comment upon at his next session on November 24th.
Andy Barrett - music producer, singer, song writer, actor - inspired us with his enthusiasm for lyrics.