JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback Lyric Feedback Forum 3 Attention New JPF Lyricists: Please Read First!

Welcome to JPF. I suggest you do the following:

1. Post only 1 lyric at a time. Wait for people to respond to that one. Make sure you place the title of the lyric in the subject of the post (see examples by your peers).

2. While waiting for responses to that single lyric, check out some lyrics by other writers and offer your thoughts on what works well, what does not and how you think it might be improved. If you keep at least a 5 to 1 ratio of feedback on other lyrics to each lyric of yours that you post, you stand the best chance of receiving feedback. The better and deeper your comments are, the more others typically will offer in return as well to you.

3. Make sure that you engage and acknowledge the people who respond. That has many positive effects, so please just take my word for it for now.

4. Once a few days has passed, and the comments have slowed down on your first, (or if no one responds which often indicates they just weren't interested in it for whatever reason, which happens to nearly everyone now and then (including me), then post a second and repeat the process.

5. Always remember that you are ASKING for people's opinions, so if they say something you disagree with, it is fine to ask a follow up question, but unfair and self destructive to go on the attack (which is the single biggest newbie mistake when they go seeking opinions). If you think someone is being mean or is just crazy, the best response is to acknowledge their time (which is only fair) and then choose not to take their advice (though don't SAY it!).

In general, I find feedback rarely sinks in immediately, nor does it have to. If you find a pattern of similar comments about your work, especially good or bad, you may take them more seriously and try adjusting on the next one to see if it works. The fun thing about lyrics is you can write the very worst ever written and hit a home run the next time out. (I know I have done that for sure).

Just keep writing, observing other peoples work (where you learn far more about writing, good and bad than any number of critiques on your work, though often it is hard for new folks to believe that is true).

This is general advice I have given many others. I've been doing this a long long time. But if you disagree, try it your way and see how it works.

Good luck!

Brian

Well said, Brian:

I hope this helps some of our newer lyricists and song-writers to understand the process.

Thanks, ----Dave

Not having posted in a long, long while I'm hoping that writing lyrics is something like riding a bike where, you don't really ever forget, you just know it isn't as reflexive as riding when you've been doing it every day. Just noticed riding and writing rhyme fairly well.
I guess we'll see. See y'all out on the cybernetic parchment.
Peter_Larsen