Most people have never written a song and never will. Many wonder, do you start wth words, or with a melody?
There's no wrong answer. But as for Southpaw, our songwriting almost always starts with lyric and melody born simultaneously.
It could be the hook. It could be a captivating verse, but the words seem to call out for their own melody. Like a good horse, they respond better when ridden a certain way.
So begins a songwriting process that involves the three of us in turns--pardon the pun-- fiddling with certain aspects of the song. The arc or the "map" as we call it. The arrangement. The production.
Each member of Southpaw brings something different to each tune. We don't always agree, but we always make a good song better.
Songwriting is a wonderful discipline that can carry over into other areas of creativity. So if you're one of those people that's never written a song, say what the hell, and get on a horse and ride.