第2021期:The art of songwriting

Singer-songwriters write songs, but how do they do it? Where do musicians get their inspiration from? What comes first – the music or the lyrics? It turns out that everyone has their own way of writing which works for them. 

歌手兼作曲家写歌，但他们是如何做到的呢？音乐家从哪里获得灵感？到底是先有音乐还是先有歌词？事实证明，每个人都有适合自己的写作方式。 

Bob Dylan is a musician with a unique musical style. It has been described as folk rock, gospel, country and jazz. He told the BBC that he gets a lot of his writing inspiration from novels like Don Quixote and Robinson Crusoe. He said 'They give you a way of looking at life and understanding of human nature and a standard to measure things by. I took that all with me when I started composing lyrics'. It seems to have worked for him. He has had a career spanning six decades and has won many songwriting awards.

鲍勃·迪伦是一位具有独特音乐风格的音乐家。它被描述为民谣摇滚、福音音乐、乡村音乐和爵士乐。他告诉 BBC，他从《堂吉诃德》和《鲁宾逊漂流记》等小说中获得了很多写作灵感。他说：“它们给你一种看待生活的方式、对人性的理解以及衡量事物的标准。” 当我开始创作歌词时，我就把这一切都带走了。” 这似乎对他有用。他的职业生涯跨越了六十年，并赢得了许多歌曲创作奖项。 

And what comes first, the music or the lyrics? Stephen Sondheim, a musical theatre composer who died in 2021, said in an interview with The New Yorker that, when it comes to songwriting, the stress in a phrase is very important for him. 'You can start writing a lyric, and then the inflection of the lyric suggests a tune.' Therefore, in his way of writing, the music and lyrics come at roughly the same time. 

音乐和歌词哪个先出现？2021 年去世的音乐剧作曲家斯蒂芬·桑德海姆 (Stephen Sondheim) 在接受《纽约客》采访时表示，在歌曲创作方面，乐句的重音对他来说非常重要。“你可以开始写一首歌词，然后歌词的变化就会暗示出一首曲子。” 因此，在他的写作方式中，音乐和歌词大致是同时出现的。 

In 2022, Taylor Swift won a Songwriter-Artist of the Decade award. In her speech, she said lyrics are her favourite part of songwriting. She describes the majority of her songs as having a 'modern storyline or references, with a poetic twist' and commonly uses real life experiences and conversations as influence. 

2022 年，泰勒·斯威夫特 (Taylor Swift) 荣获十年最佳歌曲作者兼艺术家奖。她在演讲中表示，歌词是她最喜欢的歌曲创作部分。她将自己的大部分歌曲描述为具有“现代故事情节或参考，带有诗意的转折”，并且通常使用现实生活经历和对话作为影响力。 

Aside from lyrics, an important part of many songs is the instrumental backing. This is often created with chords, where at least three notes are played at the same time, often on a piano or guitar. Chord progression is where different chords are played one after the other, and therefore can act as the base for vocals. 

除了歌词之外，许多歌曲的一个重要部分是乐器伴奏。这通常是用和弦创建的，通常在钢琴或吉他上同时演奏至少三个音符。和弦进行是指一个接一个地演奏不同的和弦，因此可以作为人声的基础。 

So, if you're feeling musical, lay down some chords, get inspired and give it a go yourself! 

因此，如果您有音乐感，请写下一些和弦，获得灵感并亲自尝试一下！ 

词汇表

singer-songwriter 创作型歌手
lyric 歌词
folk rock 摇滚民谣
gospel 福音音乐
country 乡村音乐
jazz 爵士乐
compose 创作
composer 作曲家，创作者
stress 重音，强调部分
phrase 乐句
inflection 语调的抑扬变化
tune 旋律，曲调
storyline 故事情节
twist 转折变化
instrumental backing 乐器伴奏
chord 和弦
note 音，音符
chord progression 和弦进行，一连串的和弦转换
vocal 人声演唱部分
lay down 写出，录制