Lyrics :

     If you look to the right, you can select a song to read, and in some cases, my comments.

     For some reason I find it tricky to write music and lyrics together. There's something about having to juggle the two that I find limiting and weird. Making music and writing lyrics is a challenge enough as it is. I have a lot of music that I've composed and recorded, and quite a lot of lyrics written, so it's not too hard to match words and music together, and it's relatively easy to modify one or the other to make everything fit. Here's how I generally go about writing lyrics :

     First, i start writing down ideas based on the basic concept which i may have for a song. As i do this, i decide precisely what the song is to be about. My aim is to establish every point that needs to be made. If something sounds good but it doesn't work, i'll either abandon it, modify it, or keep it as it is but this means having to change the whole direction of the song. The bottom line either way is to have an outline for a song to work on, with no irrelevancies.

     As soon as im clear on this, i go over what ive got and i decide how the song needs to develop from beginning to end, and therefore how it needs to be structured in terms of sections (ie verses), and what ideas belong in what sections. So as i keep adding more ideas, words and phrases, i can easily see where in the song they belong, or if they don't belong at all. As for the song's title, my aim is to have one that sums up the point of the entire song.

     When turning those basic ideas into actual lines, there's a lot to consider, particularly rhyming. At some point i decide on who is the narrator (storyteller) of the song, are they thinking or talking, when in time the action of the song occurs, and the setting. Also, I have to think about the style of language and the use (if at all) of imagery or figurative language. In many cases an original idea will be good enough as the final version of the line, and this makes it easier as I can build on that.

     As I keep editing and rewriting the song I make sure that there is clarity in each line and that every single word is relevant. I usually rewrite a song at least 4 or 5 times before im satisfied with it. Its very important to get certain technicalities established early on to avoid major problems later, and it frees me up to be creative as I have a good framework to build on. There are many aspects to good songwriting, and I highly recommend "Successful Lyric Writing" by Sheila Davis.

Music :

     Since about 1997, I've composed and in one way or another recorded about 250 - 300 pieces of music. Some of these are incomplete, and a few are just brief grooves or general ideas which could be turned into something more, or pieces of music which I know I'd like to change considerably. That's why it's hard to say exactly how much completed music I have, as anything can be developed, and even changed. However, I've only made available music which I consider complete enough for you to enjoy.

     If you want to hear my music right now, use this player below. It should work fine but if you have any problems, go to www.reverbnation.com/rafaelperez and use the player there.

Feedback :

     I always like to get feedback on my music and lyrics, so if you've heard and read enough to have an opinion and you'd like to comment, or you just want to get in touch, you can :

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