I usually start with a lyric or a melody and then build a…

Anything is food for starting a song. A song can start with a lyric idea or a melody or just a sound that inspires.

— Alison Goldfrapp

Usually it's lyric first, but sometimes it's melody. And I carry a hand-held recorder everywhere I go so I can just hum or whistle…

— Hal Ketchum

I believe the right lyric and melody can soar beyond the clouds to the ears of the heavens.

— Jimmie Allen

You can have a great lyric and a so-so melody; it's going to be a tough sell.

— Herb Alpert

'Dawn (Go Away)' is a sad lyric, but the melody is so happy and fun.

— Erich Bergen

I've wanted to do a Christmas song for years but thought every lyric and melody had been written.

— Limahl

I love melodies so it's usually where I start.

— Sydney Sierota

I usually start my day when my kids wake up.

— Anne Wojcicki

I usually start with a title or maybe a little rhyme or phrase.

— Harlan Howard

I usually start with a repulsive character and go on from there.

— Chester Gould

When you forget yourself, you usually start doing something others will remember.

— Tahj Mowry

I usually start with something that has some energy, like a compressed character or a situation that's wound up like a spring. Then all…

— Janet Fitch

That's usually how they start, the young ones. Meaningless waffle.

— Jonathan Stroud

“All good stories usually start at the beginning.”

— The Fifth Estate

Every time I finish a song... most of the time it's in my own head, like this sounds too much like a Townes Van…

— Conor Oberst