Doubt Quote by Washed Out

The music comes first. Final lyrics are usually written very close to recording the vocals.

— Tobias Forge

If I hear a song that I like, my first instinct is to find out about who made it.

— Chris Martin

Some songs started from a bass line, some started from having the full lyric and Jim, my drummer, who's also the first guy I've…

— Paolo Nutini

Every writer writes in different ways, and so some write the music first, while others write the lyrics first, and some write while they…

— Valerie June

Almost all the producers I know and dig, like Quincy Jones or Brian Eno, are really musicians first. I'm a composer, an orchestrator, an…

— Nile Rodgers

There are a lot of producers who basically have their sound, and if the artist works with them, you almost know what the record's…

— Jon Brion

[The lyrics and melody] usually come a little simultaneously, but I would say the lyrics are first; usually I have the idea for a…

— Billy Bob Thornton

From the engineer to the producer, all of these roles are critical to creating a song.

— Russ

That's why I try to stay away from the big-name producers, so I can prove that it's not about the producer, it's about the…

— Sisqo

The vocals are what immediately draw people in and sell the song.

— Jerry Harrison

There are so many different things that lend themselves to what makes a song magical, that go beyond just the lyrics or the composition.…

— Michelle Zauner

Usually [the lyrics] go from one word to the next word - there's no finish line. The music was that way, too.

— Stephen Malkmus