For example, in Billy Elliot (the musical), Elton John wrote all the music, but Lee Hall wrote the lyrics. How is this possible? Which must have been written first?How can two people write the music and lyrics of a song separately?
Generally, when collaborating musically, one person will come up with an idea for the song and the other will fill in the missing details. For example, Elton John might come up with a basic tune and chord structure, and Lee Hall will write lyrics to fill out the piece. I suspect for a musical, though, that there is a slightly different process. Likely, the pair would first figure out which kinds of songs they wanted to include within the show, and what the roles of those songs would be, so both would have an idea of what themes and motifs to work off of. If I had to take a guess, I would say Hall came up with the lyrics first, due to their importance to the narrative structure of the play. It is generally considered easier to write music for already existing lyrics than vice versa. However, successful songwriting duos have worked in both directions.
I would suggest that they met together and spoke about it, then either worked together or the music was written, then the lyrics (after looking at the music). The lyrics may have been planned before the music was finished, and then adapted. OR the music may have been (at least partially) adapted for the lyrics.
They may also have met to discuss certain parts of the song during its creation, or just worked on one part, then the next, then the next, etc.
I hope that this helped!How can two people write the music and lyrics of a song separately?
Music= melody/harmony/tune.
Lyrics= well, duh.
For example, in Spring Awakening- Duncan Sheik wrote the music, and Stephen Sater wrote the lyrics. They would meet up together and figure it out.
Like if Stephen Sater wrote lyrics to a song he needed a tune for, he'd match it with one of Duncan Sheik's melodies or they'd put one together.
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