Composition theory
- Thread starter Rumble
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TravisW
Member
I only really write when inspiration strikes pretty hard, and wind up just writing in streaks, then not writing hardly anything for a while. Last summer, I wrote a ton of riffs. What I would do is force myself to do the "three and out" writing. Basically, once I'm inspired by the initial riff, I figure out how to play it then I record it. Once it's recorded, I immediately write another riff to follow it up and then a third riff to follow that one up. I don't really concern myself with the B and C riffs in and of themselves, but more how they flow from the first riff. Once that's done, if I have any other ideas, I record them and stop. I don't listen to it for a while, and then revisit it. If it seems cool when I revisit it, I already have a framework and context to work from. From there, I replace any riffs that could be improved, and start working out a logical arrangement. Once there's a basic arrangement that flows decently well, I leave it alone until I can work it out with the full band. We record rehearsals, so we can listen back and see where the arrangement is strong and where it is lacking.
It winds up being a little more time-consuming, particularly in the arranging. But, I'm generally happier with the way the songs turn out afterward. Hearing the song as presented in a horribly-recorded band context (1 mic in the room) gives me a bit of a better picture of how it will turn out live, how the dynamics work, etc...
It winds up being a little more time-consuming, particularly in the arranging. But, I'm generally happier with the way the songs turn out afterward. Hearing the song as presented in a horribly-recorded band context (1 mic in the room) gives me a bit of a better picture of how it will turn out live, how the dynamics work, etc...
How do you guys keep things fresh? Don't you give yourselves shit because your songs are too normal or weird or un-interesting. Do you ever think about "what am I bringing to the genre"?
Good music is always fresh. I let music flow and hope people like it... i don't program it: let's put a Rush-like part here... there's already people (DT) doing stuff like this...
Of course I think that. But usually when a good riff just kinda comes to me, I rarely have to trash it because those are usually the keepers. It's the riffs that you try to force to come out that usually aren't fresh and you gotta keep trashing.
I'm becoming more and more selective each passing day. Always striving for better.
Nothing gets on my nerves more than going to a local (sometimes even national) show and seeing a band that you can tell didn't put any thought into their songs at all. Just random riffs after random riffs. Nothing fresh or inspiring and nothing flows.
RiF
Member
IMHO, these are some ingredients of good song writing:
Inspiration/Motivation:
Theoretical Background:
Stick to yourself:
P.S.: Most records really sound like they where composed and recorded in just 30 days...
Inspiration/Motivation:
- Without any inspiration or motivation, you might end up producing meaningless elevator music. Nobody (including yourself) will find this very catching. If you're into highly technical shredding only, you can skip this and proceed to "Theoretical Background".
- Where do you find inspiration/motivation? I start my search in things that have an emotional impact on myself. This can be anything, but for me the stuff that really annoys me works best (everything from politics to people to economics to workplace will work).
- Another source for inspiration can be songs of other bands. Play along or listen to them to get fresh ideas. This is sometimes called "stealing", but who cares... everybody does it. Just add your own stuff to it. This also helps getting out of your usual rut (I tend to do the same stuff over and over again). It also helps me when I get stuck in composing amnesia.
- As already said, give your idea/song a name! That will help focus yourself and prevents noodling around. If you don't even find a name, you will most likely not find a nice chord either.
Theoretical Background:
- Some basic music theory (mainly chords, scales and modulation) is like having a road map to find your way better. You might reach your destination without a map, but the way will probably be longer and you even might get lost.
- A theoretical background helps getting your idea done quickly, coz' you know which scales sound "evil" and which sound "nice" etc. It frees your mind for creative stuff, because you don't have to care about theory so much. Satriani once said: "Learn all the theory and then forget about it" (meaning you just apply theory without much thinking about it).
- Take lessons, surf the web (there's too much stuff for my taste around to get around) or analyse songs that you like.
Stick to yourself:
- Get inspired by others but don't get too much influenced. Find out which kind of music comes from your heart (the stuff that comes automatically) and which comes from your head (the stuff that you want to play). The music that comes from my heart or stomach is not neccessarily the same that I like to listen to, BTW.
P.S.: Most records really sound like they where composed and recorded in just 30 days...
Fox Mulder
The Truth Is Out There
LeSedna
Mat or Mateo
too much to read here but for my part the riffs come to my mind by themselves. My technique is to listen a lot to my stuff, even the days I don't write. And one day a new riff will come, or I'll decide to delete one. Also, don't think too much on theory, it should come by itself and sometimes if you're stuck you can try to change the technique. You can listen to other music, play random stuff on your instrument, write randomly in guitar pro, find a rhytm, or a chord progression, a noise, and one of those things will give you the idea you were waiting for.
I also take ideas from good bands I like. Sometimes a riff that is cool sounds to me that it could be one of my songs riff and it gives me ideas.
And one thing that doesn't work for me is to sit and say "now I write a song". Mainly, my "good songs" came randomly, and sitting thinking I'll have to write stuff mostly just makes me write only a few seconds of riffs.
I also take ideas from good bands I like. Sometimes a riff that is cool sounds to me that it could be one of my songs riff and it gives me ideas.
And one thing that doesn't work for me is to sit and say "now I write a song". Mainly, my "good songs" came randomly, and sitting thinking I'll have to write stuff mostly just makes me write only a few seconds of riffs.
Fox Mulder
The Truth Is Out There
Learn all the theory and then forget about it. Learn it with all your heart, and don't use them. Afterwards, when you compose without theory it's still gonna be guiding you without you even noticing. It happens subconsciously. You just get 'used to it', if you get my point.
DanLights
Santa Hat Forever
Here is how I approach things and it's a little different to what people are saying here so may the different spin can give you some more inspiration...
I write songs for a death metal band, and my number 1 priority when writing songs is that I want people to get knocked on their ass when they see/hear us play it live, so it is often good to have a vision of where you want the song to go, and how you want the song to sound, even after you just come up with the first 1 or 2 riffs. I listen to a lot of music from the particular genre I'm trying to create music for, and then listen to music slightly outside the box, with elements that I think would gel well with death metal, for example...I listen to a lot of Nile, Behemoth, Decapitated, Cannibal Corpse, etc, and then also listen to a lot of thrash and other forms of death metal that might gel well with death metal.
I often come up with a riff and literally think "does this sound like an intro to a song that I'd what to hear in a pit and go nuts to? Or does it sound more like a bridge or a big epic chorus riff?" and I'll usually put drums to it based on that thought. I then just think about how the song should sound...and everything sort of falls into place. If you have a few sections with a lot of blasts in them, try mixing something up with a much simpler riff/drum beat after it to keep the listener guessing. Take inspiration from other bands in terms of song arrangements, and try to stay away from the regular old "intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus bridge chorus" type of stuff.
I'm sorry if this isn't very helpful, but I honestly find trying to have a strong vision of where you want the song to go and what you want the song to become can make a huge difference in how easy songs come together.
I write songs for a death metal band, and my number 1 priority when writing songs is that I want people to get knocked on their ass when they see/hear us play it live, so it is often good to have a vision of where you want the song to go, and how you want the song to sound, even after you just come up with the first 1 or 2 riffs. I listen to a lot of music from the particular genre I'm trying to create music for, and then listen to music slightly outside the box, with elements that I think would gel well with death metal, for example...I listen to a lot of Nile, Behemoth, Decapitated, Cannibal Corpse, etc, and then also listen to a lot of thrash and other forms of death metal that might gel well with death metal.
I often come up with a riff and literally think "does this sound like an intro to a song that I'd what to hear in a pit and go nuts to? Or does it sound more like a bridge or a big epic chorus riff?" and I'll usually put drums to it based on that thought. I then just think about how the song should sound...and everything sort of falls into place. If you have a few sections with a lot of blasts in them, try mixing something up with a much simpler riff/drum beat after it to keep the listener guessing. Take inspiration from other bands in terms of song arrangements, and try to stay away from the regular old "intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus bridge chorus" type of stuff.
I'm sorry if this isn't very helpful, but I honestly find trying to have a strong vision of where you want the song to go and what you want the song to become can make a huge difference in how easy songs come together.
Fox Mulder
The Truth Is Out There
LeSedna
Mat or Mateo
Maamar thank you for the first link. It helped me understand I had understood what a mode is. Everybody everywhere says a lot of shit about it, but in the end some simple and efficient explanation made me understand the whole concept !
Gotta check the other things on this site !
Fox Mulder
The Truth Is Out There
RiF
Member
Thanx for this link, looks like the kind of information I have been searching for for a long time. I covers the exact topics I need to know about and the guy has a very good and compact way to explain stuff.
Theory is just the formalization of music, as studying English is a formalization of verbal communication. It won't give you anything to say (unless you want to be the musical equivalent of the guy who just uses big words for the sake of using big words) but it will shorten the gap between what you think and what you write. Learn enough to explain what you want to write - it may just be a few scales, or it may take you so far into abstract nonsense that you'll be studying abstract algebra without knowing it - but never use it as a substitute for knowing what to say.
Jeff
Jeff
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