How do you write your own songs?

[Episteme]

I just want to know how each of you write your riffs and arrange them.
I myself, have a book where I name my riffs stupid names and just arrange them. This seems to work because my band has alot of riffs for each song.

 

[nergal_S]

I voice lead my songs.

In a Soprano Alto Tenor Bass fashion, 4 line's of music and i then make it work for guitar

 

[maninthebox40502]

Whenever I have a riff all by itself I always just play it in my head during the day and try to come up with a part to go with it or after it and then figure it out on my guitar. Or I'll just jam on the riff and try different things to fcome after it.

 

[Jan-Erik]

Usually in my band we come to the rehersal and sombody say: Guys i have a new cool riff. Then the next person will go: yea me to. Then we all agree on whyt type of riff they are, intro or vers or whatever, then we jam untill we find the missing riffs to complete the song. After that we make an order of the riffs and then we write a text.

Every band member is involved in every little part of the song basicly. Alot of people tell us that we are missing the personal touch to ourr song, but we have the band touch to it instead^^

 

[nataservant]

First I jerk off then I turn on the recording device I may be using and then I play guitar for about an hour. Listen to the different riffs/solos, pick out the shit I like, play it in different tempos and keys and throw shit in some order that I feel sounds good. Then I will just write stuff that comes to my head and attempt to throw that in some way. Then I jerk off again

I don't actually write songs but if I did that's how it would be done.

 

[JonnyD]

I write 95% of my songs on Bass And how I do it is I Just jam untill it sounds right I have a recorder and I normally do this with my drummer We just play untill it sounds right Its not very technical but it gets the job done

Sorry if this doesnt make sense I just got laid

 

[MrMajs]

Usually in my band we come to the rehersal and sombody say: Guys i have a new cool riff. Then the next person will go: yea me to. Then we all agree on whyt type of riff they are, intro or vers or whatever, then we jam untill we find the missing riffs to complete the song. After that we make an order of the riffs and then we write a text.

Every band member is involved in every little part of the song basicly. Alot of people tell us that we are missing the personal touch to ourr song, but we have the band touch to it instead^^

That's how we do it! I think the songs get more intresting if more than one person is active in writing the song because different people have different influences and that makes the song more original.
Does that make any sense?

 

[Sunbane]

*nods*
That's how we've written most the songs in the bands I've been in. Those that were the best anyway.

The bassist in our first band was really talented and would come up with really catchy songs by himself. Too bad he was a lot into sleaze rock. :zombie:

But when he and I co-wrote songs it would also turn out really nice. His sleaze rock influendes mixed with my taste in hardcore thrash/death and this came out as some sort of "doomy" heavy metal.

'bane

 

[Life Sucks]

I'll be fucking around, and then come up with a riff that I really like. Then I try to base a song around that riff, and start writing other riffs that fit together with that riff (same time signature, same mode, etc.).

 

[Lethe78]

I'll be fucking around, and then come up with a riff that I really like. Then I try to base a song around that riff, and start writing other riffs that fit together with that riff (same time signature, same mode, etc.).

That is pretty much what I do as well.

 

[Antaeron]

I wish the rest of my band word that way, but we can't realy sit down as a group and compe up with stuff, all our ideas are just too complex. How we've done it is myself, the other guitarist, and the keyboardist each write most of a song ourselves and then present it to the rest of the band where everyone gives their input.

The way I personally write is usually I'll have a part or two that I've come up with randomly just from jamming, but it'll stick in my head and I'll find myself playing a lot. I start from there and I put everything down in Powertab. A great tool for writing btw, not only does it save your ideas, but it'll export midi, and everything's already in tab for when the lineup changes and the new guy needs to learn the parts. I send tab, midi, sometimes audio recordings, to the rest of the band via email or web.

If you care to hear my latest song I've written before input from the rest of the band check this out: http://pd0x.tripod.com/work.html tabs and midi w/ drums are there. Excuse the MIDI fakeness and my lack of knowledge of drums.

 

[JesusChristPose]

What I do is pick a key and begin to experiment with the different modes of the key chosen. I try different chord progressions and arpeggios of the chords. I find the natural minor to the progression and begin to match a lead with the chord/riff progressions. Sometimes I begin with a lead, therefore writing with the same techinque, but backwards.

I also enjoy writing and playing bass lines along with the 6-string.

 

[Niklas]

i kind of try and get a theme, i start by making up a few bass riffs that would all work together, then in power tab editor i create little fills etc.. i can do guitar stuff too on it, but our guitarist and lead singer like to alter their bits.. :|

 

[JACKO]

just on the topic of writing your own stuff, i have a question:
when writing your own material, do the notes you have in it always have to be from the same scales?

 

[Episteme]

Hmm, I move away from normal scalar formulas. The music I'm writing now is more atonal and abstract sounding, lots of jazz influence.

 

[FrostGiant]

I record everything cuz I'll forget anything. But I take an idea and simply expand on it. Maybe a bass line, little diddy I cooked up on the guitar or a vocal line. Sometimes I'll have lyrics done and create a song for the lyrics, or go the other way and create lyrics for the song. It works better for me if I already have lyrics though.

Once I have a basic structure, that's when I start playing around with it. Different scales, chords, arrangement, harmonies, etc. Eventually I'll settle on something I like and record it. The hardest part is knowing when to stop adding parts so it doesn't turn into a wall of sound.

 

[Anima Lagopus]

There isn't a cookbook for how you can write music, just do what you feel to do. Follow your emotions... Jam until you got some good material, and build further ideas on that..

 

[ShadowOfDeath]

i usually play stuff and mess with effects, when i find something cool i memeorize it and get into it, after a while if i stilll like it 'll put it with a song or shout out random words to write the rest of the guitar and vocals for a song, then i write the actual lyrics and put some bass parts with what i did on guitar, so far i have made parts to a bunch of songs and missing a lot of drums

 

[97reb]

I go with a similar style as FrostGiant. However, it unfortunate, I have not actually written a song in a long, long time. That particular Muse has not been with me. The Muse that allows me to learn multiple instruments is now with me. I have played guitar for near 20 years and tried to play bass before (did not work) and have come back to it. Trying to pick up drums on my brothers kit while he is at college. Been writing and singing songs for 18 years. a lot of people at work say I have a good voice and should try to go pro, they have no clue how damn hard it is, but I grow more and more weary of that rat-race and may try. A little late, maybe, but better late than never.

 

[ImpaledMisery666]

heres how i write my music, i cum up ith like say 2 riffs a day then i look back at my riffs after a week or so and i look for a strong verse chorus and solo rhythem
then i ether make up the other parts or use previous rifs.

most of my songs consist of this structure, intrro, verse 1, chorus, verse 2, break, solo rhythem, blastbeat, interclude, verse 3, last chorus