Question for the musos

Wrathchild

Wrathchild

Miserable Bastard
Apr 16, 2001
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If you write most of your songs on one particular instrument, how easy or difficult is it to figure out which parts should be played by other instruments?

I was thinking about Beethoven the other day for some reason. Since ol' Ludwig Van wrote the majority of his music on the piano, he must have had a bugger of a time working out individual parts for all the other instruments that would be playing it.

To a layman like me, coming up with a rhythm guitar riff, a lead guitar melody, a bass line, a vocal melody line and a drum part for the most basic three minute rock song sounds like hard work. The idea of writing for a whole orchestra is mind-boggling :eek:.

W
 
Although I play guitar generally I write with everything in mind....

Sometimes the idea comes from the keyboard part and I'll write everything else around, but usually around the guitar parts. Once I have the parts generally I'll make drum & bass tracks on the computer to go with it, which is pretty easy coz you know the sort of groove you want and just experiment with what sounds most effective.

Vocal melodies is what I have trouble writing, I'm not good at them. Verses are fine to write but I can't write a catchy chorus to save myself. Well I can if a 2nd rate generic predictable sound-the-same-as-every-other-song chorus is what I was after, but if I want something memorable like a Livin' On A Prayer then I need a singer to write it with me/for me.
 
If you can hear the part in your head as it should be played on the intended instrument, you can pretty much write it on any instrument if you have enough vision and/or experience, I think.

For things like drums, though, I tend to flesh out the ideas much more fully if I can program them up on a drum machine, rather than just trying to explain them to a drummer with no example.

It's sorta lucky being able to play guitar/bass/keys/drums (to a point, but at least be able to program exactly what you want) and do vocals 'cos you have pretty much everything needed in a rock/pop/metal context covered.

But yeah, basically if you can hear it in your head and you understand how things will ultimately sound when it's played on the instrument you're writing for, you can really write it on any instrument - including your voice!
 
The thing about Beethoven, too, is that he was pretty much stone deaf for the last few years of his life. I too have often wondered how people write whole symphonies on the piano; it's pretty amazing. The fact that he wrote possibly the greatest piece of music ever without even being able to hear it just blows me away.
 
I can speak for Shayne here (since he writes the majority of our music), when he writes guitar riffs alot of the times he is already thinking of drum patterns and bass lines. He is "lucky" in a way that he is quite skilled at midi and home recording, becuase he demo's almost everything he can and then gives it to the rest of the guys to learn. The guitars will usually stay as he has written them, but bass and drum parts are open to interpretation... usually because we can think of something better or the part he has written is technically impossible to play.

Hmm... that second one seems to happen alot lately! :lol:
 
the way I work is I try to find a catchy melody... whenever that comes to me I rush to the guitar and try work it out, then I record it.

If it doesn't bore me within 20 minutes, I'll work on it by trying to find basic chords that fit underneath (I usually work from power chords)

With drums and stuff, I usually fluke my way through them. Whatever fits the mood of the song, and uses dynamics well.
 
I always demo up songs having written the guitar riffs and drum parts on a drum machine. For me it is impossible to write a song without writing the drums at the same time because you don't get any indication of how the song flows without drums. Luckily, it comes pretty natural to me. When I'm writing the guitar parts I instinctively have the drums (and any bass ideas) playing along in my head.
 
lately ive been coming up with things on the piano or my keyboards and go from there but most of the time its usually a guitar riff or bass line i work with


doom on mother fuckers
 
I just go in and say to the drummer, "Hey, I reckon the drums under this part should go 'duh-duh-d-d-d-d-dd-boom-tisssss-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-phashhhhhh'" and move my arms about wildly like I've just been electrocuted. Then the drummer goes, "Just play and I'll figure out what to do" and I shut up.
 
I think it was the late Johnny Cash who said that a sign of a good song is if it sounds good acoustically.

This doesn't have much to do with the subject at hand, but I think there's an element of truth there.
 
I agree that it is a sign of a good song if it sounds good acoustic coz it means the melodies must be strong, but I don't think it has to.

And I don't agree about writing on acoustic then adding the other parts. I'd much rather write on electric with everything else in mind. Depends on the style of music though, but I write songs around the music first then add the melodies, rather than work from a melody.
 
I write all my songs on air guitar first, then I lay down some air drumming.

Then I show it all to myself and decide whether or not to bust out when I'm pissed at the rockape.
 
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