Songwriting
- Thread starter 53Crëw
- Start date
abyssofdreams
knows what you think.
+1 on all this
What happens with me is that i actually write the music i HEAR in my head first
Not to mention i DIG what i hear
I hear almost everything (bass + 2 or maybe 3 guitars + drums + "scratch" singing), so then i have to rush to my place to write guitars and bass on guitar pro and i write drums and vocals later...
Am i a loony or what ? Is it the same way for someone else here ?
haha, same here! I believe that's the key to emotional/creative writing, also where and when you get these ideas... I often have good ideas pop into my head while showering... guess water is my muse :Smug:
James-Doolan
Member
No easy way out of this one it just takes time the more songs you write the more you will learn and understand try to finish songs out though just writing riffs wont get you anywhere what you want to learn is how songs progress and how are they structured there is no rules as it is art.
BUT
You will learn alot by studying how your favourate bands structure their songs i recommend learning and analyzing other peoples songs in conjunction with your own songwritting as this will give you some ideas you can use and hopefully a better understanding of songwriting. But it takes persistant effort to become good at it and some people will never be quite that great at it no matter how much they try its just not in them.
BUT
You will learn alot by studying how your favourate bands structure their songs i recommend learning and analyzing other peoples songs in conjunction with your own songwritting as this will give you some ideas you can use and hopefully a better understanding of songwriting. But it takes persistant effort to become good at it and some people will never be quite that great at it no matter how much they try its just not in them.
16S
all gods fail...
Nebulous
Daniel
I had to search for and resurrect this thread. I made a discovery today as to why I seem to struggle to write sections/complete songs that I am happy with. I was watching the old Metallica doco's on the Black album (hadn't done so for a while) and it came to me that I'm too use to recording/ creating/ playing music where everything is already written, and the focus is on building it, without having to worry about the other instruments yet...if that makes sense.
One of my greatest concerns is that when I try to write, it doesn't sound natural, or sometimes I feel that it sounds "cool" to progress in a direction, but that it has no wieght to it, no reason.
I really need to get out of this rut!
One of my greatest concerns is that when I try to write, it doesn't sound natural, or sometimes I feel that it sounds "cool" to progress in a direction, but that it has no wieght to it, no reason.
I really need to get out of this rut!
PostMortem1666
Ocean Planet is on burn
how does everyone here tend to write? i normally just use guitar pro to get the idea down and then ill record it later. how about everyone else?
i don't have a formula, because that takes all the fun out of it
but i basically come up with a riff i like...then i ask myself what sort of mood or character it has...then i ask myself what sort of mood i want the song to have, and write something that fits it
but i basically come up with a riff i like...then i ask myself what sort of mood or character it has...then i ask myself what sort of mood i want the song to have, and write something that fits it
You know, I know some people who write with guitar pro, but I can't for the life of me figure out how they manage - I usually just fire up my DAW and get crackin' there, though since I like to use a lot of counterpoint, when I have two pretty different things playing together, I'll use GP to enter in and analyze each and every note and make sure they all fit together nicely. As for my procedure, I seem to remember posting this before, though maybe it was in a different songwriting thread (in the main part of the forum, I think), but I always make sure to not get too discouraged if a riff sounds "eh," because with drums and another complementary guitar riff over it, everything changes and it often becomes one of the best things I've written. Also, I sometimes program drums first, which gives me a foundation to come up with ideas over.
Nebulous
Daniel
Ermz
¯\(°_o)/¯
Likewise. GPro involves too much sitting down, typing, and trying to structure things in MIDI without really feelin it.
When you record, you can pull up the sort of textures you want straight away. Sometimes a certain tone or sound was crucial to the part, and I just couldn't do that in GPro.
Machinated
Member
Haha, so you can get motivated by being bitterly jealous that you're not the one up there playing your music? Cuz that's what always happens to me when I see my peers playing.
Djabthrash
Member
Haha, so you can get motivated by being bitterly jealous that you're not the one up there playing your music? Cuz that's what always happens to me when I see my peers playing.
haha
i see what you mean dude 
-J-
Member
- May 7, 2007
- 956
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save all your riffs. cell phone, garage band, 4-track, anything. ALL of them. at some point, go through them and pick out 4 or 5 that seem to have a similar vibe. start programming drums and arranging them. through that process, some new interludes, riffs, or transitions come out during the arranging. next thing you know, it's a 5-minute long song. record it, and repeat.
usually, I'll throw a "curve ball" somewhere in the middle that has a totally different vibe, tempo, whatever. gotta have a surprise in there.
usually, I'll throw a "curve ball" somewhere in the middle that has a totally different vibe, tempo, whatever. gotta have a surprise in there.
Machinated
Member
Haha, so you can get motivated by being bitterly jealous that you're not the one up there playing your music? Cuz that's what always happens to me when I see my peers playing.
Haha too be honest I barely find the time to play anything myself as I'm so busy guiding others on how to play their instruments! The band I'm working with right now is cool, as I can get much more involved with song structures and arrangements as I have less to worry about performance wise.
For the guys interested in the hi-hat and related...The Drum Book: The History of the Rock Drum Kit (Geoff Nichols, 1997)...a good read.
Jevil
Pro Evolution Fucker
I always have my mobile phone with me, so wherever I am and inspiration comes, playing guitar, whistling or whatever, I can record it with the phone so I do not forget.
Then I record it at home on Cubase.
This riff/melody inspire me for the rest of the song, some times it goes fast, other times can pass months till you writte another piece of song. I like to include always doubled solo guitars with strong rythms and good melodies.
If I'm not sure about a riff or melody, I delete it.
Then I record it at home on Cubase.
This riff/melody inspire me for the rest of the song, some times it goes fast, other times can pass months till you writte another piece of song. I like to include always doubled solo guitars with strong rythms and good melodies.
If I'm not sure about a riff or melody, I delete it.
Vincent J.
Member
For me songwriting is always pretty easy.
When I've got a certain melody on whatever instrument I start building other instruments around it,
while I already know what kind of ambience or style I want to create. What's important here for me is to make sure the different instruments must have something to do with eachother. You can't of course randomly place different things under eachother. It usually works very well to have some common accents that most of the instruments share.
Or think about some nice intervals between bass and guitars for example when there's notes falling together.
Then I've usually got the base for an intro or verse.
After that I listen to what I've got and imagine what I would like to hear after that part. Do I want the music to break loose, or do I want something calm?
Do I want the same thing again with slight changes before going to a big change (like the chorus)? You've just really got to listen to what the song needs.
I think -unless you have a good reason- you should at any time keep the song interesting, by adding little subtle things when repeating the same part, and by creating a steady verse-chorus contrast. It's good to use a bridge too (when you use a modulation you give the song a nice twist. Don't overdo it though).
I guess there's not much that can go wrong when you build a song in the standard structure like: Intro, verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro
Just make sure there's enough difference in chords and everything, so it doesn't get boring.
When you decide you don't want anything standard like that, I think you'll just have to see the importance of using certain melodies and rhythms that come back throughout the song and stuff.
Also beware when you're focussing on only one part of your song. You should pay attention to the song as a whole. You may write a great bridge and be happy with it, but when you listen to the whole song you can come to find that it doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the song...
Well, I hope you can get some useful info out of this
When I've got a certain melody on whatever instrument I start building other instruments around it,
while I already know what kind of ambience or style I want to create. What's important here for me is to make sure the different instruments must have something to do with eachother. You can't of course randomly place different things under eachother. It usually works very well to have some common accents that most of the instruments share.
Or think about some nice intervals between bass and guitars for example when there's notes falling together.
Then I've usually got the base for an intro or verse.
After that I listen to what I've got and imagine what I would like to hear after that part. Do I want the music to break loose, or do I want something calm?
Do I want the same thing again with slight changes before going to a big change (like the chorus)? You've just really got to listen to what the song needs.
I think -unless you have a good reason- you should at any time keep the song interesting, by adding little subtle things when repeating the same part, and by creating a steady verse-chorus contrast. It's good to use a bridge too (when you use a modulation you give the song a nice twist. Don't overdo it though).
I guess there's not much that can go wrong when you build a song in the standard structure like: Intro, verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro
Just make sure there's enough difference in chords and everything, so it doesn't get boring.
When you decide you don't want anything standard like that, I think you'll just have to see the importance of using certain melodies and rhythms that come back throughout the song and stuff.
Also beware when you're focussing on only one part of your song. You should pay attention to the song as a whole. You may write a great bridge and be happy with it, but when you listen to the whole song you can come to find that it doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the song...
Well, I hope you can get some useful info out of this
