I am a guitar player so maybe it is different, but I can't see it being too different. When I write, I know this is going to sound fucking cheesy, I just let it flow, I start playing and when I come up with a riff I like, I fuck around with it until I am happy with it, then I will just play off that for hours writing new riffs to go with it. Usually I will get a song halfway done before I run dry(usually about 4 to 6 different riffs) and then I will go and do something else, like read, or play B-ball or write. In a couple days I will do the same thing, write half a song, I repeat this process so I have a lot of ideas and songs just floating out there, I do this until I play something that reminds me in some way of another song I almost have finished, then I will put them together and Bam! I have another song, it has sometimes taken me years to write a complete song. When I do I bring it to the band and it changes again as everybody puts in their own ideas. When the basic structure and riffs are together, I embellish the whole thing, adding harmonies, and melodies and solos and whatever I think the song needs, this process is ongoing because I can always come up with something new for a song, even if it has been played in our band for years, songs I wrote three years ago are different now because as I got better and better at what I do I would add something. So now I have monstrosities of metal and our other guitar player just quit
I have an Idea though, I want to have our bass player play the main riff harmonies to pitch, like it is a second guitar, i hope it works, I am the last guitarist standing, we had three, my mentor and teacher Johnny Fingers recently moved back to Cali, and on some (read: most) of our songs we had three riffs going on at the same time, so when he left I incorporated my riffs and his, I know what everyone plays anyways so it wasn't that hard, but doing three guitar parts with just me and a bass player, now that is going to be a challenge, I am looking foward too it.
