how do you write your songs?

the "ghost" of W.A.Mozart?

DJ: didn't Mozart also have all the music in his head before writing it down? seems Brian Wilson copied this way of writing ;-)
I recently also had all the stuff in my head before putting it to paper, it was a process of just five minutes. wish this would happen more often, as the melodies really seem to be a lot fresher this way!

smirky
 
I suppose I find my stuff just noodling on the guitar, but eventually it's changed somehow. I always try to do something I wouldn't normally do. Different rhythms, chords I would never use, riffs as opposed to chords or arpeggios... It depends on what's going on. I try to reinvent myself, but not forcing myself uncomfortably to do new things.



Jvasey, Dmaj7/C?!...


...sicko...
 
Hey Prophet

It may look and sound sick on it's own, but try this out.

C D+7/C G G7
0-------2-----3------3
1-------2-----3------3
0-------2-----0------0
2-------X-----0------3
3-------3-----2------X
----------------3------3

That's what I was hearing in my head for a turnaround in the verse. Chances of me using that change through noodling were slim to none. I like getting the song fully formed in my head. It drowns out my dog's talking.
 
TRY THIS

This may sound nutty, but, God, it has worked wonderfully for me as a way of dreaming up new songs. I discovered it accidentally while trying to sleep while my wife was downstairs exercising and playing the stereo (do they still use that word - stereo???) The volume was such that I could barely hear it - not even enough to tell what song was playing. But something in your brain "requires" you to put some form to what you're hearing and, lord, it's like the songs invent themselves in your head. Something about that muffled barely audible sound that is just barely even music causes your mind to fill in in amazingly inventive ways. And it is interesting - I once got up and went down to hear what was actually playing and what was in my head was not even close! Give it a try. Really, the best thing I have discovered for coming up with something new.
 
I've written a few songs "accapella". But only when the melody was strong enough that I didn't lose it later in the song. I would then come add instrumentation to them later using the melody as a guide.

Trak
 
Billykid... Thank you man!!!

Now I know I'm not the only one who writes songs like that.

These days I go to bed with the radio playing at a low volume just enough to hear something, but not enough to tell what's playing. And most of my songs over the last 3 months came about due to this method.

I spoke to a couple of producers about it and they went and tried it. One came the next morning, tired as all hell muttering my name in fury (due to lack of sleep, no doubt) :) The other came back with 4 new songs he'd written that night.

A psychiatrist friend of my father's told me that the brain tries to comprehend everything that is sent to it, and that when it cannot recieve enough information it attempts to guess what it is that is being sent to it. He went on to say that the low level music stimulated this "guessing" process and the songs we wrote were the results of that estimation.

I said "Okay, whatever. It works."

Trak
 
yeah!! isn't it cool????

It's cool as hell isn't it? I mean, a way to trick your brain into being creative. Still you have the challenge of capturing what you've dreamt up - I have a little mini recorder next to the bed that I pick up and mutter into. I have really found it to be a boon to the creative process. Don't write to many huge hits. Leave room for me. have fun. BK
 
I second the sentiments of smirky. To add to this , listening to a radio from a long distance is also cool because you hear the song diiferently. Some new frequencies you might not of heard close up and also your imagination fills in the blank spots - hey presto ... new song. I also agree that keeping things simple helps. I don't conciously do this, but I do make a concious effort not to make songs complicated for the sake of it. I sometimes write from the groin, I sometimes write from the heart. I'm very cautious to write from the brain cause it often becomes pretentious and psuedo intellectual. Alos a great tip is to have a micro-cassette recorder with you always. Every time you get an idea for a tune or you hear a tune that inspires creativity in you, then record it. It's fantastic. You''l have a million tunes by the end of the year ... well quite a few at least.

WOW dejavu. I just posted this and then discovered that the last posts said effectively the same thing. Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo. ( twighlight zone )

[Edited by steve pratt on 10-03-2000 at 22:48]
 
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