Thrown together songs
- Thread starter LeadPaint
- Start date
jonny deep
Disappointing Member
On my PC, I have a folder full of ideas. Sometimes, a whole song comes out all together. Sometimes, I have an idea and I think, that will go well with that other bit I've got stored in that folder. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.
Very often, I come up with the start of a song, but can't think of a chorus to go with it. It's frustrating, but I store it away in case I can put it together with something else. Often, though, it's a sign that it's a bad idea and I should drop it - either it's no good or simply beyond me.
Very often, I come up with the start of a song, but can't think of a chorus to go with it. It's frustrating, but I store it away in case I can put it together with something else. Often, though, it's a sign that it's a bad idea and I should drop it - either it's no good or simply beyond me.
mjbphotos
Moderator
When I (try to) write a song, I tend to put different sections/riffs/schemes together, which sound just like that; different (sometimes unrelated) things put together, instead of sounding like a whole.
Any tips for making compositions sound less thrown together?
I assume this is just the music. What about lyrics - do you write the words after or before getting the music done? Regardless, it's all about the transitions from one place to another, in other words BRIDGES.
I don't write lyrics, it's all instrumental. I really got to work on transitions. Often when I write something, it sounds like one sections ends and another starts instead of it being more fluid.
MrUserNameIV
SenselessActsOfCreation
When I (try to) write a song, I tend to put different sections/riffs/schemes together, which sound just like that; different (sometimes unrelated) things put together, instead of sounding like a whole.
Any tips for making compositions sound less thrown together?
Work on the emotionality. The only right answer with songwriting is if the song evokes the emotion you want it to. Throwing songs together is totally normal, though I think instead of looking at it as this riff or that riff, how does all of it fit together to tell the story that you wish to tell?
Songwriting, even without lyrics is like writing a short story. Even in the instrumental elements, you can do that. The riffs should always serve the story/emotion rather than the other way around (if you're talking about songwriting, rather than making music -there's a difference).
You can string different elements together if they share any common theme. It doesn't have to be a musical theme. It could be tonal, thematic, harmonic, lyrical, concept or whatever. Even throwing in a bunch of random stuff together is fine if it fits the theme (look at much of the production of Mike Patton or Frank Zappa for that sort of thing. . . common theme, but the music is almost random and unrelated sometimes)
phriq
Freon Productions
Do you have any examples we can hear? I agree with most people here, if you are just mashing different idea together it will sound jumbled. Sometimes you either need to alter a previous idea to make it fit with another or you may simply need to abandon it or use it on another song instead. Typically when I write, I have a main idea, or sound, that I want. I may have a riff, or a chord progression I like. I use that and then begin to build off of it as opposed to trying to throw other ideas on top. Sometimes other ideas will work, but they have to somewhat match the style, rhythm, progression, etc of the song. Also, if you are changing keys (modulating), you want to ensure that you are using proper pivot chords and going to a relative key, or else the modulation may sound completely out of place.
MrUserNameIV
SenselessActsOfCreation
Subjective. Contrast can provide a lot of different utilities, including putting elements that don't fit together, as long as you do it cleverly, and with purpose.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
This really depends on what you mean byWhen I (try to) write a song, I tend to put different sections/riffs/schemes together, which sound just like that; different (sometimes unrelated) things put together, instead of sounding like a whole.
Any tips for making compositions sound less thrown together?
and that's rather subjective. In a lot of jazz, classical, psychedelia and progressive rock, you get long songs with many sections. Some really sound like they've just been flung together for the sake of having bizarre time signatured multi~part compositions with solos for everyone. Others sound really cohesive, even though they have many different parts. It's not easy to gauge why one may work and another may not.
I think one has to pay attention how each section flows into the next. That's where the sense is made. It helps if there are parts that repeat, even if you change the tempo, style and genre of the repeated section. But even if there are no repeated parts, make sure that there is an attractive flow from one section to the next. By the time you get to the end, the listener should be so exhilarated that they're not thinking about the middle or the start !