Dependancy, mediocratey and evolution.

[jjtcorsair]

This is a really interesting discussion. I've read through most of the posts and agreed with a lot of whats been said. Over the years I've done a lot of thinking about records and songs and art in general and I've only come to one conclusion: it's all subjective.

What a cop out, huh?

To advance the discussion somewhat though, I will throw in that some songs are written for a specific genre and don't translate well to others. Doesn't make them bad songs. Instruments have limitations too, you can't play a minor 7 b5 chord on a clarinet. Hell, you can't play any chord on a clarinet.

I do agree though, when talking about songs that are written for a melodic voice and a harmonic accompaniment, they should be able to work with the simplest of arrangements.

Another observation: In my musical life I've met lot's of different people who write songs and I've noticed that they all boil down to two distinct types: the melodic people and the rhythmic people.

 

[theron]

Cutting observation jjtcorsair,

I'll trade one melodic lung for a rhythmic wrist if you can swing it!


If those are the archtypes, I know where I stand. I don't fully accept it but, I know




Theron.

 

[jjtcorsair]

Recently I was talking to a friend of mine that writes songs. He said he always starts with a bass groove. I couldn't comprehend that. I told him that I start from a melodic/harmonic context and he couldn't comprehend that. I remember seeing some documentary about Elton John (Two Rooms?) and he said that he's a melody person, it begins and ends with the melody.

I'm sure there are those that swing both ways (har har) but most of us approach writing a specific piece in one way or the other. Of course, sometimes I write songs just to play lead guitar.

Jon

 

[Forte]

I recently discovered that I right songs using the beat. I've been trying to write acoustic music for a while, and I couldn't do it - it didn't feel right. I started working on some other songs, writing the drum parts first - the songs just flew out!

 

[crawdad]

here's what i think. if you are writing songs based around an acoustic guitar, it ought to hold up without anything extra. if it doesn't, something is wrong. obviously, other types of musical expression, like hip hop, might not be judged too accurately with a guitar/voice demo. that music is all about the drums and bass. so a line has to be drawn somewhere. i do think that if you are writing blues, folk, country, bluegrass, pop or variations of these, the guitar/voice should give a pretty good idea about the song quality.