How do YOU guys write your songs?

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Robertt8

Robertt8

Well-known member
I think I kind of assumed everyone did it the way I do...

Come up with a cool chord progression and then start mumbling some bullshit words over them until I got something that sounds cool, and then see where the song naturally wants to go for the chorus. So I guess I start with the music and add in the words after. Then I slap in little ditty guitar parts over the general chord progression.

I've tried to put words to music and it almost always sucks. I think the music kind of dictates the words for me.

How do you guys do it?
 
Ooooooooo loadsa ways. Sometimes il be playing a chord or two and just naturally something will come to me and il scribble it down quick. Others il think hmmm i want to write a song like.... (whatever) and work something round the same feel and work the the hell out of the song till im satisfied and often it sounds like something completely different after. Sometimes il get a phrase or a few lines and tailor a song around it. It dont think the outcome depends on the method - they can be good or brilliant. If im writing something i suddenly realise is shit then il stop so my repetoire isnt dragged down.
 
Well I just do instrumentals.

I normally start out with whatever tuning I have in mind, move my fingers around until it sounds good, and then build on it. Sometimes just a different tuning or picking style can inspire me to forde through a good piece.

However, I am convinced that this is the wrong way to do it.

My best stuff has been dreamed up when doing something other than playing guitar, such as driving, sleeping in, etc. I start a melody in my head.....usually inspired by an event in my life..... and then try to capture it on the instrument. I try different tunings and picking styles until I am able to best interperate what I have been thinking of.

Sometimes I can complete something start to finish in a couple hours, and some songs can take years. Normally I write a complete song in about a week. It takes me another few days of playing it over and over before i can play it well enough to where I dont have to think my way through it. I play better that way....not having to look at my guitar. More feeling, better tempo, etc.

I have been writing and recording all winter...I am burned out. I would like to start playing live now but I have to get over stupid stage fright.
 
I do it both ways - sometimes composing first and then lyrics or, usually, lyrics then composing because my strong suit is as a lyricist.

The only consistent thing I do in writing is to spend several hours per day doing nothing but writing, whether it be composition or lyrics. I do write outside of that time parameter when the muse strikes, but I keep that regular time frame daily. Think of it as practice, a work-out, whatever motivates you, but it works for me.
 
i'm always a music first guy........only once have i ever had words first
 
Sometimes I will have a general feel that I want to capture and I will throw my fingers on the fretboard with no regard to theory or chord structure. When a pattern emerges, then I start to work with it, either creating complimentary patterns or drawing from the large well of discarded pieces in my head. Once the structure is down it becomes a novelty that I play at each practice session. If I don't get bored with it, then it is worthy enough to be completed. I will then slap a rough mix together and work on the vocals in the car when commuting from work.

On other occasions I will gather ideas from other songs or themes and work towards making music in that direction. For example, electronica used in soundtrack music has inspired me to write in that style, so at the moment I have a vague idea of the kind of song I want to write. My best music often comes from inspiration from video game music, soundtrack music, or certain vibes I get from styles like doom metal and thrash.

On the rare occasion I will have a melody in my head that has to be captured. I don't keep a recorder with me because this happens very infrequently and I can usually write out the melody on paper if it's that good.

Sometimes I will create stuff based on cool effects processing. I have an awesome bass line created with some weird effect in my bass modeler. I doubled it with a clean tone and it sounds like nothing I've heard before and totally not in my style.

Cy
 
I generally try and have a central theme or subject, then go from there. I too tend to write about relationships ( good or bad).

I most usually have the music laid out and work the lyrics in. But there have been occasions where the lyrics came first.

I still record in the old 4-track cassette mode.

I don't think there is a right way or wrong way to write. Go with your instincts.

I play the guitar,piano, and harmonica. I use drum tracks produced from the keyboard.

When it is possible I use backing vocals but usually it is me alone.

I tend to write simple lyrics, ( nothing to profound or over-reaching), just simple to the point lyrics. I think you can overwrite a song.

3 to 5 minute songs are the norm for me.

I keep a dictionary handy at all times( for spelling and meaning).

I have approximatley 25 songs copyrighted. (c) Hawksongs

I have nothing published but I keep trying.-- Thankfully I am not in it for the money ( otherwise I would starve)

I do have hopes of one day being published though.

Cheers!

drhawks
 
Robertt8 said:
I think I kind of assumed everyone did it the way I do...

Come up with a cool chord progression and then start mumbling some bullshit words over them until I got something that sounds cool, and then see where the song naturally wants to go for the chorus. So I guess I start with the music and add in the words after. Then I slap in little ditty guitar parts over the general chord progression.

I've tried to put words to music and it almost always sucks. I think the music kind of dictates the words for me.

How do you guys do it?
Click to expand...
Hey, who wrote this? Is this me? Who are you....me?

Seriously, that is how I do it. Sometimes I just thumb through a notebook and add some poem to music but usually it's just like that, weird.
 
I think I've used all of the methods described here at various times. It's good to use a variety of techniques in order to produce a variety of songs, because sometimes the method you use will influence the type of song that emerges.

For example, I have an old Moog Prodigy synthesiser from the 197os. I decided to get it out the cupboard, dust it off, and write a song especialy in order to use it on a recording. The sound of the synth suggested a 'space' theme (Star Trek, Dr.Who, etc), so a song emerged with that kind of sound with lots of 'space' sound effects on it. This would not have happened had I been using an acoustic guitar.

One technique I've used, which isn't mentioned here, is to write a song around a well known catch phrase or current saying. eg 'Between a Rock an a Hard place' (the Stones did that one first!). But it doesn't matter if someone else used the phrase first, remember nothing is 100% original. At one stage I really got hung up on the 'originality' thing, rejecting ideas because they sounded a little like x or y. Truth is most of your audience don't think like that - hence the number of sound alikes in the chart! I'm forever hearing chord patterns and rifs from new bands that sound much like what was around 15-20 years ago - doesn't seem to bother them!

Sometimes I have taken a saying and come up with a verse and chorus in my head before even touching an instrument - all the work is done, you just have to find out what the chords are and polish the thing off.

The end always justifies the means in songwriting.
 
Words first. I don't have a lot of musical expericence so its really just sheer blinding willpower that gets me to the point of having a song. Its a lot of work! That's why I am going to music school - to get some fluency in my musical inner ear, and in my hands.
 
Super Song

I usually think of a sentence and then divide each word into sets of three letters. Then I assign them numbers based on their position in the alphabet (1-26). I add up the numbers in sets of three and find a 9th factorial of the total and then find the log of that. I then stand on my head and recite the 3rd, 9th and final verses of 'The Raven', make a fresh chicken salad sandwich and pretend that my name is Lt. Slooky, aftwerwhich I assume that our bodies contain less than 60% water and try to imagine a cure for extreme obsceneness.

But hey, thats just my way of writing a song, I don't expect everyone else to be as cool; its really hard to be.
 
Usually a hook or main theme first, which leads me to build verses around it. The lyrics usually lead me to a melody which leads me to the changes. Sometimes, though a cool riff or melody will flash through my head and the rhythm and feeling of it will inspire some lyrics. Sometimes the lyrics and melody come together. It just depends on how it comes to me – but usually lyrics first. :)
 
A serious case of writers block - which lasted about six months - scared me into developing as many different ways to approach music as possible. Even if the approaches didn't always result in good songs, or songs I could use without being sued, I've always felt it important for me to keep the stream open. I have lots of little exercises, manly to do with lyric writing (which has always been my shortcoming), to get me started. For instance, sometimes I'll open a book at a random place and then write about whatever's happening on that page. I don't do that much anymore though. I digress.

My song writing is a bit different from a lot of the songwriters I know, I write both the words and the music at the same time. They influence each other and give my songs a kind of wandering feeling. It also makes it easy to get away from the whole AABABCAB thing, which is something I've gotten really tired of recently.
 
Re: Super Song

busted_nads said:
I usually think of a sentence and then divide each word into sets of three letters. Then I assign them numbers based on their position in the alphabet (1-26). I add up the numbers in sets of three and find a 9th factorial of the total and then find the log of that. I then stand on my head and recite the 3rd, 9th and final verses of 'The Raven', make a fresh chicken salad sandwich and pretend that my name is Lt. Slooky, aftwerwhich I assume that our bodies contain less than 60% water and try to imagine a cure for extreme obsceneness.

But hey, thats just my way of writing a song, I don't expect everyone else to be as cool; its really hard to be.
Click to expand...

That is one of the coolest, funniest things I've ever read.

An interesting side note: There was an article about Weezer in Rolling Stone a couple of years ago. The interviewer asked something like "How do you write your songs?" Rivers' response was: "It's a fairly complicated mathematical formula that I worked out while at Harvard. I'm not at liberty to share it."

Now, he DID go to Harvard, but it was obviously a joke.

I heard a radio interview with the band about three months later...seven people called in asking about that formula before Rivers finally clarified that it was just silliness.

That having been said, I've often wondered about the relationship between music and mathematics; I'm sure somebody's analyzed the shit out their interface, and written some stuff via varying algorithms or whatever.
 
Re: Re: Super Song

Turnip said:
That is one of the coolest, funniest things I've ever read.

An interesting side note: There was an article about Weezer in Rolling Stone a couple of years ago. The interviewer asked something like "How do you write your songs?" Rivers' response was: "It's a fairly complicated mathematical formula that I worked out while at Harvard. I'm not at liberty to share it."

Now, he DID go to Harvard, but it was obviously a joke.

I heard a radio interview with the band about three months later...seven people called in asking about that formula before Rivers finally clarified that it was just silliness.

That having been said, I've often wondered about the relationship between music and mathematics; I'm sure somebody's analyzed the shit out their interface, and written some stuff via varying algorithms or whatever.
Click to expand...

From what I have read over the years there is a very strong correlation between music and mathematics. Kids that are good at one tend to be good at the other. I’m not sure if it works in both directions or not. It’s been awhile since I read anything on it, but I think it’s a fairly well established theory.
 
Yes....but only mathmaticians like the music, the rest of us think it sucks.
 
Well there may be correlations between music and Maths, but to suggest you can't be a good musicician if you're crap at maths is taking things a bit far.

We have a Maths teacher in our band, and also someone who failed at maths when he was 16 and necer re-sat it (ME!). We both sing, play guitar and write songs, So what does that prove?
 
glynb said:
Well there may be correlations between music and Maths, but to suggest you can't be a good musicician if you're crap at maths is taking things a bit far.

We have a Maths teacher in our band, and also someone who failed at maths when he was 16 and necer re-sat it (ME!). We both sing, play guitar and write songs, So what does that prove?
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Correlation is a statistical term that loosely means that if you’re good at music there is a better than average chance that you are good in math. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t exceptions. There are almost always exceptions to statistical correlations. Plus the correlation doesn’t have to necessarily work the other way.

Plus...just because someone fails math when they are 16 doesn't necessarily bad at it. There are lots of factors that could go into failing something...not trying for example ;).

P.S. – All you math nerds out there – don’t start flaming my loose definition of “correlation”. I’m trying to keep in simple…after all he said he wasn’t good in math :p ;) :D
 
Jagular said:
Correlation is a statistical term that loosely means that if you’re good at music there is a better than average chance that you are good in math. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t exceptions. There are almost always exceptions to statistical correlations. Plus the correlation doesn’t have to necessarily work the other way.
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MATH NERD (who is probably a great musician)!!!!!!!
 
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