B
busted_nads
New member
Just for the record, following my previous post : I'm pretty good at maths, but I'm a loser with music.
Jagular
Active member
Turnip said:
I'm a CPA too
M
Monkey
Cabin boy
One problem I have had is the tendency to start playing familiar-sounding guitar chords and ending up with familiar-sounding tunes. I can break out of the mold if I come up with a tune independantly, just walking around or whatever. Then I come back and before I can lose the idea by trying to find chords and tweaking it to fit what I play, I record me singing it by itself. I keep a seperate directory called "scraps" for wavs of ideas or unfinished songs. Once it's recorded I'm free to try to figure it out on guitar or, if the muse quits, leave it alone for a while and try again some day.
S
Synesthesia
New member
Well, since I'm a complete Newb, I'm not sure my opinion counts so much, but since I've actually been writing songs for some length of time, I figured I'd lend my two cents...
I usually (almost unfailingly) start with the music first. Mostly I'll come up with a cool chord progression on the guitar first, or I'll think up a melody in my head, then add the chord progression to it. Then I'll come up with a rough mental sketch of where I want the song to go, such as the emotional impact or feel I want the song to have as a whole. Then I'll draw up a song structure. Then I'll actually write the song in musical notation. Only then will I add lyrics to the melody, trying to keep in mind the original feel and/or emotions I wanted to evoke.
After having numerous discussions about songwriting with various people, I've found my approach is rather different from most rock musicians'. Oh well. I only do what I know...
I usually (almost unfailingly) start with the music first. Mostly I'll come up with a cool chord progression on the guitar first, or I'll think up a melody in my head, then add the chord progression to it. Then I'll come up with a rough mental sketch of where I want the song to go, such as the emotional impact or feel I want the song to have as a whole. Then I'll draw up a song structure. Then I'll actually write the song in musical notation. Only then will I add lyrics to the melody, trying to keep in mind the original feel and/or emotions I wanted to evoke.
After having numerous discussions about songwriting with various people, I've found my approach is rather different from most rock musicians'. Oh well. I only do what I know...
bdbdbuck
New member
Well, I've been watching this thread....trying to analyze my writing. I've come to the conclusion that I really don't have a set way to write. Most of the time it seems to be lyrically driven though.
I find that I come up with a lot of stuff while driving......maybe that should be included in the formula......is there a formula?
bd
I find that I come up with a lot of stuff while driving......maybe that should be included in the formula......is there a formula?
bd
joro
The Pie Guy
Well...I only know three chords.....the good ones...ya know?
and I use a paper and pen to rite the werds.
That's how I do it...........
Y
YKW
New member
Sometimes I'll just come up with a title that sounds catchy and then write a whole song around that... Then add music
Sometimes I just add lyrics to some beats that I've produced, tryin to match the tone of the song to the lyrics...
And sometimes I'll just start freestyling in my head and come up with a good first line, then start writing from scratch...
And lastly, sometimes just write a few bars of a song, get tired, leave it there for a few months/years, then come back to that song one day with a fresh mind to write and try to finish it. This one usually don't work so well because I have about 50 or so songs that are half-way written, may or may not ever be finished....
Sometimes I just add lyrics to some beats that I've produced, tryin to match the tone of the song to the lyrics...
And sometimes I'll just start freestyling in my head and come up with a good first line, then start writing from scratch...
And lastly, sometimes just write a few bars of a song, get tired, leave it there for a few months/years, then come back to that song one day with a fresh mind to write and try to finish it. This one usually don't work so well because I have about 50 or so songs that are half-way written, may or may not ever be finished....
G
glynb
Balladeer
"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."
Been thinking about this. Although Mathamaticians may make great musicians, what about 'artists' - do they make good artists?
I think of great musicians as like a skilled worker - someone you can hire in order to do a good job. That's not necessarily the same as being a good artist. For example an artist might design a building, but a brick layer would build it and make it reality - two separate jobs. The skilled person doesn't need to be so creative, just have ability to follow the plan and make things happen. The artist doesn't necessarily need to have all the skills (just vision).
Were the Beatles the greatest ever musicians, no. Was their music great, yes.
Reason I say this is some of the best musicians I have known have never written anything much and don't feel able or inspired to write, and some of the guys who had very basic musicial skills were full of creative ideas for new songs.
Makes you think.
Been thinking about this. Although Mathamaticians may make great musicians, what about 'artists' - do they make good artists?
I think of great musicians as like a skilled worker - someone you can hire in order to do a good job. That's not necessarily the same as being a good artist. For example an artist might design a building, but a brick layer would build it and make it reality - two separate jobs. The skilled person doesn't need to be so creative, just have ability to follow the plan and make things happen. The artist doesn't necessarily need to have all the skills (just vision).
Were the Beatles the greatest ever musicians, no. Was their music great, yes.
Reason I say this is some of the best musicians I have known have never written anything much and don't feel able or inspired to write, and some of the guys who had very basic musicial skills were full of creative ideas for new songs.
Makes you think.