how do you write your songs?

S

smirky

New member
does anyone of you write songs a capella?
unfortunately, without my guitar I seem to be lost, although I sometimes find some nice tunes on the piano too.
I once read about Paul Simon's way of songwriting: he programs a drum computer in order to be inspired by a new rythm... do you know other methods of "creating" creativity?
cu
smirky
 
When I write, I often let my fingers discover chord-sequences by exploring the sonic architecture of the piano or guitar rather than orthodox progressions. These progressions usually lead the way for creating melody. So, I experiment with different melodic lines by singing while playing whatever instrument I choose.
 
I don't always write this way,but a lot of the stuff I have written that came out pretty good started with a little musical or lyrical (or sometimes both together)phrase that I heard in my head,for lack of a better way to describe it.Usually when this happens,if I get to my keyboard or guitar quick enough,I can feel out the logical extension of the idea and have an 8 or 16 bar melody and or lyric at the end of a 90 minute or so session.This is why I like to have a little Sony Pressman recorder around with fresh batteries and a blank tape in it so I can catch those if I'm not near my equipment.Other times I may just be noodling around on either guitar or keys and I'll find a nice sounding chord progression that suggests a melody.IMO knowing some basic Music Theory can really help because you have a broader base of knowledge to try ideas from.P.S. the drum machine idea can also work too.I have a Roland R-70 and it has a "Rythm Expert" function on it:you choose a genre(Rock,R&B,African,etc. and it creates a 2 or 4 bar pattern in that style using the appropriate drum and percussion sounds! I like to have it do something in a style I don't normally do much of just to jog my rut entrenched neurons from time to time.Cheers
 
sometimes when I'm listening to the radio I even find myself humming NEW, totally different melodies to existing chord progressions. inspiration comes also when I take my electric guitar, turn on the amplifier and play some riffs. funny: although my songs are almost everytime in 4/4 it's somehow easier for me to compose melodies in 3/4, don't ask me why... but that's just fine, if it saves me from the writer's block.
 
I also am at a dead end without the guitar. I just sit down, and start plaing away, hoping that something will come up. If i go NEAR a radio, or any other music, i cant get a set of chords that sound any good. i end up with the last song i heard in my mind. it throws me right off!

Tim
 
I play guitar and sing in my band. And the music always comes before the lyrics. Then I'll listen to a tape of practise and sing to that, trying to come up with melodies. Sometimes I'll try stuff while we're playing, and then write from that too.
 
virtual.ray,

I also own a Roland R-70. I've had it since 1991. Although I use sampled drum sounds using GigaStudio PC sampler, I sometimes go to the R-70 for some sounds. I never, for a minute, thought of getting rid of it.
 
Ametth,

I generally do something similar. Since my friends and I haven't been getting together too much in the last year, the other guitarist and I record demos first, with me on drums. Then we boss around the drummer, telling him to play exactly what I play on the demo, only cleaner and tighter, and with more expression:D I've gotten into singing gibberish to throw out some vocal melodies. If real lyrics ever come, we then arrange accordingly.

I'm wondering how long you take between instrumentation and vox. Unfortunately, it takes me anywhere from a week to 1 1/2 years to come up with lyrics. I can knock out a 25 page grad paper in no time, but the way i obsess over song lyrics! As a result, I write and finish about 5-7 songs per year with music for an additional 10-20. Another friend who we share recording space and gear with has written 5 good tunes this month!
I know the definition of labour of love.
 
I sometimes use an a cappella on the neck of my guitar, depending on the key of the song I'm playing. Other than that, I end to avoid Italian words. : )
 
I generally will tend to look for a sound or feeling and try to turn that into a song, not set out to try a write a song. Sometimes this will happen when I havent played much in a few days, and will have a fresh and more positive attitude to the music and I will take it from there.

I almost always need to be in isolation to get the foundations of a song but may then get another guitarist to advice/work on a song.

The easiest way to write songs however I feel is not to think to much about it. Just play around making sounds and all of a sudden you will be inspired.
 
Acapella is a great way to steer clear of common patterns in your playing or piecing a song together. I've also found that by just playing some music and singing out lound in a stream of consciousness kind of way that I can come up with something that I can work to develop.
 
one day I realized that one of my fav songs, "knocking on heavens door", just contained of 4 notes, and I was so impressed that I developed my own method of approaching a new song:
I often "force" myself just to use 3-4 notes (in most cases c, d, e and low a in a major c - scale) while composing a melody. I know it sounds strange, but this way I regularly write powerful but simple melodies. pentatonic scales also help me a lot (and not only me I guess).
 
The Ghost Of Brian Wilson...

Hey Smirky:
I write all my songs directly from my head. Sounds strange, but I have every detail & part complete in my head before I ever record any of it...I really am worried about going "Brian Wilson" sometimes with all that stored info in my brain. I actually get migraines when I am done composing the whole tune in my head!
DJ
 
I often hear a song on radio and think... what could I do with that... it is usually not a song, but something from a commercial or intro to an NPR segment or something. The other thing I do, is to start noodling on the piano. I can often find a very good (given my level of talent) 8 bars. The real problem for me, is then finding other sections that seem to go well with it.
 
Booze + musician friends can often lead to good songs.

Booze + sitting alone in my room late at night used to get me writing.

I've gotten ALOT of good melodies in the car on the way home after some booze.

I'm not advocating booze though. And I'm definately not advocating drunk driving.

Nowadays I do just about everything sober. Works just as well, if not better. When you're sober you have more time to write/record since you don't spend your Saturdays and Sundays hungover.
 
I've read a lot of musical suggestions, but very few lyrical one. My suggestion: read, read, and then read some more. When you're done reading, watch random TV. Some of my best songs have come from the newspaper, TV commercials, and even Star Trek. I just need to get around to recording them...

MikeDog
 
Sometimes it seems like the songs that I write are already out there and my task is to find them. Ideas come to me when my mind is (relatively) clear, usually because I've done something athletic, explored my spirituality, read something meaningful and/or devoted myself to another person. Listening to others' music is always good, too.

Booze? puhleeaze!

Sometime the song starts with an idea (lyric-oriented) or a riff (music-oriented) - I saw a Paul Simon interview in which he said that in recent years he works more with chord progressions to get songs started; for me this doesn't generate the same quality, but then I haven't written thousands of songs like Paul Simon has - or sometimes both. Then I sit down with it and my guitar and try to develop the music. As I develop the rhythm and meter of the music I develop a framework for the lyrics. As I develop the lyrics I develop ideas for the music.

I try to keep an open mind and go where the song takes me instead of trying to fit it in to a pre-conceived notion of exactly what kind of song it's supposed to be. Sometimes the song seems to demand that I take it in unexpected directions. And although I try not to impose limitations, I try to accept that I am limited by my musical background and skills. "Play within yourself".

After a while (a day? six months?) I have a basic structure and concept and I try to write the rest of the lyrics and then refine everything. I once heard Nick Lowe interviewed, in which he said that after he writes a song, he locks himself in a room and plays it a hundred times, which has two contradictory yet essential effects: one, he knows it totally intimately; and two, the song has an existence all his own, almost like he didn't write it at all (akin to the "discovering the song in the air" idea I mentioned above).

I don't have the musical skill (or memory capacity) to just write a song all in my head. I need an instrument to provide structure. I think much more skillful musicians also feel the same way.
 
I'm with Dougie!

Dougie's post sums up how all my best songs are written.
While I also sometimes rely on an instrument to write, the best songs are when I can hear all the parts in my head before I pick up an instrument. As soon as you pick up a guitar or sit at a piano, your subconscious will force you into familiar chords, progressions, and melodies.

When I was younger, it was sometimes maddenning to try and figure out the chords I was hearing. Knowing some theory makes it much easier. But if you've never played a Dmaj7/C before, your not too likely to write a song with it.

However if your building it in your mind, you'll be much more open to new ideas. If I get an idea, I like to go for a walk and let it develop. The last song I wrote has a verse that alternates between bars of 6 and bars of 7. It looks silly in writing, but it sounds completely natural to hear. And more importantly, if I'd picked up a guitar, I'd have probably gone into straight 4/4 and sounded like everyone else.

Just my 2 cents.
Jeff
 
I tend to noodle around with an idea on acoustic, get the whole pattern down. Write some lyrics, add bass and guitar frills, record the drums. Usually redo the acoustics, vocals, electric guitar tracks. Then add the odd thing here and there, backup vocal etc. The odd time messing around on piano I can get some sort of idea of a song, but usually end up doing it on guitar.

For the most part, acoustic is my favorite writing tool.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top