How to Make a song?

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JuanMelgar

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Hello Everyone!!!!!

This may be a HARD or EASY question.

The thing is that:

I can't write songs, when I write about piano, I then get ideas for a metal song, then when I write the metal song, I have ideas for a blues melody, and the list goes on and on. Is infinite, and the ideas are awesome, but I never get to write nothing, because I jump, and erase, Jump and erase, jump erase….. :(
The thing, how do you FOCUS?????
Do you have that anxiety of playing every idea in your head??


It makes me sad:( I have no idea how to finish one song. In my life I have finished one song, not even to the middle, I just can't focus.

Any help would be great!!!
 
When it comes to how you songwrite, there is never formal straight answers it seems. Aside from theory, it all comes down to the individual. You are definitely not the first to go back and forth from ideas and struggle to get things accomplished. However, the opposite side of that is writer's block. So choose which devil you would rather have?

What I would ask is, how do you songwrite? Do you write lyrics first, do you write chord progressions and general ideas? riffs or melodies? etc.?

If you have so many ideas, record as you play. That way you can keep a record of each idea. Then choose the ones you like the best and begin to build off of them. Often times, what helps me focus is writing based on a theme. I tend to have an idea as far as theme, lyrical ideas, and mood that I want a song to have. From there I start building a general idea of the song, then lyrics may start to fall into place, more specific melodies, more lyrics, etc... Focus on those themes. That is what helps for me. But like I said, we are all different.
 
You're trying to be too planned. Go where your inspiration takes you. If you are inspired to write a blues song, write a blues song. It doesn't matter what path you took to get there. Don't worry so much about what purpose what you write serves when you think of it. You can always figure it out later. You can always refine it later. It's extremely rare to create something really good in one sitting. The most important thing is to capture your inspiration moments. You'll wreck those if you think too much about it at that point in the process. Allow yourself to become a conduit.
 
I usually stick with a chord progression and just start singing random stuff over it. As I build in the rest of the parts of the song I might sing a random line that I actually like, and a lot of times I end up building the song around that.

I know what you mean though.. I used to record a lot of songs and even though they were not very good productions, it was a finished product. Then I got to the point of thinking "this isn't good enough" and I haven't really finished anything since. Finally buckling down on some of them that I would like to share here when finished.

Like you, I also like to write all sorts of things.. from mellow acoustic to punk type stuff. I spent a long time wondering what my "image" should be.. you know how all of the popular bands have a persona.. a cohesive package. Well I decided I didn't have just one and gave up on that, hence my username.

IMO you've gotta just sit down and force yourself to concentrate on a half finished idea. Keep listening to it until you get back into the inspiration zone and then you'll hear the rest of it
 
I like to start with lyrics - and write them with some sort of meter to them (syllable count etc). Then I sing them trying out various melodies line by line. I record each line separately until I have a verse built. Then I do the same thing with the chorus and bridge (if there is one). I never pick up a guitar until it's all written. Then I pick up my guitar and find the chords that fit the song. Riffs are just a lot easier to fit in once the song is finished - you have a key and a pattern to follow. If you start with chord patterns or riffs it limits what the melody can be as it has to be in key with the chords/riffs and the melody suffers and it might not be in your range. You may find you sing it in F# then have to transpose it to G to make it easier to play but I generally keep it as close to the original key as that is where my vocal was most comfortable. My friend starts with chords and I find it really limiting on the vocals but it can be done. And finish what you started - even if it isn't your finest work, at least you can put it away as done. If you don't complete what you start you'll never get anywhere.
 
JuanMelgar said:
I have no idea how to finish one song.
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Discipline.

I always have ideas for other songs in my head. I also have a lot of songs that are "in progress"....but I'll usually cut one out of the bunch, and then work it until it's done.

There's no secret or trick to it.....just sit down and finish writing one song. Then move on to the next one.
 
Yeah you need to focus on finishing your songs like the guys say.
With time you'll be able to organize your ideas very effectively, working with a template you develop depending on your personal preferences.
I see myself working most songs with an intro-verse-short instrumental-verse-chorus -break- solo-big chorus-outro
or maybe intro-verse-prechorus-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-outro.
However those are just to get started and set the ideas so you can narrow your ideas to specific parts of the song "this chords would make a good prechorus" and things like that. Then you experiment with different song flows and have fun switching the song structure.
Just one of the ways I use to get my songwriting done.
 
miroslav said:
Discipline.

I always have ideas for other songs in my head. I also have a lot of songs that are "in progress"....but I'll usually cut one out of the bunch, and then work it until it's done.

There's no secret or trick to it.....just sit down and finish writing one song. Then move on to the next one.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. I almost never write a song that way. I find that if I try to force a song from start to finish, unless inspiration allows, it produces lesser quality results. In my opinion: I almost have to free my mind of trying to be too cerebral at the songwriting point (once I'm working on the arrangement or specifics, I tend to allow my brain to take a more active role). There's a difference between songwriting, and writing a piece of music.

Again. . . in my opinion, knowing when to set it down and walk away is just as important as any other skill. When you come back with a fresh mind, you may get much better ideas than you would have if you had tried to force it. Technically you COULD force a song like that (and in some commercial cases you kind of have to), but if you're going for the full potential of a song, I couldn't disagree more (unless you just happen to hit enough inspiration that you know exactly where the song is going from start to finish, and it's a splendid idea in and of itself-which I think is somewhat rare).
 
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