songwriting formulas!

  • Thread starter Thread starter brando0
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brando0 said:
kudos there for naming an artist i am not familiar with....but i am 100% sure that what they are doing they did not invent....

I'm assuming you mean varying air pressure over time as a means of creating sound. No, they did not invent that. Nor did they invent many aspects of what they use in their music, but the point is there is PLENTY of new ideas that stray far from what anyone else has done. Free snippets of those bands can be heard at amazon.com or a number of other places, so why not take a listen before saying you're 100% sure? At least that way you could confirm your premise, and tell me who they sound like.

I'm very sorry you think there is nothing new to do with music. The good news is that people have been feeling that way for hundreds of years, and things keep changing anyway.

I'm also very sorry you find me annoying. I thought things were being kept fairly civil in the thread till that point. I've got nothing against you personally. Just trying to broaden some horizons for you and any readers.
 
dude i have nothing personal against you...and what i mean is just how you and i before you explained it....." their giving their version of , a new view of, a refreshing idea based on....that's what i am saying that's all, and you've said it too... hey i am glad everytime i can learn something from somebody. but to be honest with you i am not one songwriter who is constantly experimenting ..... also because what i like is pretty basic simple songwriting...... do i think that it takes skill and talent to write songs like the beatles.... ENORMOUS.
 
Skysaw said:
I'm also very sorry you find me annoying. I thought things were being kept fairly civil in the thread till that point. I've got nothing against you personally. Just trying to broaden some horizons for you and any readers.
It's not your fault Skysaw, Brando0 has some issues that needs attention... :mad:
 
If there is one thing I know, its that

I love Matchbox 20's Formula

I would pay good money to learn their songwriter's style.
 
what about the police huh? they had various formulas...... gotta love the police!!!!
 
Fuck a formula. Before you lose it and tell me about how you meant something else let me say something: a formula is an idea and not just semantics. If you are searching for a better formula then great, more power to you but I fear you might be letting the best things in life pass you by.

Formula...here it is: I sit, stand or lie...I think...hmmm what would be a good song? What do I want to hear? Then i start to hear it. I soon after try to experiment with any method I decide on to create that sound.

I feel sorry for anyone who thinks that marketability equals musical success.
I make music for me and it is invaluable in that sense, charts be damned.
 
brando0 said:
what about the police huh? they had various formulas...... gotta love the police!!!!
Did they tell you this? Or are you just assuming? I would bet it's the second...ASSumptions are fruitless.

Just write songs...ask how other people have come up with their stuff but expect to be flamed for asking the 'formula'...ok?
 
aint nothing wrong with formulas...helps if you are trying to be commercial......only thing is, formulas dont write the songs for ya.......
 
lol...i dont have a formula myself....














im just damn lucky enough to be able to write aweosme songs ...



we all have our cross to bear..



lying through my teeth,

jamal
:D
 
I'd be really interested in reading Badgass' or anyone else's "formulas"

I would like to see more of people actually posting the formulas, steps, processes, or whatever they use when writing songs rather than the current debate.
 
jake .....man............ why is it that uptight people like you ALWAYS seem to misunderstand things like these..... whether we are aware of it or not we still use a formula to write....whether we want to be commercial or not, and besides if musicians and songwriters didn't wanna be commercial then they wouldn't sign a recording contract or a publishing deal..... so the word "commercial" is a little too wide for me. now it seems that you only do music for yourself...... by all means but don't knock people for trying to make a living out of what they love.

it doesn't mean that if we use a formula we "took" it from someone...it doesn't mean that if we use a fomula we are going to write hits.

"Did they tell you this? Or are you just assuming? I would bet it's the second...ASSumptions are fruitless"

how do i know that the police used different formulas or" ways" to write? i know cuz do what you don't seem to do..... LISTEN!

oh and by the way who the fuck are you to be giving condescending lectures about the subject? if we are to exchange opinions cool, but the attitude can stay at home otherwise you are going to get it back times a 100. cool?
 
Just a piece of advice (don't take it the bad way)

brando0 said:
the attitude can stay at home otherwise you are going to get it back times a 100. cool?
This attitude will not work here. ;) (And you know what I'm talking about...)

I've been to this forum along time. Jake doesen't have an attitude-problem. I'm not complaining about you, I'm just telling you that it seems like you misunderstood.

We are friendly people, and will respond friendly if treated friendly. :)

Be the better man! :)
Ignore or respond polite always help...
 
Re: Just a piece of advice (don't take it the bad way)

moskus said:
Jake doesen't have an attitude-problem.
Except when talking to Reefer (aka DJ Fingaz), but Reefer is a special case... :D
 
We are friendly people, and will respond friendly if treated friendly. :)


hey Moskus....i appreciate you clarifing things for me.... but i am sure you can understand how what he wrote can be easily interpreted as a condescending comment, that's all especially from someone like me who doesn't know who this cat is...like you.
but i got your point..... and i wasn't trying to start anything, nor i was rude to him like you know i can be.
but thanx
B
 
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It's all about the flow of the songs chord progression and melody.

Well people it's seems there is more posting about everything else but what this thread was intended for.

For me I can't really say that I have a formula. I tend to write songs on my guitar. When all the parts are done I will record a single rough track to hear the progression and the flow of the chord progressions and melody. If everything seems to sound right with a good amount of dynamic interest, then I will start writing the lyrics for the song. Lyrics are always the part of writing that I don't like to do, though I have written some decent lyrics in some cases ( I think anyways ). Once the lyrics are written and the songs seems to be coming together I'll start listening through it a few times here ant there to see if I still agree with what has been layed out. In this stage I also take the time to think of other instruments that could add some interest to parts of the song. After all is done and I haven't went back to the start yet, I'll start laying down the drum tracks and recording the song.

In conclusion, now that I'm looking at what I just typed in this post I realized that I guess I have a way of doing this "songwriting" then a particular "formula". The song will let me know when the chorus should come in and when it's best for a verse or bridge. I hope this post answers the question that was layed out.

Later
 
Sonic you really understood what i meant!!!!!! thank you!

i usually start with a beat or a chorus melody.... and then ionce i have the chord progression of the chorus i break it down and i try to write a melody for the verse. at this point i feel i need to take the song up a notch before the hook so i usually look for a chord progression to bridge to the chorus. then i like to come up with another bridge coming out of the second chorus to the go back into the chorus.

i have other ways to write too.... like maybe i'll use a chord progression as an intro that then i will reuse as a bridge. or may be just come up with a simple intro of 4 bars and then go straight into the verse. mind you these are not rules written in stone so i basically go with what's flowing in my head and what i like to hear or get from the song.

it seems that we are finally getting to what i originally posted this thread for! but i'd like to thank all of you guys for making it intresting.
peace
B
 
I gave you my 'formula' so what is it I did not understand? If anything you are misunderstanding a grave many things young jed.....oops almost slipped into star wars mode again.

Would you call it a formula if I said what I do is try to hear the music and then create it with any means at my disposal. Or what about if my formula was to simply limit myself somehow to streamline the writing process, say by using no effects and just chosing a key at random....is that a formula? You might call it that but I don't happen to like that choice of terms. So?

If you were to judge the songwriters use of a 'formula' by listening you can be easily decieved. The Police may well have had nothing more than multiple personalities interacting melodicly as their 'formula'. You are making a huge assumption by just saying to LISTEN. A very wrong hypothesis can be gleaned by this type of weak backward engineering.

Whatever happened to just trying to communicate with music? Does that require a formula...no, I don't use any set one. If I ever heard anyone implying that I use a formula just because they had LISTENED to my music I would laugh my butt off.


Man you have been rude but I could give a shit. You assume a hell of a lot about everyone from very little info so I guess that's just who you are....go ahead do it again...I'll be here to try to set you straight. I hope it helps.
 
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