Process Of Writing Songs. Whats Yours, Do You Use One More Than...

There are probably an infinite number of ways to go about writing songs. Just when inspiration hit ya' on the head, to doodling, or noodling to formulas like the Nashville Numbering system. You know I, IV, V, or those "Jam in a Can". like I,V--Not all bad, lots of R egge, "Franklins Tower", Theme to the Jetsons or partnerships Lennon and Paul, Garcia and Hunter. Then some songs just come out DJ mix. Lots of famous singers never wrote a song in their life. Before Buddy Holly it was un heard of for a singer or band to write their own material. Early Motown groups could get killed for sugesting more reverb on the vocals.

I've gone through phases so I won't talk about how or even if I write songs--that and I'm gona have a 48hr day.

I've been listening to some stuff posted here, and Reverberation, and for the most part part it sucks--no wait for the most part it's pretty good in some cases real good imo.

So if you feel like it I'd like to know how people 3000 mi. from here, and 4k, 5k then in England and all the way around. To bad we don't get many people from Africa here. I was there for a few weeks last spring and they've got some really fantastic stuff coming out of the countrys where your head doesn't fall off for sing anything but the Quran. I have a friend who goes on tour at clubs and festivals all over the world in a wheel chair no-less {He was shot by a teenage kid in WA DC just after getting his MBA and a $100k + job. Now he has to do this. That's part his process, he records on Ableton.

Someone already has a thread going about recording software which I tried to do last year and got shut down fast--I was an HF newbie--still am so lets see how this goes--posting what your working on or have finished is a definite YES! DO!

ALOHA--Hanalei Bay where Puff the Magic Dragon frolicked in the autumn mist.--This is part of the inspiration for that song

 

Wow...I almost forgot...I use to write songs. I have at least 50.
One song...I know...it's the internets so one can easily make shit up, but I'm not....anyhow one song John Mellencamp played around with, wanted to record it but never happened. Producers said it is not his style (about a kid dying it a wreck..I wrote it after being in an accident where a good friend - died in the wreck.)
Man...maybe I should write again. I had so many people tell me I should do something with them.

 

I wrote them all based on things I experienced, way I felt...etc.
I am one of those people who think about things all the time.

 

It's a shame people are afraid to write--some songs require very little courage to write because they have one good hook that is played or sung over and over again--but people seem love that.

I had a feeling no one would respond to this. Even I don't claim credit for songs written within a band. So I bring a progression that sounds nice, a hook in the chorus but by the time 5 or more people have to add bass lines, drums, maybe another vocalist or two, I don't have to worry if it crashes. And to be honest if you one or two good sound engineers, a good producer--even a crapy song can become art.

That's what I meant by process. The first people to hear something I write have been listening to my ramblings for years. And more than half of anything I write was written by me and another singer song writer, or 1 or more band members. And these days we can record and play back on monitors that are 'line level'. No effects, or eq, or dynamics--brutally honest So you work on it for days, weeks, months, even years, then maybe everyone from conception(Idea or nodding to producers and god forbid a record label with a pine cone in their ass--That's not fair, I hear great songs on web sites, Reverberation, Utub all the time that skip the music biz end of things that are -- well worth listening too at least.

But when I started this I wanted to know how people get inspired, and overcome the fear of rejection--if it's an issue.

So I still want to know--

 

The first time I hear a new song it's coming out of my speakers... The challenge is remembering it the next day. It's more that I'm channeling something that's already out there instead of there's some process I need to follow. A "process" would get in the way.

 

Good point, although most songs are writen on acoustic guitar or piano--{Thats old data, from an articul in "guitar player" and re-used by Desi Serna in his book "Guitar-Fretboard-Theory" a good guide for intermediate to advanced guitarist.} With loopers on every amp, and loop stations songs can be fully developed without any acoustic instrument except voice. In the same article was a list of every top 20 song since Elvis. Popular music seems to tend toward Gmaj or Ionian Mode even if live music will often change keys, or re-write the entire song so it will fit mixilydan

 

It works different ways for me. Even though I'm a bassist I like to start with a chord progression so that I know the framework that I'm building around. From there I build off a groove and bring it to others. If I've played with a group long enough I pretty much know what it is going to sound like. A lot of times too I will be humming a melody and come up with lyrics.

Sometimes I will read about some type of theory concept and see what I can build around it.

C/S,
Rev J

 

I usually just play a riff and literally blurt out a phrase or two without thinking about it in the least bit and then work off of it if I like what came out. It's super weird but it's what works for me. It's cool but kind of sucks sometimes because it's impossible for me to write a song on a subject in particular. I get what I get at random.

 

JC- I've heard some fantastic, hypnotic fretless bass solos lately. I think you or briezie13 posted one earlier this week--or in Feb.??? Four string fretless with some efx. a slide down the G string every 4th measure?
The other was from an entire album of bass solos. I'll try to find the link because it's a free download. The guy uses an e-bow on his right hand and it's got pads for E,B,G & and D,A,E. I never saw any thing like it. I wonder who makes it? Boss probably, They make every other freaky effect.

On song writing, I sleep great on boats, tour buses, and trains. But in general either pain or morphine keeps me up all night. Thirty years ago I realized I was noodling around with rhythms and lyrics in the really late hours. Of course I never remember anything later the next day. So began small cassette decks under my pillow. Sometimes I'd have a 30, 50, well lots of songs. At 04:30 every song sounded like "Imagine" or "Stairway to heaven" But 3 months latter they sounded like those Disney clones. But when I was awake and needed material but kept getting stuckThose tapes came in very handy.

Inside all those semiconscious ramblings were some really good rhythms, and quatrains with real potential, but mostly hooks. Some cryptic phrase that could be interpreted in many ways. Those are the songs that people come up to you afterward and say "You could have been writing that about my life.

Now I use a Boss BR80 hand held porta studio. It has 2 condencer mics that record in Wav. So you can just sing or I keep a tripod stand with a martin, PRS S2 24 custom, and a 4 string Yamaha bass. I rarely get past the acoustic and vocals. I'm not gona sleep until I get it out of my head anyway. Its not really a process but it's part of life, and this wav recordings can be edited into songs that are missing something. And I can save 100hours on a tiny SDHC chip. I have 8 chips in a tiny plastic zip lock That I've never listened to. This summer I had some partners who have been at this since I was 7 years old, and they been very good--well durring the sober years anyway

 

Here's a song writing process. Jimmy Page writes Music, and post 1969 Bob Plant wrote words. Robert hunter writes songs and lyrics( he's my idol ny the way.) Jerry garcia re-writes the music and makes it awesome. Bob Weir and Barrow write music-words yet everyone loves Garcia/Hunter while Bob & Barlow are tolerated till you get Franklins Tower/Rider/Goining Down the road/Grovesner Square/Bass solo-Drum Duet/Space jam/Terrapin Station"/parts I, II, III at a siding. Me and My Uncle, Truckin', One More Saturday, Night, US blues, encore-China Doll. 3hours 2nd set.

Macartney/Lennon--changed over the years. 3rd floor at EMI had colored squares. Step on one and it ,made a sound loop-they spent hours down there while songs were rendered on forth. After apple john and Yoko spent all night on acid with a score of reel to reels--revolution 9 was written that way Credit to Lennon Mcartney Day in the kife was 2 songs. And George Martin wrote an unknown number of songs--or at least prefected then

One process.

 

I rember reading that I believe from about 1959 to about 1965 Carol King and Gerry Goffin wrote one song per week as staff writers at The Brill Building in New York. Some are classics like "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and "Natural Woman" I'm sure some were absolute drek you can't hit the ball out of the park every time.

C/S,
Rev J

 

There are all kinds of ways to write songs, the best is to have a recorder on hand, or you're almost sure to forget them. As melodies and phrases enter your head (and you're even aware of them), you must record them or they will be gone forever. I'm sure every songwriter here has experienced this.

To hear the melding of ideas and great song development, listen to Strawberry Fields on the Anthology album. It starts as a finger-picking country tune with Lennon on guitar and goes through many changes before ending up as the song we know.

 

I usually write down the lyrics and then put music to them. I've only done it the other way around a few times, and once I couldn't fine the words, so it became an instrumental.

 

Just write what you know about...simple......If you've had your heartbroken...write down your feelings....Same if you fall in love...write down how it makes you feel......If you get drunk or stoned write down how that feels (if you can remember)....The lyrics of the song are like poetry...and the best poems and songs are mostly written from life itself.......Once you have the lyrics...I find the music will come quite easily......But don't take too much notice of me cos I got a Cliff Richard CD in my collection somewhere.

 

I always do it the other way around. I have to have the music in order to put words to it.

 

Me too--the rythum sets the type of lyrics/melody if your writing on piano that tend to come out. We used to sit around campfires or in the basement and someone would set the mood then we took turns doing lyrics--not productive but lots of fun.

 

I'd say 70 to 80% of songs I've writen were writen between midnight and sun rise--but 50% of those were dramaticly changed for the better when I hooked up with a partner or band. It's not a matter of I'm writing this to impress someone--well sometimes--I wrote a song at about 04:00 iowa time. 23:00 Aleutian Standard and What ever time It was in Wales. She quit HF but the song was called Rubys Haammer, and I wrote it as she told us this story about her hammer and the neighbor boy. It was recorded and is past editing stage. It should be on an album Mastered by Jan or Feb. and put out when we agree on publishing. Which is very complicated in this case since a few of the musicians are committed to lables. and there are 14 people who played or sang on it. But we have a well funded charity that wants to by the rites...for the people who were here forone track it's a great deal, for some of us not so much but money was never an issue for us.

Point is I wrote the lyrics in chat and half way thru RubySOho said "He's writing a damn song!" It came out much better than I thought it would once we had most of a band here.

 

I love to write songs more than anything else....Nothing is more rewarding then listening to the finished product either!