writing a song...where do I start?

[madcap]

Im best at just jamming on chord progressions until i find something i like. Then i put the progression on 'repeat' in my head until i find a suitable lead part. Then i go through my book of shit ive written and try to get a useable lyric.

[Jayster]

Im best at just jamming on chord progressions until i find something i like. Then i put the progression on 'repeat' in my head until i find a suitable lead part. Then i go through my book of shit ive written and try to get a useable lyric.

I've found that using a loop station (is effortless and easy )is a great way to work out leads and harmonies - plus just fun as hell , especially if you're the only guitarist.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Boss-RC20XL-Loop-Station?sku=151352&src=3SOSWXXA

a little pricey - but worth every penny

[Trem]

emperor, i would like to stress to not over anylizing yourself and other peoples music ect... in fact, possibly just stop listening to any others music for awhile, clear your head of someone elses riffs ect, and just start singing in your head or out loud, do it all day while your at work ect, it's in fact better for your musical mind and creative process to do this without an instrument at all, because once you get a guitar in your hands, you start to write a riff whatvere, then all of a sudden 15 minutes later your weedling arpeggios or something and then your like, "oh yeah" what was i doing, right? Well, some people may be more focused than i but i know it happens to all of us at some point.

Anyway, you sound like me at one point, where my friends or whatvere would just shit out one or two songs in a day, and i'm like, how the fuck can you do that, (now not that they were all amazing or anything) but, some of them ended up being used. Not everyones a virtuoso and if you get some riffs together or mostly a song but are stumped on some parts or whatever, well, your fortunate to have someone else, another guitarist, to bounce ideas off of .

You might try setting some goals for yourself, like say, " i'm going to write 1 song a week" or 3 songs a week or whatever, any type of song, don't limit yourself to your one style you know if you like thrash or whatever, don't hesitate to write a basic rock song or whatver if that's what the mood strikes you. But the point is, no matter if it's the greatest song ever or if it's the dogs balls, just do it, and complete it, as if you had a deadline and you had to have it written to play for some consignment or contract work or a tv commercial ect...it just HAS to be done.

Hope it helps.

[khabibissell]

Alot of good suggestions. I would say for now, try to keep it simple, as in come up with a riff that is a verse and one that is a chorus. You can get more ambitious later once you get a handle on what your style is. Just play your guitar and try to come up with a riff that sounds good. Once you get one riff, try to come up with something a bit different that flows well with it. Connect them both and play them together. Recording it would be a good idea so you can listen back. When listening back, chances are it will become obvious what would work well as a verse and what would work well as a chorus. Try not to over analyze it... just play what feels right to you. I wouldn't try to focus on one style either. For instance, I would love to write crushing metal tunes, but it just doesn't come out... hard rock type stuff does. The important thing is that you play what is true to you. Don't force it.

Songwriting is very important... don't worry about solos. IMO, the solo is the last thing you should try to create when writing a song. Even then, not every song requires one. Sometimes a cool breakdown or instrumental bridge of some sort is the right approach.

[Newc]

And yet you might get a vocal melody from a solo that will guide you in the lyrical progression.

[emperor_black]

thanks guys! So, basically, I should get myself something that I can record on the fly when an idea strikes. I think I have been in that situation before. I had a phone with a voice recorder. I should get sometihng like my dad uses to record the stuff my mom asks him to bring from the grocery store.

[Newc]

Yeah, a digital voice recorder would work.

[mr426]

For me I always have had a small notebook with me at most times. I get ideas everywhere and from everyone. Sometimes I have writin whole song lyrics without music at all. then when I write music without the words I look back through my notebooks and find the words for it. I write words, phrases, names etc, and then sometimes I just string them together for the effect I want. Rarely have I sat to to write a song and come up with great lyrics on the spot. I need my writins to piece it all together and to me they fit together well. I do this with music too. Hope this helps.

[BenoA]

This lil' unit is quite fun to record ideas:



It's a 4 track. Got some drum patterns built in. Some FX and amp sims. Even a lil' condenser mic on the unit. Don't expect ultra quality FX but it does the job and it's about the size of those old iPod. I wish I had such a thing when I started.

I have a few clips done with it on my Soundclick page.

[emperor_black]

Guess what! I've got the same one. the other day, based on inputs given on this very thread, I tried recording a few "impulsive" riffs that I started humming out and it turned out pretty good.

[Trem]

[BenoA]

This lil' unit keeps impressing. I had this idea in my head last evening:

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6893355

About 30 to 45 minutes later... I had all that done. It's not perfect but gives an idea.

Sorry for the crappy playing and the kinda weird drum patterns. I put this all quite quickly.

[emperor_black]

but I wish its interface was slightly better. Its not very intuitive. do you know of any third-party software that can control this unit?

[BenoA]

but I wish its interface was slightly better. Its not very intuitive. do you know of any third-party software that can control this unit?

Nope, Boss forgot about this... But I can confirm the more you use the unit, the more you get used to the interface. My wife always jokes about the fact that I look like playing a hand held video game when using this lil' unit...