Writing Songs...

[jgcable]

Not everybody can write. Actually... a vast majority of the great guitar players don't write. When you listen to a song.. do you hear alternate melodies in your head? Can you add background vocals to songs that have none?
Can you improvise guitar solo's?
Can you sing?
Do you have relative pitch?
These are all things that most writers have. Especially the alternate melodies stuff.
If you don't... its fairly difficult to write anything that you haven't already heard before. Best advise is.... don't force it. Its not mandatory that you write your own material. When you get an inspiration... record it. If you have trouble writing lyrics.. hook up with somebody who can.

[jgcable]

Listen to the Beatles. Just pick an album and learn a few of the songs. It really opened up my mind when it came to writing songs. McCartney is a master.

That is some serious ass kick good advise. How come I didn't think of that.
Go out and buy The Complete Beatles song book for guitar. Buy some Beatles records and start learning. If that doesn't inspire you... nothing will.

[phill_up]

Now just to build the song from there. I was thinking maybe a funky kind of rhythm.

PM me a mailing address and I will send you band in the box 9 pro, with the user manual on another disk, with roland sound canvas midi drivers on another disk. All 3 original disk. I'm sick of it. Trumpets, organs, sax, drums, fretless bass, slap bass, piano, you name it.

[horns666]

Stick to 4 or 5 minutes. If you can't say what ya need by then.. it wasn't important. Besides, people have fuggin' ADD..they have the attention span of a gnat. If you don't hook 'em in 30 seconds..you fuggin' lost 'em.

I stick to a fairly SIMPLE formula.

Intro..

Verse..the main riff

Chorus

Bridge..before or after solo, if one is required. A solo should be icing on a cake. You don't want a cake that's all icing. You'll get a bellyache.

Chorus

Verse..back to main riff

End/or outro...

The purpose of a verse is to tell the story or describe the feeling, etc. The chorus is the focal point of the song, the central theme, if you will. A bridge is a kind of fresh perspective, a small part that may consist of only music, or both lyrics and music,.. usually placed after the second chorus. These are the main parts that are used when describing the song

Keep it simple, unless your a prog or jazz band.

That was harder to explain than do.

[SEEGERMANY]

If you don't hook 'em in 30 seconds..you fuggin' lost 'em.

It's even less for me. I shit you not, it takes me less than a minute to determine if a CD is any good. Perfect example, when my son turned me onto Megadeth, I remember putting "Youth" in the CD player. Within 5 seconds, if the intro didn't catch me, it was "click" to the next track. Trust me, I did some speed clicking on that CD!

[Spivonious]

It's even less for me. I shit you not, it takes me less than a minute to determine if a CD is any good. Perfect example, when my son turned me onto Megadeth, I remember putting "Youth" in the CD player. Within 5 seconds, if the intro didn't catch me, it was "click" to the next track. Trust me, I did some speed clicking on that CD!

You missed a lot of good songs then!!

[SEEGERMANY]

You missed a lot of good songs then!!

Excellent!

Actually, that's the process I go through with any new CD. If the opening few seconds of a song don't grab me, I move to the next track. Later on, I'll go back and pick up the scraps!

[jgcable]

Excellent!

Actually, that's the process I go through with any new CD. If the opening few seconds of a song don't grab me, I move to the next track. Later on, I'll go back and pick up the scraps!

I do the same thing

[drixll]

lots of good thoughts on here.

you need to find a comfortable place where you feel relaxed and confident. close your eyes and listen to 'the song' in you. sooner or later, you're going to get onto something that you repeat again and again. try to imagine the notes that you would be playing. if you can really get into touch with your 'song', then you can even try to write it out on sheet music before ever picking up your guitar.

then you know that you have the geniune article. pick up your jackson and wail it out.

my 'happy space' is my new shower - tile all around, and spouts on either side. i just wash the distractions away, and focus on 'the song', and by the time i am ready to dry off, i know what i'm going to play even before i ever pick up my guitar.

once you master a few techniques, 95% of your playing will come from your mind, not your fingers.

[scott.court]

For what it's worth from a Noob, If I'm writing, I usually write lyrics first till I have a whole bunch of them, then I'll take a break, then get my keyboard out and mess round with it till I get a basic chord progression together, which I then record and add guitar to, leaving the solo, if needed till last. To me, music is all about feeling and emotion. You can't force it, you have to let it flow.