Writing songs

[intro]

I've kinda got my ways of doing it, but I've had a few people ask me how I get songs started, or how I write them. So I figured I'd start a thread for people to share any methods they have that seem to work for them.

I either start a song as lyrics or as some synth riff I come up with that catches my attention. With lyrics, I throw down a very basic drum loop and set up a mic, record a rough vocal take, then start building up tracks around it.

For riffs, I make a drum loop (I love loops for writing, greatest thing in the world), then try to build up around that. But it rarely goes anywhere. I have trouble putting lyrics to music. But that's just me.

Anyway... share away. I'm sure some newer musicians might benefit from it.

-Mark
www.djintrovert.com

[Joevirus]

I write songs so many different ways.

1. I'll get inspired by something and start writing lyrics. I'll run to my studio and start piecing together bass lines that I can sing along to. Then I throw together a beat, some loops, and lead synths. Then I record it all to finish later. almost all of my unfinished trax...


2. I'll just start writing some music, and space it out to where there is a noticeable change for verses, choruses, etc. I then record the music, and then I record myself ad libbing over it. Sometimes the stream of consciousness writing sounds cool, especially back when we sounded alot like Skinny Puppy. Mechanical Revelation, Words As Weapons and Control were done this way.

3. Sometimes I already wrote a wicked music track, and I pull out my notebook of old lyrics (stuff I've written since I was twelve). I'll read through them, finding words and lines that can be assimilated to make a story or convey the emotions I felt when I wrote the music. I cut & Paste and overwrite, etc... Statik Heaven and Silikon Tear Stain were done this way.

4. I get totally super ultra DUMPED by a girl, and I write my heart out in music and lyrics. These songs are usually my best. Daylight, and Believe were written this way.

5. I have a bad habit of falling for girls I can't have because I'm seeing someone, or she is (to quote Reagan and REFLECTION THEORY "don't promise me your love...when you're with someone else) . In those situations I write some of my best work...Falling is one of those songs. Glass is another.

So that is it.

[sonitis]

since writing leads has always been my specialty, i usually start out with a bass line and then build around that by adding strings, drums samples etc.
other times in the studio...i'll just be screwing around during practice and breye's like "hey, that sounds pretty damn good!!" and a few hours later we have a new song!! actually that's how alot of provision songs came into existance.
i'm really not much of a lyric person...that's more of breye's department, although i have contributed to a few tracks. but usually how it works is: breye writes some words, and i come up with music, or the other way around...i'll write a song and he writes lyrics later.
either way...it works out pretty well considering we both write the music. that's a good thing about having a bandmate...they always have something great to contribute when you have a bad case of writers block.

[cliffwalk]

I usually start at the piano with a set of lyrics and come up with a chord progression with some rhythmic motion behind it. I usually record an idea for the melody over that.

After I get that down I've got the song structure and I build tracks from there.

I've found that WORKS and it is a fairly traditional way of doing it.

What I think is better but I haven't gotten good at yet is to build the song organizally from beginning to end. Not to try and get a "skeleton" in place first that spells out what usually ends to be some deritive of the 16 bar phrasing model.

I've discovered quite a few of my more original ideas that way but I haven't, by any stretch, ben able to rely on this manner because I don't have the structural control I need to pull the tune together (It eventually becomes unwiedly, I start over, and it loses the creative flare)

Dave

[chriswdc]

I have a few methods that seem to work for me.

Lately, I try to write the basic chord progressions on piano. I feel that if it sounds good with just a piano it is strong enough to develop into just about any style.

Traditionally, I pick a few sounds like a kick, a bass, a pad, etc. and begin with the intro and finish one section at a time: intro, verse, bridge, chorus, etc. This works particularly well when I have a specific mood I want to be emphasized in the song.

Lyrics are difficult, but I enjoy the process. I generally write lyrics for rhythm as much as meaning. If the syllables do not fit the rhythm of the music, the lyrics will sound forced and thin.

Occasionally, by luck it seems, while commuting or riding the subway, I will hear lyrics and a melody in my head...unfortunately I must rush home singing it over and over so that I do not forget the idea before I can record it.

[7red7]

For me, it'as all about inspiration...I've been writing for years now, but only recently attempted to write songs...I usually have a good sense of the lyrics I want in my head and the perfect music to accompany them...So when I begin to put everything down, I just try to make it as close to what I envisioned as possible...I usually start out with a basic drum loop and play around that...Usually adding some strings, effects, arpeggios etc...Then I'll play around with the drums to change up the tempo into a bridge etc...

[NukleoN]

Usually I will get an idea for a lead or bassline and hum that...I'm constantly doing the human beatbox thing, not just percussion but music as well, and the rest sort of plays in my head while I hum a part. Sometimes I will just be playing the synths and an idea will form...either way it ends up in the sequencer. After it's recorded in a basic form with a simple drum backbone I add rough vocals. The vocals are just melody at first (with gibberish lyrics with the right phrasing), and I don't worry about lyrics till much later. I add vocals early so as not to overproduce the music and muddy the mix...and my songs tend to be vocally driven anyway.

I let the song evolve a bit then I write lyrics based on what the song reminds me of, or whatever I'm in the mood to write about. Lyrics are something I put a lot of work into (with some inspiration) as I enjoy playing with words and meaning. After this it's on to the intro and ending, final vocal takes, mixing mastering, etc.

[Sean X]

I've been pretty well known in circles for dynamic drums & percussion, so it tends to suprise my peers when I tell 'em I do that side of things last.

I typically start with a bassline and only a skeleton of a beat. And I'll often have lyrics scrawled somewhere - even if the song is instrumental (and most of them are) because it really helps you write if your piece is about something, and if you have a destination in mind...

[spankmix]

Since I do mostly remix work, I start with a four on the floor kick pattern, add the bassline to match the vocals which dictate the melody a bit. Then build the chords, appegs, etc. After the overall structure is laid down with intro, breaks and out, I'll go back and add the flair. Stuff like snare rolls, crashes, reverse cymbals, and even drum loops.

Remember, not to layer too many parts on top of each other. Music is what happens between events! Leave some negative texture in the sonic landscape. Also, one big overlooked item in songwriting is the production after the song is completed. That's the degree of finish that separate the bedroom producers well say... from the bedroom producers that sound polished. Be sure to EQ each sound so they don't overlap too much sonicly. Think of your overall spectrum of available sound like a bookshelf. Only one book can fit in each place. Your low end on the left working it's way to the midrange/vocals/synthleads in the middle and some highend/appegs, etc on the right. Of course, sounds can overlap some, but try to give each sound it's own place to live. Even considering panning your clap slightly to the left and your whatever sound to the right some. Kicks, bass and vocals stay center.

There aren't really any real rules, but consider some of the above before you go breaking rules. Keep your mixes solid, thoughful and alive.

[stillbjorn]

I usually start with a lead melody or a phat phat bassline....

I enjoy sequencing songs with far too many instruments and sounds in them
in reason, then export all the midi tracks to logic and re-record it with my hardware synths and vst synths....then i throw noisey funky drum loops in there, and end up with 40 channels of crap. Then i move it to my storage hard drive where i will procrastinate writing lyrics and recording vocals for at least 2 months.

what i've been meaning to do is write lyrics and sing them in my head and use that as a foundation for a song...it sounds a lot more sane doesn't it? well i haven't gotten around to being sane yet.
=)

[nwdve]

Inspiration is the key...

When I want to write angry song, I just turn on CNN and watch for a while. It is always inspiring to see just how stupid people really can be sometimes. Aaaaaaaaaargh!!!!!!

[REPLICESS]

With you there nwdve!
All my lyrics seem to be doom & gloom - don't 'do' the love/romance thang, which is strange as I'm female !
(faaaar too cynical ;) )

I start with lyrics and carry around a little lyric book as I always seem to have the best ideas at the most inconvinient times !
The theme/emotion of the lyrics kind of dictates the sound, obviously.

[pop]

There is a similar thread started two days ago.

http://www.electrogarden.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=4101&goto=newpost

[platformone]

I totally understand the adding procussion last thing. It just makes sense to me that a song kinda hits a mid-point where Lyrics are written, or fitted. Then, having a greater sense of song, all of the bells and whistles make their due.

I'd basically been a solo artist for sometime. Songwriting had become repetitive and I needed newer outlets. My new bandmate Sid, write music that pulls lyrics right out of me. It's an incredible feeling. I also know that this fresh air will only serve to enhance my writing as well.

Lyrics either happen or they wait for me - rarely is it a middleground thing. Usually I can write words quickly if I feel the moment. Although for some reason I write most of my music at night on headphones.

- my thoughts...

[Gaia13]

I concentrate on my third eye and begin levitating (which makes it difficult to play anything). Then I start spinning around and .... Actually I just want to see if my new avatar shows up over ther on the left..

www.gaia13.com

My third eye just made the image appear. Ahaha, now an Idea for a song...

www.gaia13.com

[DJBlackwing]

I find most of my tracks start as some noise I hear as I'm driving... Perhaps the rythmic sound of trees as I'm driving past them.. or just the sound of the tires humming on concrete. I ride with 5 CDs of unfinished tracks.. usually jsut cut peices from my other tracks.. a rythm line here.. a drum beat there.. and sometimes something just "sticks" together. I know in the end its just my mind making random connections.. but hey. its my odd quirky way of making it work.

Lyrics I have more of a problem with.. Usually I get stuck after 4 lines. Or it turns into a ren-fair turns goth meets Dr Suess poem (aka Indecyperable crap). I'm currently on the hunt for a lyracist/vocalst to work with.. if anyone is interested, drop me an email at djblackwing@hotmail.com .

I dunno if any of this will help.. but ::shrugs:: its my way.

[electrohunter]

Originally posted by nwdve
Inspiration is the key...

When I want to write angry song, I just turn on CNN and watch for a while. It is always inspiring to see just how stupid people really can be sometimes. Aaaaaaaaaargh!!!!!!

Hehe yeah. Thats how my song "Sick of TV" (http://artists.mp3s.com/artist_song/2778/2778022.html) came out of my mind.

Lyrics:
I'm so sick
of that ¤¤¤¤
running on TV

[synthonic]

i usually (poorly) strum a few chords on an acoustic guitar and see what kind of melody they suggest. once i have a basic melody and chord progression i add on all the other stuff.

sometimes for fun i'll look up the chord progressions on olga.net to songs that i don't know, and i'll play the chords and try to create a new melody to sing the lyrics to.

[pop]

join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/synthpopwriters/
invitations only.