What is your songwriting method?

TeenageWasteland · 02-25-2016, 09:50 PM

Pet_Sounds · 02-26-2016, 02:24 PM

I usually sit down at the piano and try to come up with an original melody until I get frustrated and give up.

**Frownland** · 02-26-2016, 02:36 PM

1. Pick which instrument I want to play.
2. Play.
3. Song.

Plainview · 03-04-2016, 03:07 PM

1. Pick which instrument I want to play.
2. Play.
3. Wanky Rubbish.
4. Repeat Step 2 for weeks until Step 3 and 4 (this Step) are averted.
5. Song.

YorkeDaddy · 03-04-2016, 08:11 PM

Smoke weed

Go into Ableton

Make dank memes

Profit

Machine · 03-05-2016, 10:25 AM

1) Write some **** down
2) Try to find a melody to go along
3) Give up
4) Write more lyrics
5) Make something up on an instrument and put lyrics to it, if that doesn't work either ditch or keep it instrumental
5A) Make a demo at this point and put it on soundcloud
6) Cut out some of the fat of the song so it's at least below 8 minutes usually
7) Put that song on hold for a bit once I run out of ideas
8) Repeat previous steps on other tunes
9) Arrange parts for different instruments
10) Make score for each song
11) Deconstruct or keep the same
12) Record each part
13) Put that **** together
14) Mix that ****
15) Done
16) Repeat until album or EP is ready

That has been the process for the new album

grindy · 03-05-2016, 03:17 PM

I usually start with the drums, then add bass, then comes guitar, electronics, sax or whatever I want to use. Since I don't really like using meaningful lyrics, I just sing random stuff or write nonsense poetry in Russian over all that.

Shadows5 · 04-12-2016, 08:03 PM

The lyrics always come first for me and then the melody will kick in and I adjust lyrics to fit melody. It all happens in my head before I ever pick up a guitar. I know it is kinda ass backwards but that is just how it happens to me. I will wake up out of a dead sleep and have a song running through my head, go to my music room and write the lyrics, throw some chords to it go back to bed and get up in the morning and listen to (if recorded) or read what I did / wrote the night before.

drawthesun · 04-21-2016, 10:54 AM

I take in experiences, and things people told me and start with that... then I add on progressions and alternate the logic

logic A,
logic B,
logic A,
logic B,

where A corresponds logically to A and B corresponds logically to B

Stormelius · 05-04-2016, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeenageWasteland

I try not to use the same method over and over again because if I did that I'd pretty much write the same song over and over again.

Everything starts from a seed. Sometimes it's a guitar riff. Sometimes it's a chord progression. Sometimes it's a vocal hook I thought of in the shower. Sometimes it's a theory experiment, like "can I write something super poppy with a diminished chord in the verse?" One time I recorded myself swinging a coaxial cable around my head as hard as I could and then tried to "finish" the track by adding stuff to complement it.

02-25-2016, 09:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
TeenageWasteland Groupie Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 11	What is your songwriting method?

02-26-2016, 02:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
Pet_Sounds Remember the underscore Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: The other side Posts: 2,489	I usually sit down at the piano and try to come up with an original melody until I get frustrated and give up. __________________ Everybody's dying just to get the disease

02-26-2016, 02:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,548	1. Pick which instrument I want to play. 2. Play. 3. Song. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

03-05-2016, 10:25 AM	#6 (permalink)
Machine moon lake inc. Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Detroit Posts: 2,125	1) Write some ** down 2) Try to find a melody to go along 3) Give up 4) Write more lyrics 5) Make something up on an instrument and put lyrics to it, if that doesn't work either ditch or keep it instrumental 5A) Make a demo at this point and put it on soundcloud 6) Cut out some of the fat of the song so it's at least below 8 minutes usually 7) Put that song on hold for a bit once I run out of ideas 8) Repeat previous steps on other tunes 9) Arrange parts for different instruments 10) Make score for each song 11) Deconstruct or keep the same 12) Record each part 13) Put that together 14) Mix that ** 15) Done 16) Repeat until album or EP is ready That has been the process for the new album __________________ boost my ego listen to me stroke my delay pedal ever wanted to hear death grips songs... but they're acoustic? me neither.

03-05-2016, 03:17 PM	#7 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	I usually start with the drums, then add bass, then comes guitar, electronics, sax or whatever I want to use. Since I don't really like using meaningful lyrics, I just sing random stuff or write nonsense poetry in Russian over all that. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*

04-12-2016, 08:03 PM	#8 (permalink)
Shadows5 Groupie Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 8	The lyrics always come first for me and then the melody will kick in and I adjust lyrics to fit melody. It all happens in my head before I ever pick up a guitar. I know it is kinda ass backwards but that is just how it happens to me. I will wake up out of a dead sleep and have a song running through my head, go to my music room and write the lyrics, throw some chords to it go back to bed and get up in the morning and listen to (if recorded) or read what I did / wrote the night before.

04-21-2016, 10:54 AM	#9 (permalink)
drawthesun Groupie Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 9	I take in experiences, and things people told me and start with that... then I add on progressions and alternate the logic logic A, logic B, logic A, logic B, where A corresponds logically to A and B corresponds logically to B