Songwriters?

Larry

Larry

"Uncle Larry"
I'm trying to get you guys to share your personal songwriting process here. No wrong answers can happen.

Here's mine, not that I wrote many songs.

I have to have a strong reason to write a song. Something I want to say. Say I want to write about a guy (for instance) who works physically hard 7 days a week. Then I try and figure out the mood of the song. Is it angry? Is it from a place of acceptance? Is it a surrender type of song? Who is this guy? I have to figure this stuff out before I actually work on writing something. I think first I'd take a stab at the lyrical content. That would dictate what I want to say. Then I would select a time signature, then from there, a basic song structure. I should have an idea where I want to go, what I want to say, and what my reason is for writing a song. I also am aware that the song has to have a peak. I go through a lot of..."what am I trying to convey here?". I have to crystallize that in my mind first.

I've had an idea for a song for years but I haven't started on it. I even have a title for the song which I can't share. I do know certain things I want to do with it, musically speaking. I know exactly who I'm stealing from. On this song I haven't written yet, I'm stealing a trick from Charley Patton's "Spoonful", where he substitutes a slide guitar figure anytime the word "spoonful" comes around. (except for the very first time he says it) I always thought that was brilliant. Well I'm stealing that for this song. I know what I want to say. I just have to get down to it.

So have any of you gone down the songwriting rabbit hole? Care to share?
 
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Before process, there's motivation. Honestly, I really don't know why I write, it's just something I do. Sure, I have theories about why, but what matters, what separates me from musicians who don't write, is a bit of a mystery.
I'm generating music all the time on guitar, perhaps some consider that part of the process, or indeed, songwriting in and of itself. For me, it's just melodies and riffs; again, just something I do, like breathe and eat.
While there's no "one way" that I approach writing, it usually starts with something random and inspiring that demands the song. Might be an idea, or a story that I want to tell, but mostly it's a couple or few words that just work together in a way that demands more words.
Once something delicious pops into my head, my brain circles around it like a vulture, and more words, and then lines, and then verses bubble up. I tend to think of it as tuning into some sort of radio station, and that applies to the music, as well.
Where it comes from, I don't really know. But, my job as I see it, is to document/memorize the good stuff, and then collate it into the song.
 
I was so proud of the last song I wrote, and then I realized that it was the exact same chord progression and melody line as an Alison Krauss song.

I'm a terrible songwriter. I did it for a year. Never again.
 
I come up with a riff or a beat, then the product of fiddling around and rumination takes some kind of initial form. I've also written lyrics outside the context of music to set them to.

It's a soup brewing in my head until it becomes a riff, beat or lyrics. I hum to myself or make weird noises to imitate a beat, and sometimes I get to my instrument before the moment passes.
 
I make up all kinds of things on other instruments to drum along with. I dunno if its song writing or what. It's always like 2 riffs looped and I have drum fun for an hour. Nothing serious.

When I was gigging I was quite involved in the songwriting process. Mostly myself and 1 other guy wrote damn near everything.
 
There's more than one way to do it and to do it well.

Sometimes it's organic, where the music and/or lyrics emerge complete and completely on their own (ie. an almost subconscious effort).

Sometimes it's piecemeal, step-by-step like putting a puzzle together (ie. a very conscious effort).

Sometimes the lyrics come first and the music is written around them, but sometimes the melody comes first and the lyrics are written around the melody.

On my own, and in the bands I've been in, all of the above methods have been used to write music.

In the end, though, when it comes to writing music, it's the destination that matters and not the journey. In other words, is it a good song? If so, it doesn't really matter how it came about... songwriting, to me, is one of the few instances where the end justifies the means.
 
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I've written many songs. Most of which have never been finished.

Only one is out there floating around the internet.

One day I hope to finish the rest. But I really need to put my ego aside and bring in better players to finish the songs off than trying to do it all myself.
 
I think I can now safely say that I am a songwriter. I've got about 30 original compositions or so under my belt. And I'm currently nearing the end of recording tracks for my first album of original compositions which is slated to come out some time before the summer. I'm 54 years old and it's been a lifelong desire. I plan to immediately start writing the second album once this one's out-- I am working toward having songwriting and playing on other people's records become my primary focus.

My process? When I'm writing, I block off time and treat it like a job-- a couple hours a day. And I keep notebooks and stuff throughout the year for whenever I have an idea. I absolutely loved Jeff Tweedy's book How to Write One Song and recommend it to anyone trying to go down this path.
 
I've only written a handful, so I don't consider myself an actual "songwriter". How I have gone about it is a phrase will strike me as something that I'd like to use in a song, and I'll jot it down in an electronic notekeeper app in my phone. I have a few pages of those phrases saved. Sometimes I get more inspiration on a given thought process, and I might structure a few verses, and save that, to work on later. If/when I get the inspiration, time and motivation to try and put something together, I'll go back to my notes, pick out the phrases that are sticking with me, and start writing stuff out long hand on an actual pad of paper. That way I can scribble, cross out, use arrows to move stuff around to different sections, etc.

Music is the larger challenge for me in the songwriting, as I can only form basic chords on guitar or keys. If a melody strikes me, I'll try and hum it into a voice recorder app on my phone to go back to later. The few songs that I've actually written, I gave the lyrics to the guitar player in our band and he crafted the music, then we sorted out arrangements together, or as a full band.

The notekeeping and voice recording apps on my phone are really helpful, as I never go anywhere without my phone, and often this stuff strikes me while driving, or daydreaming at work, or any number of different locations. Rarely when I'm actually thinking about putting something together.

I'm hoping to try and at least create a general musical idea to go with lyrics next time I tackle it, and have the guitar player embellish it. We keep batting about the idea of doing another CD sometime, tho the guitar player swore he'd never do it again after the last one, lolol. (He records and engineers it, in addition to writing most of the music and playing guitar, so its certainly more work for him than us.)
 
I constantly make pitch progressions and play with words while doing my daily existence.

They pop back later when i noodle on a pitched instrument(though I have written from the set before).

While noodling i make sure to stop when something really moves me and take note.

I find that prediction of what I am going to hear from the instrument reduces my creative output.

I also find that the more critical i am of something I write SOUNDING like something else I have heard, the less productive I am as I start editing before I should....and, yes, I have rewritten 'message in a bottle' because I was forcing myself to ignore my 'that's familiar' sensation(lol).

in the end I am guided more by my appreciation of what I am hearing than I am by theory...but theory is really helpful(e.g. hmmm..I could modulate here to something lydian and have pleasing but unfamiliar pitch progression...and drawing the circle of fifths on my snare head was a must a while back.)

As a byline, be sure you document and retain proof of date when you write(consult a lawyer)...there ARE thieves...some very successful...and not all are even in the room or are pretty and show up on Tuesday Nights to write)
 
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When I’m in songwriting mode tunes and riffs naturally pop into my head, whether driving, walking down the road, or noodling around on a guitar or keyboard. I usually write when I’m miserable or happy, very rarely in between! Here’s a couple I wrote about my wife (get ya sick bags out if you dare listen :ROFLMAO: !). Curiously I’ve never written a song from the drums…


 
I cannot recommend highly enough the book Written in My Soul: Conversations With Rock's Great Songwriters, by Bill Flanagan. It's out of print--it came out in the last 80s, if I recall correctly--but your local library may have a copy. The songwriters he talks to about their craft is pretty staggering: Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Mick Jagger, Joni Mitchell, David Byrne, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Bono, Pete Townshend and Keith Richards, to name not even all of them. (There's a funny bit where Keef is told something that Townshend had said and gets annoyed, picks up the tape recorder and speaks directly into it, chidingly addressing Townshend as "Peter.")

Some of them--Paul Simon--talk about treating it like a job, where you sit down at the same time and get to work. Others talk about needing to wait for the muse. A few of them admit that they've screwed up their personal lives in the past because they're more prolific that way.

Anyhoo. Worth checking out, if you get a chance.
 
Al Strange said:
When I’m in songwriting mode tunes and riffs naturally pop into my head, whether driving, walking down the road, or noodling around on a guitar or keyboard. I usually write when I’m miserable or happy, very rarely in between! Here’s a couple I wrote about my wife (get ya sick bags out if you dare listen :ROFLMAO: !). Curiously I’ve never written a song from the drums…


Man that was great really enjoyed it.
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Singing is hard for me...there is no shield between you and the song and the emotions can really swamp me...but also yield great emotional results in the end product.
 
Al Strange said:
When I’m in songwriting mode tunes and riffs naturally pop into my head, whether driving, walking down the road, or noodling around on a guitar or keyboard. I usually write when I’m miserable or happy, very rarely in between! Here’s a couple I wrote about my wife (get ya sick bags out if you dare listen :ROFLMAO: !). Curiously I’ve never written a song from the drums…


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Dude! Those were great!
 
I have an acoustic guitar and can play so so. I play it six days week. I do this so I can write songs for church. I have written about 20, but some of them are not very good. I have a dozen or so decent ones, and some of those border on being good. Most of the lyrics have come from the Book of Psalms. Peace and goodwill.
 
Al Strange said:
When I’m in songwriting mode tunes and riffs naturally pop into my head, whether driving, walking down the road, or noodling around on a guitar or keyboard. I usually write when I’m miserable or happy, very rarely in between! Here’s a couple I wrote about my wife (get ya sick bags out if you dare listen :ROFLMAO: !). Curiously I’ve never written a song from the drums…


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That was great man really enjoyed it.
 
Al, that song EVERYTHING was GOLD!

This could be a great opportunity to get other members to post their stuff and to talk about the process they went through.

This is really exciting.

There are some really gifted members on this forum......my goodness.

Drumolator......you have written 20 songs, I would absolutely love to hear some.
 
I write on bass.

Usually I come up with all of the rhythmic parts: guitars, bass, drums, and teach those to the band members. After the main structure is down, they add their own take to those parts. The vocalist gets a rough version of us playing the song, and then he works his magic.

I write about 20 songs a year - depending on my motivation - and usually only 2 or 3 see the light of day.

most of my stuff is prog-metalish.
 
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