Members troubbble Posted August 29, 2005 Members Share Posted August 29, 2005 I've been working on a song on and off for over a year now. I have 8 lines of lyrics so far and a killer melody. I also have guitar and bass parts that I tried recording earlier today. The recording sounds like crap. I want to change this song so I can finish it AND make it sound good. This is going to be the best song ever if I can just figure out how to give it a total overhaul. I'm so obsessed with it because I know that it has potential to make me proud of my songwriting abilities (for once), but it's just going in a direction that I can't control and it sounds so mediocre. I love these lyrics to death, but GRRRAAAARRRRUUUUUUU Any advice would be good, but I think I might just be on a late night rant that my brain can't control. The awesomeness/crapiness of this song will dictate the future of my songwriting and overall mental stability. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BryanMichael Posted August 29, 2005 Members Share Posted August 29, 2005 Hello, first of all stop worrying about the guitar and bass parts.. those are ARRANGEMENT decisions that are only clouding the completion of the song. Secondly just play the CHORDS and sing the melody- no riffs or anything unless they are of dire importance to working on the vocal melody. Third, think of writing like an essay- first you have a main idea, then that idea h as to be developed offering a DIFFERENT aspect of that idea in each verse with the "chorus" kind of summing up the idea. So far, with only 8 lines, do you know what your song is supposed to be about or at least what the main idea is? If not, then you need to start asking yourself some questions about that. I'm trying to develop a "songwriter's form"that helps work on this process- not a paint by numbers type of thing, but a sheet to help plan the "narrative aspect" of a song. I think too many new writers don't see songwriting as a form of narrative, when in fact just about all songs are. They either progress on a line or revolve around a point, but they are a narrative. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members troubbble Posted August 29, 2005 Author Members Share Posted August 29, 2005 You're probably right about just chords. I need to break out the acoustic and just let it flow. Channel my ki and stuff. I think I've just been stuck in a rut where none of my songs lead to choruses, but instead just kind of lead into extended verses that don't really go anywhere. Maybe if I just take it down a notch a logical chorus will present itself. It's weird how when I started playing guitar about...6 years ago(?)...I was writing awesome songs that didn't have too much depth, but were catchy as hell and full of hooks and melodies that just urged me forward. I took a step back to try and improve my songwriting, and now instead of having ideas all over the place, I just get stuck on simple things like boring arrangements and stuff. I don't want to go back, so I'm just kind of fighting my way into what I hope is a better way of writing songs. Maybe I need to listen to more Nirvana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MikeLewisMusic Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Songwriting is an evolutionary process. Most people start out their songwriting mimicking what they hear on the radio. Then, they move on to something more meaningful to them personally. Your personal stuff may not be mass-media compatible, but it may be better than the stuff you started out writing. This is not an oxymoron, it just means that the music industry is obsessed with commercialism. Jees, people go into business, then they want to make money! Can you really blame them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fetuspetus Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Don't think, just do. It seriously sounds like your stability is centered around this. If you can't finish it today don't forget it - just start working on something else. I love writing, I'm not a singer, but I am the main contributor to music in the band and i tell ya... if i stick myself on one riff for a night i go nuts too - so try to come up wtih something crazy - just let your fingers go wherever they feel. don't think about it so much. ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr. Tweedbucket Posted September 3, 2005 Members Share Posted September 3, 2005 Originally posted by troubbble I've been working on a song on and off for over a year now. I have 8 lines of lyrics so far and a killer melody. I also have guitar and bass parts that I tried recording earlier today. The recording sounds like crap. I want to change this song so I can finish it AND make it sound good. This is going to be the best song ever if I can just figure out how to give it a total overhaul. I'm so obsessed with it because I know that it has potential to make me proud of my songwriting abilities (for once), but it's just going in a direction that I can't control and it sounds so mediocre. I love these lyrics to death, but GRRRAAAARRRRUUUUUUU Any advice would be good, but I think I might just be on a late night rant that my brain can't control. The awesomeness/crapiness of this song will dictate the future of my songwriting and overall mental stability. Sorry. Most killer songs are written in 10 minutes or less sorry ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members troubbble Posted September 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 4, 2005 Originally posted by Dr. Tweedbucket Most killer songs are written in 10 minutes or less sorry ..... If I could delete this thread I'd do it just to take away one of your posts. :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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