Members silverjess Posted November 3, 2009 Members Share Posted November 3, 2009 Last night I sat down and ripped out a song (music and lyrics) in less than 1/2hour. Its a bit rough but I didn't want to get out of the groove. Other times it takes days to weeks. Just puttin this out there to see where everyones at! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted November 3, 2009 Members Share Posted November 3, 2009 Once I decide I'm going to finish it, I write it within an hour. That could be after sitting on the idea for years, and I may edit it over the next few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrCompton Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 usually 2-3 days. But finalizing takes a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rsadasiv Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 Sometimes I'm done in an hour. On the other hand, last year I finally finished a song that I had started writing in 1987. It depends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 Anywhere from a few minutes to a few decades. And counting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grantsabbath Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 Very fast. I spit out a couple songs a week. I don't always show them though. A real finished song, like the others said, can take from from ten minutes to a couple years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaurenBateman Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 Hey it really depends on how into the moment I am. I've definitely written songs in about 30 minutes. Some take a week and some I started and finished a year later. My songs are really emotionally tied, so if I'm totally taken over by that moment it comes out pretty easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mpeddle Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 I take forever. I usually write 2 or 3 melodies that go together in a sitting or two, then agonize over the words. Forever. Seriously--for eons. If songwriting were just about creating pleasing melodies, I would have finished a dozen songs in October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members easilyspooked Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 time is an illusion. the only illusion.we move, my brothers, we move. i will add my voice to the chorus of: if i'm in the groove, an hour. if i'm working from a riff, then writing a verse, then writing a chorus, well i'm on the 3rd week of the song i'm currently writing, though hopefully i finished it last night, but one never knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 It really depends. I can write a complete song myself in an hour if the inspiration is right. But getting the music to sync right with the band can be a tedious process. It's taken us ten months to complete 4 solid songs. But, we don't even practice that much with grad school and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Matximus Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 Lyrics and music tend to come together in about an hour. But I can get hung up refining and rewriting lyrics for a couple weeks. But the best songs shouldn't take take long to write. I also find that Laboring over something for a long time rarely makes it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wwwjd Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 one hour to one year.if I buckle down and really WORK IT, I can complete a started concept to finished master within 8 - 16 hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhino55 Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 I come by lyrics much slower than the music or melody. Typically I'm sitting on a bunch of pieces of music. Once an inspired lyric comes along the rest comes together in under an hour. The first example of a song that comes to mind is one I set out to write about my daughter when she was a baby. There is a ton of material out there on the subject and I had trouble at first because I didnt want it to be too much of a cliche. I was stuck until I came up with one phrase, 7lbs of cool. I used this as an opening for the song and the rest of it flowed out in about 15 minutes. This is typically how I operate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members popthree Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 write or finish ? i can write a song in a very short time... a moment really... i've never finished one though. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 4, 2009 Moderators Share Posted November 4, 2009 For me? About 31 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xdrummer Posted November 4, 2009 Members Share Posted November 4, 2009 I've writen songs is less than an hour. Although in the majority of cases, I then do re-writes over the next 7-10 days trying to improve lines, etc. Although a couple of what I think are my best songs were songs that came quickly and required very little tweeking.....when the muse truly hits I find everything flows. But when I have to depend on my actual craft....that in when the process takes plenty of tweeking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rockinrobby Posted November 5, 2009 Members Share Posted November 5, 2009 for me it's usually a few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Eclepto Funk Posted November 5, 2009 Members Share Posted November 5, 2009 most times i can write a verse/chorus combination in a few days, sometimes faster ... as the "song" develops, the bridge or some other transition will usually become apparent. at that point, i consider the song "written," and it usually takes less than a week. then, i can mess with it for weeks or even months, trying to finish the words for all sections, sometimes changing the structure around, etc. but it varies for example, "Fine" took one night to write, as is. "Supernova" took five months to its final shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Boydog Posted November 6, 2009 Members Share Posted November 6, 2009 Anywhere from a few minutes to a few decades. And counting... +1 here also couldn't have worded it better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thrustin Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 I generally write, arrange and record full instrumentation in under 24 hours. I'm not saying they're great songs, but that the way I write. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members waterbed Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 lyrically:they're either mostly formed before i start, in which case it takes 10-20 minutes or so... or i have an idea or some lines in my head that i flesh out into a song, which can take an hour and can be exhausting... or i have no ideas and just write, which can be the fastest method for me.if i don't finish a song in one sitting, it probably won't get finished, because i've lost the headspace and rhythm and feel of it, but i often use lines in unfinished songs in new songs. musically:i just sit down with a guitar and make something up. 1 or 2 minutes and then repeat it a couple times to fit everything together. 5 if i'm struggling or i'm doing something unusual and i have to learn a part.i try to avoid too much cliche, and have avoided a 1645 chord progression so far, but i have to consciously make myself do something unnatural sounding. sometimes a song will just pop out fully formed while i'm playing around, but that's rare. instrumental "songs" are a near daily occurance, but lyrics and music in a coherent whole rarely happen. i can improvise a blues with varying degrees of success. other song structures are tougher. after i finish, i may edit a song, especially the rhythms or keys. lyrically, if i edit a song, later i often find i like the original version better. it's about 50/50 on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members djowens123 Posted November 12, 2009 Members Share Posted November 12, 2009 20 mins to 20 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ariagracefield Posted November 16, 2009 Members Share Posted November 16, 2009 it depends really on the thought process behind the song....although after doin a song I always think I could have done it better.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B. Dunlap Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 I usually come up with the basic structure and melody of the songs I write while jamming something random. It takes a few days to finalize, but the rough version I usually have written down in ~30 min. Of course I revise it until I'm satisfied, so overall a few days total. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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