How to write rock songs without a band?

[Giorgi]

OKAY so Im mostly interested in rock/metal/whatever... not acoustic + vocals. I have no idea how to write a song when I only can play guitar. I start with a riff but there's usually not enough resources to make anything out of it.

 

What do you guys advice? I dont have a band currently

[TravvyBear]

I write all my songs on 'acoustic+ vocals'.

Its when I bring them into the band where they flesh out.

[Nick*]

I think I was in a similar situation when I first started writing. I first used to write only rock/grunge types of songs. I would lay down a riff and then back it with a bass and drums..and that was the song.

 

Here is what I would do if I were you...

 

First - structure your song. Figure out what riff you want for the verse, chorus, bridge, intro, outro..whatever. And then record it.

 

Second - write the melody. Pick some notes out that you are able to sing over the chords. And then put words to that melody.

 

Third - arrangement. Decide what other instruments and sounds you want to bring into the song. You don't have to worry about this right now though. Worry about this when you have a band and/or the resources for it.

 

 

That's kind of like an easy 3-step guideline I would use. But I think I do understand your situation. When I first started I wrote some VERY heavy riffs, and I couldn't understand how I would ever be able to lay a melody over them, so then I switched to doing a lot of acoustic stuff because the melodies came easier to me. Now I can go back to some of the very raunchy/heavily distorted riffs and put melodies over them because I understand the process better....I think I'm going to do that actually.

[speierg]

Well, I'm not exactly doing metal, but I have done a few songs (by myself) with the idea of making it sound like a full rock band. This past week I added drums and bass to a song in order to get it to sound like a full band (click on the link in my sig and listen to "Coming Through" if you care to hear it). I'm not a drummer, and I'm a marginal bass player at best, but what I have found is that I am growing a lot as a musician as I learn to see my songs through the eyes/ears of a drummer or bass player, etc. Guitar is my main instrument, but it's been really fun creating tracks for the other instruments as well.

 

Now, I'm not actually playing the drums because (a) I don't own a kit and (b) I don't have enough mics/pres to record the kit that I don't have and © my skills as a drummer would require lots of improvement before I could get it right in less than 20 takes. However, even when programming the drums, it requires me to think like a drummer (insert joke about drummers here) and that has caused me to see my songs from a different perspective, which has been very cool.

 

So, my advice would be to go for it. Stretch yourself a bit. If you can hear the drums to your song in your head, then learn how to program some drums and make some drum tracks. Same for bass...if you can play the guitar then you can lay down at least a rudimentary bass track (just borrow a bass from a friend...that's what I do...the one I own SUCKS and is really hard to play).

 

You might be surprised at how much you learn by doing this. Have fun with it, man.

[Stackabones]

I'd start learning some classic instrumental tunes such as Sleepwalk, Walk Don't Run, Tequila, Green Onions, Lenny, Little Wing, whatever -- and arrange them for solo guitar. You can actually do this with any song, so those are just suggestions.

 

Once you start doing that, you may begin to realize the possibilities of writing for the solo guitar and it will help you in writing your own material.

 

So, three basic steps ...

 

 

[maddrummerdude]

I've made a couple "rock" tracks before by myself (I put rock in quotations because although there was an electric guitar, bass, and drums, they were still pretty tame). I think it really depends on what methods you use to write music and what equipment you have. I have an old, cheap electric keyboard with a standard drum kit on it, and I use that to emulate whatever drum pattern I might use in the song. That usually helps me a lot, and if you don't have a keyboard you could use the drum machines in programs such as FL Studios or Ableton.

 

If you don't have those programs, you could try to assess the necessary beat needed to go with the guitar riffs you are using and "hear" the drums in your head. You could go to google and search for basic drum patterns, and sound files will show up and you could write your riffs as you listen to the drums play. As a last resort, ask a friend to beat out a pattern on a kitchen table while you write.

 

Best of luck!

[blue2blue]

When I was in a punk/no wave band I wrote my songs on whatever guitar was handy. I'd take them to practice, show the guys the chords and then we'd play them. Band members would come up with embellishments as they saw fit -- or could get away with .

 

When the band broke up, I was still writing songs on my guitars but I wanted to hear them in a rock context, for the most part. I bought an old four track recorder and when a primitive little drum machine came out from Roland/Boss for $100 (that was 1981 dollars -- a few hun today), the original and incredibly limited DR-55 Dr Rhythm, I bought one of those. I already had a bass, so from there it was just a matter of laying it down. (OK, I jumped through lots of hoops trying to get the DR-55 to sound vaguely not horrible; not really possible but I didn't let that stop me.)

 

Today, of course, we have lots of recording options. We also have lots of help in laying down parts, numerous virtual instrument and even virtual band solutions -- so, really, you could just offload all the accompaniment work to robots, loops, etc, and concentrate on coming up with cool chord progressions, melodies and guitar embellishments, etc.

[Bodyguard2112]

Although it helps to have it in your head what you want it to sound like.

 

Go get this software I use called "Mixcraft". You buy it from Acoustica.com for about 69 bucks.

 

Then you get a cheap mic. I got one for a USB port for 15 bucks at Best Buy or whatever.

 

All songs on this site were made with this except "Apophis"

 

www.myspace.com/thereignoffire

 

You start with your song idea. Put on a drum beat you select from their choices on the program, use it as your beat or metronome.

 

Then you play your rhythm track over it and as the guys said above, decide arrangement etc.

 

Then you use the other tracks is gives you to record anything else you want to put in it. Vocal(s). Bass. Whatever.

 

Rock song.

 

No band.

 

Cool.

 

Fun.

[LeonardScaper]

Haven't played in the rock band in quite a few years. Instead got myself a PT rig and tracked all those instruments myself with a drum machine and everything.

 

I think I wrote some good rock tunes that way.....and when I listened back to them I sure felt like a rocker again.

 

But......truth is it was just me playing with myself.

 

I think you can write good rock with just acoustic guit and vox....if you feel it. If, however, you want to track it like you're hearing it in your head and have it really rock, you had best get the band back together.

[blue2blue]

 

Although it helps to have it in your head what you want it to sound like. Go get this software I use called "Mixcraft". You buy it from Acoustica.com for about 69 bucks. Then you get a cheap mic. I got one for a USB port for 15 bucks at Best Buy or whatever. All songs on this site were made with this except "Apophis" www.myspace.com/thereignoffire You start with your song idea. Put on a drum beat you select from their choices on the program, use it as your beat or metronome. Then you play your rhythm track over it and as the guys said above, decide arrangement etc. Then you use the other tracks is gives you to record anything else you want to put in it. Vocal(s). Bass. Whatever. Rock song. No band. Cool. Fun.

 

 

I listened to "Apophis ver 4" -- it's a great time when you can accomplish something like that for an $85 investment. (I mean, no fair including the computer... you need a computer just to look up a phone number or order pizza these days.)

[ido1957]

I've written a few rock tunes without a band - see the sig below. For example Heartbreaker is a rock tune I wrote using guitar/midi drums/mic/recording software. I think it worked out okay....

 

Guess we need to know more about why you're having problems writing when it's usually just a matter of inspiration and perspiration...

[rockinrobby]

Dude, I do all of my stuff? And I "am a band" You don't need a band, you just need patience, time, and money :-)

 

www.reverbnation.com/rockinrobby

[ggm1960]

I've written, sang and played all the instruments on all of the songs I've recorded that are posted all over the internet.

I waited 30 years for computers to make it possible for me to do that.

[billeh]

I've been doing this for quite a while and I finally got a "low budget" setup that I allows me to be a full band without actually being a full band.

 

I use three programs

1 piece of hardware

 

The first programs is an all purpose recording program. It's simple enough so that you don't feel lost when you first see it, but professional enough to have controls such as envelope editing, plugin support etc. This I use to record guitars, vocals and bass.

 

The second program I use is FL studio. It's basically a step sequencer. It does lots and lots of other things, but I use it mainly for sequencing drums. This is the part that may be the deal breaker or the "cool part" depending on what your into. I use single hit drum samples. Meaning an sound file of a single snare hit, a sound file of a single kick. They have these drumkits that they sell like this. Over time I've acquired a bunch. (The vintage ludwig being my fav) Anyway, This is probably the most complex program from the 3, but nowhere near "hard." The only thing that's a little lame about this programs is that it is limited in the time signature department.

 

The third is actually a plugin. It's called Gearbox. It's a guitar amp simulator that you use with your recording program. In my case, reaper. It has tons and tons of amp models and cabs and pedals. You can really dial in any tone ever. It will keep you busy for days if your a tweaker.

 

The only hardware I use is the toneport gx. It's a instrument/computer interface. I say instrument because it will except almost anything through a 1/4 instrument cable. (bass/guitar etc) This is the best 100 dollars I ever spent. It came bundled with gearbox (the previously mentioned plugin). Super super low latency, something like 4 millaseconds. Very clean recordings.

 

My process is usually coming up with the the guitar riff first. So I record that on reaper with a metronome. Then I might add a bassline to that. So finally go into FL studio and set it to the proper tempo, and make the drum track on there. The export the drum track as an mp3 and put that into the reaper timeline. Presto you've got a song. The nice thing about a recording program is that after you have, for instance the guitar recording done, you can just keep playing that over while you fiddle around with the bass or a second guitar.

[Taylor Davis]

 

OKAY so Im mostly interested in rock/metal/whatever... not acoustic + vocals. I have no idea how to write a song when I only can play guitar. I start with a riff but there's usually not enough resources to make anything out of it. What do you guys advice? I dont have a band currently

 

 

what i did was to LEARN ROCK COVERS to get a feel for the genre and it's different structures.

 

take black sabbath for instance.

their song PARANOID was "it" for me and so i learned it from the original and also the RANDY RHODES version and combined the two.

 

I went on to learn many sabbath songs and a bunch of ACDC and indeed got a feel for metal stuff. i learned a ton of rock songs by many different bands.

 

WHO WANTS WAR is my prime example for what a rock song without a band would sound like.

 

I have no band now(don't want one or need one) and so i did all the instruments for WWW and of course the arrangement and wrote all the lyrics and sang and performed the tune and I also recorded, mixed and burned it at my very modest home studio.

 

i do wish to re-record it as i have gotten better at mixing down and have better tools to that effect now.

 

writeing any song in any genre is easy if you know how. only, you have to learn covers to get a feel for your medium.

hope this helps.

 

you have to do your homework to be a goode songwriter and right now I do have some college homework(math) to do, so I better get to it.

 

PS i made an 84 on my midterm in electronics engineering(industrial controls), oh YEAH!

groan! i just registered for fall semester i got 16 hours of classes next semester and i may not survive it.

td

[LeonardScaper]

.....you can write good rock with just acoustic guit and vox.... if you feel it.

 

[kurdy]

The stuff I do is about as far from metal as you can get. However, I still may be able to offer some advice.

 

It's always nice to have a bunch of musicians around to help flesh out ideas, but it doesn't need to be mandatory.

 

I think the best way to go about it is to figure out what the center of your song is. What drives it? In your case, because you're a guitarist, it will probably be your guitar riffs. Which from what I know about the genre, is usually what metal's all about anyway.

 

So work on your riffs, and develop them to the point where you have the basic structure of the song down. Don't worry about all the other elements just yet.

 

After you've got the basic skeleton of the song, then you can start thinking about how to frame it with the other elements--bass, drums, vocals etc. That's the stage where recording and multitrack software becomes the most handy. It may be no substitute for a real band, but it's at least an easier way to sketch out your ideas.

 

However, you don't even have to know anything about music software or recording. By really taking the time to develop your song, you might simply start to hear the other elements in your head. Listen to your favorite CDs, and pay attention not just to what the guitar is doing, but also bass, drums, or whatever other instruments there may be. You'll likely pick up a lot of musical ideas to incorporate into your own music. So by the time you get a band together, you can better comminicate these ideas to the other musicians. They may also be able to add certain ideas you never even thought of yourself, which is another benefit of working with other people. But again, although I understand it may be trickier to do with a real band-oriented genre such as metal, it should still be possible for you to write songs by yourself.

[ggm1960]

 

Ten years of the above......taking advantage of modern technology to be my own band....has brought me full circle. I realize now that I never really got that 'band vibe' going.

 

 

I've been writing and recording my own songs to satisfy my own muse as far back as I can remember but I've enjoyed the ability to create a more professional sound as recording technology has become more affordable, accessible and powerful.

 

Meanwhile I've also simultaneously been playing in cover bands for many years in order to have the live-band-performing-gigs experience in a format that can actually offer some financial compensation.

 

I'd recommend both of these experiences to anyone who aspires to play an instrument(s).

 

As far as the op, I believe I understand where he's coming from. I can remember early on when I was learning guitar I'd come up with a riff or phrase that sounded pretty cool but then had no idea how to take it to the next level. Later in college I enrolled in some various music classes like theory and classical guitar playing which opened up doors of musical enlightenment.

Another important resource not to be over looked is the vast amount of knowledge found in music magazines like Guitar World.

[blue2blue]

Since everyone else is posting some of their rock songs and since I don't normally have much of an impulse to expose the handful of my rockers that have survived into this century, I thought I'd take the opportunity to post this pop-punk thing I recorded in '96.* It was part of a concept album, a collection of songs named after girls who worked at my favorite coffee house. The musical concept was supposed to be summed up in the one liner, The Beach Boys Meet the Pistols -- but it was a long way from either pole and many of the songs have gone on to have other incarnations from folk to house. The drums and bass were sequenced. It was just before I moved from ADATs to DAW in '97. But even then, the ADATs were synced to my computer sequencer.

 

Here's Rachel, Tell Me No...

 

For fun, you might also drop the needle on the downtempo version, which probably really exemplifies how far apart some of my versions of my songs are from one another. For me, a song is just a starting place. It might actualize itself as country one day and electronica the next.

 

 

*At that point, I'd spent much of the late 80s and early 90s listening to noise pop from Sonic Youth to Ministry and Skinny Puppy. But something shifted in me and my tolerance for the edgiest of that stuff started evaporating. Intellectually, I still enjoyed a lot of it, but in terms of just listening, my bouncing ball had bounced on...

[meteorman]

 

OKAY so Im mostly interested in rock/metal/whatever... not acoustic + vocals. I have no idea how to write a song when I only can play guitar. I start with a riff but there's usually not enough resources to make anything out of it. What do you guys advice? I dont have a band currently

 

 

I usually get an idea of a chord progression. Honestly, a lot of times I wake up in the morning with a song in my head. I work out the chords that I'm hearing then write a melody that fits the chords. Once I work out a change, I'm pretty much done. I'll leave the song in that state until I can get with some other musicians and collaberate to finish the song.

 

I'm into smooth jazz by the way.

[Giorgi]

Well thanks a lot guys! I have something to work with here. :-)