how you start

[raisans]

I'm just curious because ive tried different things and various different people have recommended various different methods, but how do you go about writing a song? do you write the lyrics to music or music to lyrics? do you write the tune for the lyrics or the lyrics for the tune? what is prioritised?

[speierg]

I've done a little bit of everything I think. Usually I am either inspired by some lyrical phrase or song title that I dream up and I start writing lyrics (typically I have a melody in my head as I write the lyrics) OR I'm inspired by some guitar riff or chord progression and I start writing the rest of the song musically (again, with a rough draft of the melody in my head). Once I have the first draft of either the music or the lyrics I start working on the the other side that is yet undone. Every once in a while, the lyrics and music seem to come to me simultaneously...those songs are the most fun to write.

[GreenSpringRun]

I always start with building up the very basics of a track and feeling out the general tone of what I want. From there I'll play around with it, add/take away parts and see how it can all fit together. If I'm going to put vocals on it (samples or record some) i'll have a play around with different effects and see what I think fits. Add finishing touches. Listen. Give it to a few other people for opinions. Change anything I think is appropriate then tadah! Done.

[tspit74]

Maybe you're not ready yet. You'll write your first song when you don't have to ask anybody how.

[rhino55]

People are either songwriters or their not. Being a songwriter is a full time obsession. You dont really stop writing. And as far as starting... I guess it just kinda happens.

 

For me the first time was just singing over a familiar chord progression.

 

Since I've done it both ways you asked about and am comfortable with both.

You just got to let it happen.

And then keep letting it happen.

Which ever one inspires you should be the priority.

Just go with it

[Bodyguard2112]

You know, I think there is some truth to this.

 

You know what you like. You know what you feel. You know how to play or sing (or something!)

 

Do it.

 

 

 

Maybe you're not ready yet. You'll write your first song when you don't have to ask anybody how.

 

[TravvyBear]

Generally, I'm just strumming a guitar, till a melody hits me.

[Boydog]

most of the time the song comes to me in my head complete and I just gotta figure out how to get it recorded so it sounds worth listening to

like they ^^^^ say,, you'll know it when you're ready

[bassred]

 

People are either songwriters or their not. Being a songwriter is a full time obsession. You dont really stop writing. And as far as starting... I guess it just kinda happens. For me the first time was just singing over a familiar chord progression. Since I've done it both ways you asked about and am comfortable with both. You just got to let it happen. And then keep letting it happen. Which ever one inspires you should be the priority. Just go with it

 

yes . and no.

 

For no explainable reason, I went through a period of about 7 years where I could not commit to anything. I would come up with cool riffs or chord progressions, but had no will to remember them. I didn't even think about writing any lyrics or poems.

 

Last summer, my band was booked to play an outdoor event. it was a no-pay deal that we had agreed to do because it was for the Police Department. I worked during the day and was headed over at 3 to run the sound (my part time job with the city) and we were going to headline the night. at 2 my drummer tapped out (for no good reason) . soon after, the guitards called to follow suit. I called the promoter and asked if it was OK if I just filled the 30 minutes on my acoustic. All was OK, I juggled the other band to the headlining spot.

 

I played 30 minutes of covers with just my acoustic and a mic. I had the crowd of 400+ people totally digging it.

 

I got my groove back. I knew that if I could do 'dock o the bay' and 'waiting on the world to change' with enough conviction to hold the audience, I could certainly try my hand at penning my own tunes.

 

That was that. I now have ten tunes or so that my band is going to work up and polish, and we are hoping to cut them as an album by the end of the year.

 

So, yeah, you can stop. But (hopefully) it will come back, because you are either born as a songwriter or not.

[rhino55]

 

yes . and no. For no explainable reason, I went through a period of about 7 years where I could not commit to anything. I would come up with cool riffs or chord progressions, but had no will to remember them. I didn't even think about writing any lyrics or poems. Last summer, my band was booked to play an outdoor event. it was a no-pay deal that we had agreed to do because it was for the Police Department. I worked during the day and was headed over at 3 to run the sound (my part time job with the city) and we were going to headline the night. at 2 my drummer tapped out (for no good reason) . soon after, the guitards called to follow suit. I called the promoter and asked if it was OK if I just filled the 30 minutes on my acoustic. All was OK, I juggled the other band to the headlining spot. I played 30 minutes of covers with just my acoustic and a mic. I had the crowd of 400+ people totally digging it. I got my groove back. I knew that if I could do 'dock o the bay' and 'waiting on the world to change' with enough conviction to hold the audience, I could certainly try my hand at penning my own tunes. That was that. I now have ten tunes or so that my band is going to work up and polish, and we are hoping to cut them as an album by the end of the year. So, yeah, you can stop. But (hopefully) it will come back, because you are either born as a songwriter or not.

 

 

....but you didnt really stop. :poke: you just took a 7 year pause, maybe I'm reaching here.

In my experience, I have not been able to really stop. Grant it, I've gone through some spells where everything I tried was sh*t.

 

That sounds like it was a fun gig! Inspiration is a blessing however it comes. Thats a cool way to have it happen. Goodluck with the new album!

[MaxKincaide]

I think that everyone at least has the innate ability to write songs. It's not something that can be forced, though. You can try to ease your way into it, by writing a few lines of verse here and there, or strum a few chord progressions until you hit something that sounds good to you, but you can't just say that you're going to sit down for the next 30 minutes and churn out a song.

 

Creativity runs on its own schedule. Sometimes it hits you, sometimes it won't.

 

As far as how you write a song, there is no right or wrong way. There are times that I'll have a melody going through my head, complete with the actual words, and there are other times I just hit on something on my guitar on accident, and I run with it. If you have a cool riff or complete song written on a guitar or any other instrument, go with that, and see if you can come up with lyrics that catch your attention in regards to the rhythm. After you have the rhythm, start working on the notes the words are going to be sung in. Or you can do it the other way around.

 

Like I said, there's no right or wrong way. It just flows however it flows, with you just steering it in the right direction.

[kurdy]

I think that everyone at least has the innate ability to write songs. It's not something that can be forced, though. You can try to ease your way into it, by writing a few lines of verse here and there, or strum a few chord progressions until you hit something that sounds good to you, but you can't just say that you're going to sit down for the next 30 minutes and churn out a song. Creativity runs on its own schedule. Sometimes it hits you, sometimes it won't.

 

It does and it doesnt. While it may be true that 30 minutes really isn't a lot of time to write a song start to finish, I think it's more than enough time for the wheels to be set in motion. I've found that sitting down and doing it is half the battle, but let's face it; sometimes we just don't feel like it. I'd write a lot more songs if I went to it every day, but I don't, often out of pure laziness.

 

When I do sit down with intent to write, I nearly always wind up with something. Not necessarily a finished product, but at least a solid foundation that I know can be developed further. It's often more a matter of motivation than inspiration.

 

Most professional songwriters can't afford to sit and wait around for inspiration to strike. I've read several stories about Diane Warren and how she goes to her office every day to write songs. It's all she does virtually 24/7. Even if she's away and an idea strikes, she calls and sings it onto her answering machine. For her, it's a job. Same went for the Brill Building songwriters of the '60s. They were put in little cubicles with pianos in them, where they were expected to churn out hits for the pop stars of the day.

 

So I think creativity can be forced to a degree--you don't have to take it to that extreme, though. But I think it all comes down to simply sitting down and starting--in whatever way you can. Start with a riff, start with a melody, or chords, or a line of lyric...whatever...just start!

[Mikeo]

How do you write a song, I haven

[darryl2112]

I definitely disagree with the "you either have it or you don't" statement.True, there are people who will be born, live, and die without ever having written a song...but there are plenty of people who just can't sing and are totally tone-deaf. But, if you can carry a tune, while you may never sound like Micheal Bolton, with the proper practice you can become better than you probably thought you could become.

 

Songwriting isn't a whole lot different than playing an instrument...noone ever says "if you have to take lessons...you'll never learn". If you can come up with a chord progression on your own, and you can make words rhyme,you can do this.now, does that make you Billy Corgan right off the bat....no. But, Corgan is someone who went from never really writing a true song until around 18, and even then he claims he was forcing himself to do something that he didn't think he could do. And through borrowing from influences, and surviving the occasional years of writers block...he is probably one of the most accomplished songwriters of the last decade.

 

Part of art is learning the techniques of past artist to figure out what really is possible...Don't just listen to James Taylor or Bob Dylan...check out some Syd Barret,Sonic Youth, Wire..... people who actually advanced the art by doing it the "wrong" way.

 

The way I approach writing is basicly through documenting everything. I have a poor memory so I have to write down every 1 liner and record every 1 bar riff. I rarely have a stream of consciousness or flow...its usually piecing these broken ideas together to see what fits and what doesn't. Strangely enough, even lines that I wrote months apart will sometimes fit like a glove..once I get 2/3rds of what could be the entire song lyrically..I scroll through my musical ideas until I find something that I think might fit. even if its just 1 bar. I'll try to finish the music idea and then start thinking of a melody, probably the easiest part for me. I'll try to finish the lyrics after that.

[LeonardScaper]

Sometimes it a cool hook and a beat box band

 

[Chicken Monkey]

It took me 10 years to write my first song. It started happening when I served an "apprenticeship" with a great songwriter and really had to take his songs apart to work out harmony vocals, bass lines, and keyboard/guitar parts. If you want to be a songwriter, become a sideman. Play bass in someone else's band whose writing you admire, and pay attention to what they are doing.

[MaxKincaide]

It does and it doesnt. While it may be true that 30 minutes really isn't a lot of time to write a song start to finish, I think it's more than enough time for the wheels to be set in motion. I've found that sitting down and doing it is half the battle, but let's face it; sometimes we just don't feel like it. I'd write a lot more songs if I went to it every day, but I don't, often out of pure laziness. When I do sit down with intent to write, I nearly always wind up with something. Not necessarily a finished product, but at least a solid foundation that I know can be developed further. It's often more a matter of motivation than inspiration. Most professional songwriters can't afford to sit and wait around for inspiration to strike. I've read several stories about Diane Warren and how she goes to her office every day to write songs. It's all she does virtually 24/7. Even if she's away and an idea strikes, she calls and sings it onto her answering machine. For her, it's a job. Same went for the Brill Building songwriters of the '60s. They were put in little cubicles with pianos in them, where they were expected to churn out hits for the pop stars of the day. So I think creativity can be forced to a degree--you don't have to take it to that extreme, though. But I think it all comes down to simply sitting down and starting--in whatever way you can. Start with a riff, start with a melody, or chords, or a line of lyric...whatever...just start!

 

I agree to a point here. I agree with what you're saying that actually sitting down to write is half the battle. I know 100% where you're coming from there. Alot of times, especially for those of us who have families of our own to care for, sitting down to write is not something you can do until the wee hours of the morning. It takes a lot sometimes to make myself stay up a little later at night just to have the quiet time to try to sort through things in my mind.

 

But, I've done that at times and came out with nothing. I've done that before I had a family, too, with the same results at times. Sure, I can sit around and just noodle, but it really doesn't amount to anything more than just playing for the sake of playing. I've sat down with the intentions of writing a song before, and nothing would even come to mind, even using all the things like learning a new song, writing simple thoughts, or writing using a theme or using theory.

 

Now, if it were my job to write music, and I didn't have to contend with working my regular job that adds all kinds of distractions, and I could afford to sit and write all day and all night and get paid for it, I'm quite sure I could come up with quite a few songs. I'm sure everyone else could, too. The problem is that life ends up getting in the way of creativity sometimes. If your life IS songwriting, then it kinda feeds itself that way.

[mornarine]

Writing my first song takes a lot of time. But before I wrote that, I first consult some of the writings of Rumi and Hafez. They are the two Persian poets. I tried to consult and read their letter and writings because of their nationality. Since they are Persians so I can get more ideas about Persian cultures and way of expressing themselves since my first written song is a combination of English and Persian language.

 

With that I believe that I can also adopt and feel like what they had. Another thing to consider when writing is the whisper of your health and soul because you can do nothing without this.

[enuenu]

Learn a sequencer like Cubase or Reaper and then store all your bits and pieces and play with them OR sit down in a truckstop carpark with a bashed up old acoustic, a pen and a napkin and create genius.

[mornarine]

what do you mean enuenu?

[Matximus]

Start by mastering your instrument and getting a grasp of song structure by learning 25 to 30 of your favorite songs. Do that first, learn the language. Then start noodling. Whip up a chord progression and start singing over it. Find some words to fit the melody. Bada Boom. You gotta song.

[LeonardScaper]

 

Whip up a chord progression and start singing over it. Find some words to fit the melody. Bada Boom. You gotta song.

 

 

Yeah....that'll work........but......

 

I good song.....and by that I mean one that really gets people to listen more than once, tends to be born of inspiration. These tunes often come unbidden, at odd times, and take you over completely.

 

They usually take on a life of their own.

 

So........work on your skills and wait for your muse to speak and we'll see you at the top of the charts.

[Chicken Monkey]

 

So........work on your skills and wait for your muse to speak and we'll see you at the top of the charts.

 

 

I disagree, as the OP is looking to get started. It's a given that the first hundred songs or so are going to be awful anyway, so what's the harm in forcing them out? Inspiration is great, but if you don't have the discipline part down, you're not going to be able to capitalize on the inspiration when it comes.

 

Get your tinder together, then look for the spark.

[blue2blue]

Yeah... I'm a pretty inspiration driven guy but sometimes you just have to push the issue.

 

An unproductive period -- a bout of writer's block, if you will -- is a vicious circle, a self-reinforcing prison barricade where the walls just get higher the longer you sit there. (Or, better analogy: your climbing muscles atrophy.)

 

You can sit there and wait for a giant bird (sudden, unbidden inspiration, a muse, a brain storm, the idea fairy, whatever you want to call that mysterious force) to come and snatch you up -- or you can start trying to climb the wall yourself.

 

If its the latter, you may well have some bad tries, some falls, you might get scraped up, but if you keep at it, eventually you'll get out of the trap.

 

 

In the odd intersection of faith, religion, and practical wisdom, there's a saying:

 

God helps those who help themselves.

 

If, as the hermetics tell us, the microcosm reflects the macrocosm -- if that which is below reflects what is above -- then we might expect the muses to follow God's suit...

[Chicken Monkey]

I'm going to go with, "Practice on pine 'til the mahogany comes".