Any advice on writing an album opposed to simply "a bunch of songs" put back to back?

[rlm297]

Any tips on creating an album or body of work opposed to simply recording and putting "a bunch of songs" back to back?

 

I have been writing/recording individual songs and pretty much honing my craft for at least 10 years, since I was 14 -- I have around 60 songs recorded. The problem is.. when I burn CDs of my work, I just have "a bunch of songs" that doesn't end up sounding like a cohesive album.

 

The songs work on their own, individually. Just not together.

 

Are there any tips on creating an "album" opposed to stand-alone songs placed on a CD together? Are there such things as tried and true formulas/methods to consider when making an album? I'm not even talking about making a concept album, just something that works on a track to track basis.

 

I'd imagine, if songs can have a format (ie. Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Solo-Chorus).. that albums can probably follow a similar format, in terms of what each song is supposed to accomplish.

 

Any insight would be appreciated.

[jacobhf]

I've been spending a lot of time trying to get this right. I think with being the song writer it is hard to see the songs as a group sometimes. Whenever I hear a tune of mine I go back to the time I wrote it.

 

I think things to keep in mind are themes, grooves, moods, and tempos and from there find a pattern that you feel flows well. What path do you want to take the listener on?

 

Go listen to albums that put you in a mood, figure out what is going on in them that gets to you.

 

George Martin said the first few Beatles records were just collections of songs, not albums, so this definately a universal feeling.

[kurdy]

To my listening experience, the most cohesive sounding albums are ones that have a distinctive production style and instrumentation. Whether it's the drum sound, or the reverb, or guitar effects--there's some common thread in the overall sound of the songs. Even though stylistically, they might be songs of varying styles and tempos, it's the production, arrangement and instrumentation that sort of ties it all together.

 

So if you're recording yourself, I'd say to choose a pallette of sounds or instruments to commit to. You can always add, subtract or alter things later, depending on what works best for the song, but at least use those core sounds as your starting point.

[speierg]

You probably want the right balance of up-tempo, slower tempo, happy/fun songs, melancholy/reflective songs, etc. Too much of any one thing will get old after a while. Also, be aware of what key songs are in. Stringing 4 songs together that are all in the key of G will sound pretty monotonous even if the songs are very different.

 

Also, keep in mind that a professional mastering engineer can help with giving an album a consistent sound across the whole batch of songs. And I don't mean just volume level.

[blue2blue]

Everything above is definitely worth of consideration. With regard to your songs just sounding like a bunch of songs, it may be a problem of being simply too close, as suggested above. Or it may be that you've made stylistic and production choices that don't necessarily flow smoothly from one track to another... a heavy metal tune, a tender ballad, some easy listening... they might make strange bedfellows on the same album.

 

When I was putting together an album around 200-2001, I had a bunch of songs in a downtempo/electronica mode, more than a few dance/house/break type things, and a bunch of stuff with a country and/or blues feel and production... I had to make some choices.

[BATSBREW]

 

Any advice on writing an album opposed to simply "a bunch of songs" put back to back?

 

 

YES....

look for songs that have an underlying theme...

or a similar vibe, musically.

 

at the same time, you want changeups in the vibe, so that listening from beginning to end, isn't boring...

 

similar key sigs, time sigs, similar tones, all that, adds up to boring after 3 or 4 of the same thing..

 

that's why it's important to write LOTS of songs, so you've got a deep well to draw from.

 

 

if you're putting an album together of songs you've already written, with no original intention of ever having them tied together, you've kind of painted yourself into a corner..

so now, you have to look for some inspiration, to draw similar songs together.

 

 

maybe the 'album' starts out with dark subject matter, and turns positive as it goes along...

or vice versa.

 

maybe, it starts out spacey, but then morphs into overdrive, and ends spacey again...

there's a thousand different directions you can go with something like this, but it will only be as good and powerful as the time you dedicate to the task.

 

if you half ass do it, it will come off as half assed.

[rhino55]

Instead of trying to sting 12 songs together, I would say just start grouping songs that you think work well together. Three at a time. Then organize the groups of three that work next to each other until you get something that works.

 

Also 30 seconds or so of instrumental whatever can go along way towards connecting two songs that otherwise would not have worked next to each other.

[Small Stone]

Hi there, I don't come on this forum very often, but here's my 2 cents!

 

Think of an album the old fashioned way: as having side 1 and side 2. Each sides start strong, and ends with more low-key songs. Think of an album as being like 2 EPs.

 

Also, Frank Zappa's music was all over the place: from doo-wop ballads to weird instrumentals, with humorous songs and rockers in between. Yet, his albums work. He would sometimes put a more song-oriented side 1, and put all the complex stuff and instrumentals on side 2. Or he would segue the songs one into another, or use strange dialogs and sounds for song transitions, so you always felt the album working as a whole.

 

Good luck!

[jabney]

 

Are there such things as tried and true formulas/methods to consider when making an album?

 

 

Yes, actually. It's the Long Play record. It has restrictions that the CD doesn't have. Those restrictions seem to have benefited the album format.

 

An LP is functionally two albums: Side 1 and Side 2. When a listener puts on a new LP, he or she may start with Side 1, but there's also a good chance of starting with Side 2. So for an LP it makes sense for you to start both sides with strong songs. Inner grooves don't allow as much stylus/arm rowdiness, so a more restrained song is typical at the end of an LP side. But it can't be too restrained because you do want the listener to play the other side.

 

The number of songs on an LP is also limited, compared to a CD. Consumers don't feel cheated when they get a record with a combined running time of 38 minutes. Try giving customers a half-full CD and they'll probably object - even when keeping the number of songs down would result in a much stronger album.

 

(Of course an LP has to be mastered with groove cutting and groove tracking in mind, but that's more of a good-recording issue, rather than a good-album issue. A fortunate side-effect for the LP: It's really hard to overdrive - at least and still keep playing.)

best,

 

john

[LeonardScaper]

All good advise above.

 

I just finished a project that I wanted to come across as an 'album'. To that end I did a few specific things:

 

1. I kept the basic instrument arsenal the same throughout.

 

2. I followed a similar production format for most songs. For me that meant tracking a couple of acoustic guits to carry the melody load and leaving space for keys and electrics to provide some dynamic interest.

 

3. I kept a loose theme in mind during the songwriting process.

 

4. I tracked and mixed everything within a nominal time frame in order to ensure that I used the same signal paths and mixing strategies.

 

5. I arranged the songs to work off each other in the hope of providing a cohesive listening experience.

 

I'm not sure if all that worked, mind you, but there you go.

 

Best of luck with it.

[OAFCORE]

Think of your album as one big song.....

 

I tend to listen to the begining and ends of my tracks over and over to get an idea of how they will flow into one another. Find your opening track, and go from there. The opening track is ussualy the easiest to place; it's the song you have that sucks the listener in right from the top. When you listen to the beginings and ends of all your tracks match up songs that flow well. Once you match a few tracks up that you think might sound good together, listen to them consecutively and ask yourself these questions:

 

Does the momentum of Song A carry over in a favorable way into Song B?

Does Song A overshadow Song B?

Does Song B pick up naturally from the end of Song A?

 

I always like it best when it feels like 2 songs go so perfectly together that if you're not paying close enough attention you wont even notice the track change. Keep in mind, however, it shouldn't be like that for the entire album. Sudden changes in mood/feeling can be a good thing when executed properly but main idea here is to get a general flow that YOU like.