writing/composing technique

[lyxian]

Hi. I'd like to know if any of you have rituals or discipline-related things regarding composing/writing.

 

Thanks

[cool_E]

I'm developing one. It's been successful so far.

 

Decide what you want to write about, theme, message...

and how you will get that message across, a story?

situation?

 

Create a hook & chorus

 

Storyboard or outline your song, exactly what do you

want to say in each part of the song?

 

Brainstorm, write a lot of ideas & lyrics. I've recently started

using a rhyming dictionary as a help during brainstorming.

This is an excellent tool! You'll find that if you write 6 or 7

verses you'll have a better chance of getting two good ones

than if you stopped after writing just two.

 

Revise & re-write until you have a good basis

 

Then look critically at what you've done. Try to remove yourself

and your personal bias (I wrote it, it must be 100% brilliant).

Bounce it off trusted sources, not people who will tell you

how great it is. Many people will tell you to put the work aside

for a while at this point to help you gain objectivity when you

pick it back up later.

 

Make final tweaks, the song can always be improved but

you've got to cut and run sometime or you'll be working

on that same song forever. Once you're done leave it alone

and go on to the next one.

 

IMO the most important parts are knowing what you want

to say and storyboarding/outlining.

[Nza]

One of my primary songwriting rituals:

 

1. ...something is stuck in my head. It might be a vocal melody, a rhythmic groove, even something somebody might say in passing conversation that just sounds too cool to forget.

 

2. ...figure it out. This is the hard part; I spent a good 3 and a half hours the other day trying to figure out on guitar this really simple melody that had been stuck in my head.

 

3. ...brainstorm. The key to any truely inspired/inspiring musical creation; just let stuff come out. Rather than paper, I usually sit with an acoustic and a little microcassette recorder, so I can just groove and listen back later...this helps clearly retain all the ideas better than if I had written them out on paper.

 

4. ...streamline. Take the ideas that grew from the brainstorming, break it down to a unified idea (or, if the song calls for it, let it be scattershot and random), tighten up the changes or whatever, and viola! you have a new song, time to smoke a celebratory spleef!

[ThunderKyss]

I am not much on lyrics, the first repoly to your post seems like a good start, and I will have to give it a try.

For music, I like to just jam with my guitar, or bass, until I come up with something that sounds like it is worth pursuing. I'll take the good ideas, and try to develop them into a song structure. I am not oo anal at this stage, because once you start adding words, the whole thing will change. I have also started incorporating a drum machine with different patterns to groove off of. This helps with my timing, it also helps me use my ears more. I try to forget about theory when jamming, and do what sounds right. This way, I'll be able to sit in with just about anybody one day.

If you have a good friend who does music, it would be a good idea to develop a working relationship with him. You do the lyrics, and he'll do the words or vice-versa.

[cool_E]

 

Originally posted by ThunderKyss I try to forget about theory when jamming, and do what sounds right. This way, I'll be able to sit in with just about anybody one day.

 

 

I don't think about theory when jamming or brainstorming

either. However, I've found that theory can help you

develop a musical idea by telling you where you can go

off of a chord progression or groove.

 

Theory is also what you'll need to be able to sit in with

just about anybody. It'll enables you to understand the framework

in which the musicians are working and allow to play with

and improvise within that framework.

[Nza]

As lyrics go, this is something I stress heavily, and wish more lyricists did:

 

I listen to the music and write lyrics that try to translate that song's particular mood into concepts. There's nothing worse than a song with lyrics that are completely unrelated to the feel of the whole song.

 

It seems like lots of lyricists go about things very arbitrarily..."oh, today, this thing is bothering me, so I guess I should write a song about it"...even if the thing they are writing about in no way matches the feel of the piece.

 

So, I guess I'm just trying to say, feel the music out, and write lyrics based on that feel.

[WattsUrizen]

Personally I think the best way to write is to find the theme. If you have a good theme, one which is memorable, but simple, your song will follow easily. All you have to do is mold that theme into different shapes and sizes to make a piece of music. For instance, we all know Beethoven's famous 'Da-Da-Da-DAAAAA'. He wrote not only a symphonic movement from that melody, but also the first movement for his fourth piano concerto.

 

So once we have the melody, what then? You play with it. Inversions, retrogrades, augmentations, diminuations, rhythmic translation, modulation. Blah blah blah. You can go the Franz Liszt and mold the theme into a new one slowly. In the end, with all the different ideas you get from fiddling with the theme, you will have more than enough to create a song.

 

And most importantly, remember that less is more, and that what you don't say is just as important as what you do. Restrain climaxes, and don't waffle. Rests are very useful.