Members Chordite Posted April 22, 2019 Members Share Posted April 22, 2019 When I am writing I seem to fall into one of two modes.Instrument led where I am just tinkering around and something nice just pops out which I can hopefully repeat and build a melody from.And the other mode where I have an idea in my head and I struggle to make that imagined piece a reality creating chords and tones to achieve it.How do you go about it or do you build from "principles" like standard 12 bar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted April 22, 2019 Members Share Posted April 22, 2019 These days I improvise mostly so it's a mishmash of musical training/chops/curiosity/luck/and copious amounts of et cetera...Other than building a vocabulary I've always had snippets fueling my creativity which eventually and hopefully folds back into the musical training to produce composition. Not too concerned; I'm always at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted April 22, 2019 Members Share Posted April 22, 2019 I usually have an idea in my head and work to get the sound out there. My normal process is to write lyrics and then create a melody that works but once I get going I'll rewrite the lyrics as the melody emerges. I'm not much of an instrumentalist so there aren't really any snippets to reuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 When I am writing I seem to fall into one of two modes. Instrument led where I am just tinkering around and something nice just pops out which I can hopefully repeat and build a melody from. And the other mode where I have an idea in my head and I struggle to make that imagined piece a reality creating chords and tones to achieve it. How do you go about it or do you build from "principles" like standard 12 bar? Both. One thing that I do notice is that the instrument-led stuff tends to turn out differently, depending on which instrument I am playing when those ideas hit me. Otherwise, an idea that comes to me when I'm not at / playing an instrument tends to be more open-ended; I can pick up a guitar or sit at the piano and the basic song will still turn out roughly the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 I usually have an idea in my head and work to get the sound out there. My normal process is to write lyrics and then create a melody that works but once I get going I'll rewrite the lyrics as the melody emerges. I'm not much of an instrumentalist so there aren't really any snippets to reuse. For me, it's always music first, then lyrics... or music and lyrics roughly simultaneously. Writing music for pre-written lyrics has always been the hardest approach for me personally. I have always really struggled with that - but I can toss out new words for pre-written music or even popular music almost at will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted April 25, 2019 Members Share Posted April 25, 2019 For me' date=' it's always music first, then lyrics... or music and lyrics roughly simultaneously. Writing music for pre-written lyrics has always been the hardest approach for me personally. I have always really struggled with that - but I can toss out new words for pre-written music or even popular music almost at will. [/quote'] I'm much more in my element as a lyricist. My originals sometimes emerge fully formed but that's usually not the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 I'm much more in my element as a lyricist. My originals sometimes emerge fully formed but that's usually not the case. Do you write the lyrics first, then add music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted April 25, 2019 Members Share Posted April 25, 2019 Do you write the lyrics first, then add music? Normally I do. I kind of figure out what I want to say and then how I want to say it, by building the chords and phrasing around the lyrics. Worked for Elton John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted April 26, 2019 Share Posted April 26, 2019 Normally I do. I kind of figure out what I want to say and then how I want to say it, by building the chords and phrasing around the lyrics. Worked for Elton John. I'm no Elton, unfortunately. I just can't work that way... well, I can, but the results tend to not be as good, and it's a much more difficult approach for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted April 27, 2019 Members Share Posted April 27, 2019 Do you write the lyrics first' date=' then add music?[/quote'] Usually yes. I guess it's different for different people. Last year I was in a hymn writing class with a woman who just knew there was one correct way to write a song. I couldn't have disagreed more. I think it also works differently for different songs. Several years ago I had an idea for a Country song. It emerged more-or-less in its final form but all I had was a hook, one verse and a chorus. It wasn't until years later that I was able to go back and write a second verse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted April 27, 2019 Members Share Posted April 27, 2019 I usually start with the music and a general idea of the mood I'm after. I write lyrics once I've got the basic song structure written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob Dey Posted May 6, 2019 Members Share Posted May 6, 2019 Since the OP is talking about composition, that really doesn't include lyric writing. I usually come up with chord progressions and melodies with an instrument. Lyrics can be added later or it may turn out to be an instrumental. Songwriters like Billy Joel start with a tune first, then come up with a title. The lyrics written next will be like a thesis of the title. That's the approach I usually take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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