Members cavemanic Posted September 24, 2004 Members Share Posted September 24, 2004 It seems strange to me someone can get full credit for the songwriting if they only brought a melody to the table (or they just play basic chords) and the other people worked out there parts around that .....yet some bands seem to work like this?!!? to me it is kind of getting parts for free:confused: opnions!?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted September 24, 2004 Members Share Posted September 24, 2004 It's simple. Coming up a melody and lyrics is songwriting. Fleshing it out is arranging. One could arrange a song 50 different ways and still have it be the same song, but alter the lyrics or the melody and you're playing a different song. Think about it: if I re-arrange a Beatles song into a jazz arangement, does that make me a co-writer with Lennon and McCartney, simply because I came up with some different chords and a few breaks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members musemaker123 Posted September 24, 2004 Members Share Posted September 24, 2004 i was playing in this group and we were trying to come up with a song we would play at sound checks. Well it turned out I really liked what the singer was saying. Shortly after that the group broke up and i took his title for the song and re-wrote the whole song. i plan on giving him credit on my upcoming e.p. if it wasn't for that time and moment it would have never happened for me and i am grateful for it. After debating over it for such a long time i decided i would give him and the bass player in the group a share. I have never been greedy and we all parted ways with no animosity so i feel its the right thing to do.just my opinion hope that answered your question. http://www.mattyzmusic.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cavemanic Posted September 25, 2004 Author Members Share Posted September 25, 2004 Originally posted by BlueStrat It's simple. Coming up a melody and lyrics is songwriting. Fleshing it out is arranging. One could arrange a song 50 different ways and still have it be the same song, but alter the lyrics or the melody and you're playing a different song. Think about it: if I re-arrange a Beatles song into a jazz arangement, does that make me a co-writer with Lennon and McCartney, simply because I came up with some different chords and a few breaks? In all honesty if that is the way it works, it is for the best for me anyway. I do all the lyrics and riffs etc on the guitar and have a general arrangement plan so I don't have to worry ... but if it is say a singer coming in and just playing basic chords then the guitar player makes up a riff to suit those chords etc ..doesn't that qualify as songwriting?..I mean someone can play a gchord and you could do 1M things with it or a bass player puts in a moving melody or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tedzepplin Posted September 27, 2004 Members Share Posted September 27, 2004 Originally posted by BlueStrat It's simple. Coming up a melody and lyrics is songwriting. Fleshing it out is arranging. The Library of Congress copyright registration forms typically list Nature of Authorship as "words and music" not "melody and lyrics". How is melody determined? Is it the notes the singer is singing? If so, then none of the music would copyrighted or neccesary. Is the melody the notes that the intruments are playing? Is the melody the combination of both singing notes and music notes? If the writer wrote it then shouldn't he/she instruct the musicans on how to play the music rather than letting them write their own parts? Oop! I said "write their own parts" they must be co-writers if the original writer agrees to include their new music notes. I'm just curious how these issues are sorted out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scheming Demon Posted September 28, 2004 Members Share Posted September 28, 2004 The melody is how the singer sings the lyrics. You can hum a melody. Lyrics are just words or poetry. I could write the lyrics ... and she's buying a stairway to heaven. How someone sings them, is the melody and that is copyrightable and considered a part of songwriting. Depending on how someone sings them, we could get sued as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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