Songwriting

How do you do it? I feel like I'm not writing anything worth shit lately. I'm just curious as to what all of your methods are. Do you do lyrics first, music second? Just kinda explain what it is you do or the different approaches you have towards writing songs.

 

I love song writing. i always write the music first. then the lyrics just seem to flow out of me. i don't even try to make them make sense. i just say abstract stuff that seems to revolve around the chorus. i leave interpretation up to the audience. although, i have written a few songs that i did try to say something, so i really sat and thought about the lyrics.

 

Either I write the music first, or I write the music and lyrics at the same time. Both seem to work fine. What doesn't work for me is writing the lyrics first.

 

well it seems i never have both at the same time, so whenver im inspired, i just write, without worrying about how it will fit in to the music. later, when you have a riff or something u made, try fitting those words into it. works for me

 

If you're suffering from writer's block, try to re-write songs you know already.

But keep in mind, most of what you write will be crap.

 

one needs inspirato....as Tenacious D put it. inspirato can not be manufactured, it comes from the gods in a perfect moment. sometimes, you get weeks at a time of this....other times you find your self writing nothing. and in my case, sometimes i should leave my apartment.

 

I'm really fussy - I have to be as far away from anyone as is possible preferably in the evening under a tree in a field,with a guitar,a small tape recorder,paper,pencil and a bottle of cider (!)

 

I've found that being in the same spot and listening to the same music for extended periods of time can also be very blocking.

There's no universal code or secret for writing songs, though.

 

ya it seems if i try to write right after listening to other music, everything turns out sounding like that song

 

I get stoned then draw and write a song to go with it usually

 

There is no formula and I won't give you one. I'll just throw as much shit at the wall and you can see what sticks.

I find that I go through a cycle of creative activity and inactivity. Sometimes the cycle is quick, sometimes it is slow. In the period of inactivity I will write nothing. There will be absolutely nothing happening whatsoever in terms of new material. Often this is because we are working on a song with the band, polishing it up. Because of this the creative slate isn't clean enough to write anything. At the moment my band is in the studio and since we went into the studio I've barely written a thing. I know that as soon as the album comes off the press I'll explode in a flurry of creativity but for the moment, it's silent.

When I'm in a period of inactivity I don't worry too much about it. This is partly because the periods of activity create such big backlogs of material that only one or 2 songs end up becoming an established part of the backcatalog. It's not because they're the best even, just because they were the lucky ones. Because of this, I know if there's ever demand for new material, we can just dip into this backlog.

Also I know that the inactive phase is just as important for the creative process as the inactive phase. It's during this time that the songs are, probably, formed - it's just that the active phases are when they cross the conscious/subconscious divide.

So that's one bit of advice - not worry and don't force it.

Another thing you could try is just listening to lots of music that you find inspiring. Surround yourself by ideas that spark off ideas and don't be scared to plagarise. Art of any kind is, as Sarah Kane put it "a noble tradition of literary kleptomania".

One thing you'll hear all the time in writing circles is "read a lot, write a lot". I think the same applies for song writing (substitute "read" for listen). This is because of a process Natalie Goldberg dubbed "composting". Writing is when you take all the dryed up egg shells, soggy spinach leaves and mouldy bread and chuck it on a compost heap. You then get a pitch fork and turn the whole lot over. You carry on doing this until the soil is rich and moist and when the time is right, a flower will come out.

Or more consisely, as they say in Zen circles - even flowers need shit to grow in.

In more practical terms, I have no formula for music first or words first. Sometimes I'll write a poem and then I'll put it to music, sometimes I'll write a chord progression and words will spring out of it (dictaphone is fantastically useful for this) and sometimes they'll all come at once. I don't force it either way, I just follow the route that feels natural for any particular song.

Much Love
Sebbi

 

It just happens...I don't really control it. Songs aren't created, they are already there in unmanifest form. The songs just come to me, I am the wire by which the electricity (unmanifest music) flows to the light bulb (the finished song). It will do the work for you, all you have to do is be open to it. Also, try not to get stuck in a rut with things...read more, unplug the tv, clean up your living space, eat better, go outside, exercise (increases blood flow to the brain), try doing away with unnecessary things, be aware of your surroundings.

Don't think about it, let it happen when it happens and let it be what it is and move on. Songs are a byproduct of life and only by living it will the artist be able to receive them.

 

If you write poetry or have already written songs,you can use them for inspiration. And some of your favorite music as well.

I need to write a lot more. I've only written one song this year. I got back into it early this year but yeah,only one so far.

Peace,
Michelle

 

I usually strum around on a guitar until something hits me and then I write the music... and depending on the music I usually come up with an appropriate theme and then write lyrics centered around that theme. This process usually works best for me but we all have our methods.

 

I am interested in collaborating with other songwriters too if anyone here would be interested. I'm going to meet with a few local musicians too. I love Jefferson Airplane and The Doors{my top 2 favorite bands} and I would love for my music to be inspired by them. Original of course but some similarities at least. Psychedelic,etc... I'd post my current song here but I feel kind of funny about that. It is recorded and online but not finished yet.

Peace,
Michelle

 

writing songs is my outlet. i do it everynight. ive got 5 or 6 journals full of just STUFF... some have music, some dont, but they all mean something to me. i have no formula. some songs of mine are two pages full of lyrics, and some songs are four lines long.

 

I pay close attenion to details that I see outside, or interesting things that I hear, and write them down to see how I feel. Soon enough, it manifests itself into something tangible. Hearing stuff from artists I admire also kicks me into gear.

 

Sometimes I write the lyrics first and then make the music, sometimes I make the music first and then I write the lyrics, sometimes I do both.

 

I can't write music or play anything, and I think that has some bearing on how I write. I really just start with a theme or a concept. Think about it a bit. Words start to hit me, I put them into melodies. I take it to my bandmate and he starts adding some music to it and we refine it from there. Or I'll take a guitar part he wrote and think about it, get the rhythm down and then go with a concept/theme.

I haven't had writer's block in a couple years, ever since I really got in tune with this method. I also listen to a zillion things, read tons of stuff, and try to enlarge my vocabulary too. Giving yourself as many sources to draw from definitely helps.

 

I ALMOST always find the tune first. The only times I have written the lyrics first, because I really wanted them to go a certain way, I ended up using a common blues tune to finish it. Once I wrote a poem, the only real poem I have ever written, only to find out that my old man was upstairs creating the exact tune it needed.
The words happen sort of like a jigsaw puzzle. I can "hear" just a couple words or a phrase in the tune somewhere, and then write the rest of the song around them. Lyrics need to have a certain flow or rhythm to them, so that provides a clue as to what they will be. They do usually seem to be already existing on some other dimension, and I just "find" them somehow. If I can't seem to come up with any good subject matter, I do sneaky stuff. For example, go to a forum I might not generally hang at and post something I know will be seen as controversial. Then write lyrics having to do with someone's reaction. Or read the news and come up with something there.
I try to figure out as many different obscure ways to say the same things as possible, otherwise I get caught in using similar words and phrases in different songs. Don't want to be repetative. I also have gotten my thesaurus out a few times and made lists of "interesting" words, and then figured out ways to use them in songs. It works GREAT!