Songwriting (3 Viewers)

[snakybus]

Do you write songs?

How often do you write?

How do you write?

Do you ever collaborate?

Do you chuck songs out?

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people?

How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter?

What do you write on (instrument)

Do you come up with music first or words?

For folks who do the whole non-song thing, what's your process for that?

Thread for songwriting

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[Scientician 0.8]

Do you write songs?
Yes

How often do you write?
When I get the chance, but I write slowly.

How do you write?
sometimes lyrics first then find a melody, sometimes i find a melody first and write words.

Do you ever collaborate?
Yes, collaborated during Vichy France and in the band Strangleberries with Das Nugs.

Do you chuck songs out?
Sometimes, but the good parts get recycled sometimes.

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people?
Sometimes, usually if i can play it and sing it, and maybe make a tape then it's "real".

How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter?
I like doing it but it wouldn't bother me if i couldn't do it, i'd do something else.

What do you write on (instrument)
piano, keyboard, guitar and sometimes accordion.

Do you come up with music first or words?
Answered above


For folks who do the whole non-song thing, what's your process for that?
non-song? whatcha mean?

Thread for songwriting
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[Goodbye]

Do you write songs?
Yes

How often do you write?
Hardly ever anymore

How do you write?
By making shit up

Do you ever collaborate?
Rarely/never

Do you chuck songs out?
Constantly. But mainly by forgetting them.

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people?
Rarely.

How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter?
I'd prolly feel a bit empty and irresponsible.

What do you write on (instrument)
Geeetar

Do you come up with music first or words?
Music.

For folks who do the whole non-song thing, what's your process for that?
weeeeeeeeaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh

Thread for songwriting.
Yes, yes it is.

 

[snakybus]

non-song? whatcha mean?​

you know, like instrumentally stuff with no words
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[Scientician 0.8]

Ah right, well when I write instrumentals I concentrate more on instrumental melodies, as opposed to vocal melodies, most of what I play when I sing is simple triad chords etc.

 

[travispickle]

Do you write songs?
Yes
How often do you write?

Not very. Last decent tune was last year.
How do you write?
Usually sitting around with guitar; finding nice chord sequence, teasing out melody. A few glasses of wine usually helps.
Do you ever collaborate?
No
Do you chuck songs out?
Sometimes, but I recycle good bits

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people?
No, if it feels good to me, it's usually a keeper. then i feel good about playing it to someone else
How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter?
I really enjoy it, but can't write often enough. Maybe i just had a purple patch. Maybe I'll never write again!!! Why did you start this thread, you cheese eating surrender monkey!!!
What do you write on (instrument)
guitar.
Do you come up with music first or words?
Usually music, though i'm always scribbling down ideas and bits of lyrics in notebooks.
For folks who do the whole non-song thing, what's your process for that?

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[Moods For Mallards]

Do you write songs?
Yes.

How often do you write?
I used to try to write a few songs a week then I realised that that was not a good thing to do because they were mostly half-finished and missing a bit of care and attention. So I write slowly enough now and concentrate on the 'good' ones for ages. Just throw ideas/little melodies/guitar bits down on a dictaphone and revisit it every few months to see what's worth having a stab at developing.

How do you write?
Mostly in the head when driving or working or whatever. Get a full picture in there before trying to replicate it using instruments.

Do you ever collaborate?
Sometimes.

Do you chuck songs out?
All the time.

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people?
No, due to not being in a band anymore I keep 'good' songs cooped up indoors for months and years at a time.

How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter?
It would matter to me. It's a noble pursuit.

What do you write on (instrument)
My head, guitar and recently on a keyboard.

Do you come up with music first or words?
Depends. Most often music with snatches of lyrics that change later.

For folks who do the whole non-song thing, what's your process for that?
Yeah.


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[snakybus]

Why did you start this thread, you cheese eating surrender monkey!!!
​

Hey, what gives?

 

[stephenoblunt]

Do you write songs? No

How often do you write?

How do you write?

Do you ever collaborate?

Do you chuck songs out?

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people?

How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter?

What do you write on (instrument)

Do you come up with music first or words?

For folks who do the whole non-song thing, what's your process for that?


Haha - I just ruined the whole questionnaire!!!!
​

 

[Goodbye]

How bout you answer snakey

 

[travispickle]

Hey, what gives?

coz you made me realise how little time i give over to trying to write and have questioned my whole sense of self. that's all.

 

[Deleted member 3435]

How often do you write?
Depends. Usually I write more when there's something else I really ought to be getting around to but don't want to do and I convince myself that it's very important that I finish this song.

How do you write?
Sometimes songs arrive all at once, sometimes good bits from old rejected songs become the basis for new ones, sometimes sticking old bits together, sometimes by remembering old songs that arrived all at once, looking at them again and saying "must rewrite lyrics/add chorus/whateva"


Do you ever collaborate?
Yes

Do you chuck songs out?
Not really. Focus on the good bits, if you always gravitate towards that then you'll end up with songs by default even if initially all you can keep from an idea is a chord progression or groove or feel or sound or mood (as oppossed to saying this is shit and throwing it all out and having nothing).

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people?
no

How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter?
if i'd never started i might not notice but if i don't make time for it now it has a noticeable effect on my mood. I get frustrated.

What do you write on (instrument)
guitar

Do you come up with music first or words?
usually music

For folks who do the whole non-song thing, what's your process for that?
like it was song, but no lyrics just the melody. or maybe just the mood or atmosphere or ocassionally just some idea I've convinced myself is clever at the time.

Thread for songwriting

 

[Flux]

Do you write songs?
Yep.

How often do you write?
I always have dozens of riffs/bits on the go but only average a few finished songs a year.

How do you write?
Put down a riff/chord structure on fourtrack/computer, then add another guitar and bassline usually. When I have 3 or 4 guitar and bass parts then I concentrate on words and melody.​

Do you ever collaborate?
Not often enough.​

Do you chuck songs out?
I just don't go back to them, I wouldn't delete them outright.​

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people?
I'd usually make a cd for bandmates and get their reaction, if it's good and they feel it could work it starts to become more "real".​

How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter?
It's good to know you'll always have something to do if yer bored.​

What do you write on (instrument)
Guitar​

 

[snakybus]

How bout you answer snakey

Well, okay. It wasn't meant to be a questionnaire, really. Just a discussion, and I asked questions to get things going. But anyway.


Do you write songs?
yes

How often do you write?
I write maybe a couple of songs per month when the going's good. I used to write twice as many songs as I do now, but having kids has slowed that down considerably in the last few years. This worries me.

How do you write?
I tend to find that a rhythm idea gets things going. Like I have to imagine drums most the time. Maybe I should have been a drummer.

Do you ever collaborate?
This has never really worked for me.

Do you chuck songs out?
I'd say about 90% of them. Though more freqently nowadays a song gets chucked before it becomes a song. This worries me.

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people?
Yes, I find I need to build up a head of steam with songwriting. I can't just write in isolation, I need to try them out and then that gives me motivation to write more. I'm fickle.

How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter?
I think so. After my family, it's the most important thing (along with playing, recording etc)

What do you write on (instrument)
Guitar. I can't write on anything else. I once tried out an alternative way of writing, ie developed things using drum machines and stuff, constructing songs around these ideas. I don't think it worked as well. Occasionally I'll do the music in my head, but that's dangerous.

Do you come up with music first or words?
Music, always.

For folks who do the whole non-song thing, what's your process for that?
What do you mean by that, exactly?

 

[snakybus]

coz you made me realise how little time i give over to trying to write and have questioned my whole sense of self. that's all.

jes' doin' mah job, maam

 

[Unicron]

Do you write songs? Yes

How often do you write? I usually try to come up wit ha new riff or chord sequence everytime I pick up the guitar. Of late I've been fretting random strings around the 5th-9th frets and going from there. Most of those end up on the scrapheap as I cant' remember where the good ideas came from by the time I decide that it sounds good.

Also, stealing ideas from bands I like.

How do you write? Sometimes just playing endlessly, sometimes I have ideas in my head.

Do you ever collaborate? Yeah, I love when someone comes up with something that you've never even considered trying.

Do you chuck songs out? Yep

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people? No

How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter? Not really

What do you write on (instrument) Guitar, Bass, Whistle/Voice (If I come up with a melody I like whilst absentmindedly singing/whistling to myself), Fotosis,

Do you come up with music first or words? I've got a massive scrapbook of potential lyics. I've got a load of half formed song ideas. The two rarely meet up.

For folks who do the whole non-song thing, what's your process for that? It's more riff based, trying to get things that flow into one another, or that are so different they jar but in a nice enough way.

 

[Bunny]

I write a few ideas down every week and if I feel they're really strong I'll feel inspired to put down some music to sing over. I usually start with a beat/samples and a guitar/bass riff. It probably takes me a month to turn an idea into a song

I'd love to be able to write a song entirely with just the lyrics first but that just doesn't seem to work for me, mainly coz I can't read music and memorize a melody for too long. So I have to record an idea quick onto a dictaphone. Its really annoying coz I tend to get good ideas for songs on trains and buses and then I have to try and memorize them till I get off the bus, so I can take out a dictaphone.

Writing lyrics is so hard sometimes, I have to wait for them to come, not force them, otherwise they're shit.

Using a bass has really helped me recently even though I'm a guitarist.

 

[RED(tape)MENACE]

Where's Ro?

I tells ya what, I've been playing bands for 14 years, and I've written two, maybe three songs. Ever.
All terrible.

 

[kevin gallen]

Do you write songs? yes

How often do you write? very rarely, maybe 1 or 2 a year, most i ever managed was probably round 12 or so, reckon i could step it up if i needed to but i find it hard to be bothered. spend most musical time in band rehearsal or learning the piano these days

How do you write?
on my own

Do you ever collaborate?
no, at least not til the recording process

Do you chuck songs out?
yes, i tend not to rememeber songs at all even though i have fully recorded them. sometimes i find old cds and when i play them the songs seem completeley new

Do you need to play a song to someone before it feels real? ie do you bounce them off people?
No

How important do you think it is? Like, if you didn't do it, would it matter?
kinda important. I guess id feel guilty about it

What do you write on (instrument)
guitar

Do you come up with music first or words?
same time

For folks who do the whole non-song thing, what's your process for that?
dont do it

 

[Jill Hives]

Where's Ro?

I tells ya what, I've been playing bands for 14 years, and I've written two, maybe three songs. Ever.
All terrible.

I tells ya what, I've haven't been in a band, and I've written tons of songs.
All terrible.