How do you compose your songs?

[Pedro]

Yes, most of the time modern songs need to be mathematized in the structural point of view. Repetition is crucial but balance is also needed.

[SteveG]

I very rarely come up with anything original, but when I do it just happens. No planning, no preparation. The melody builds in my head, lyrics follow, then (assuming I get to the guitar in time) the chords / riffs are the hard bit. 99 times out of 100 it don't get that far. Singing what I have so far into the voice recorder on my mobile has saved a few ideas that would have otherwise been forgotten before I got home.

[guitarron]

i've done that too- i'll call may voice mail and say stuff like-"Put wurltzer piano in the break of a certain song"-"fade in or out this or that"
Then when i hear the message i
' be like " oh ya" "i almost forgot"

[jkevinwolfe]

Though I am new to the Micro and have nothing to show yet on this forum, I bought the machine as a songwriting tool. I spent a number of years in radio penning parodies to pop songs. Now that I am attempting to write original stuff, I find myself working out the lyrics first. It usually starts with an idea for a story or even a snippet of a line. I wrote a few songs that had no tangible melody and only a very basic meter when the lyrics were finished. I started banging around on the guitar with chords in a key until I found a key that felt good.

A few other songs were lucky marriages between words and instrumentals that I had already worked up. I tend to like these better since there's no compromise in either the music or lyrics. Neither one had to bow down to the other to get a fit.

And there are those few songs where the music seemed to materialize with the lyrics.

So far everything has a humorous slant and tells a story, but I guess that's just old habits. These songs are in a number to genres, so I was delighted to find the Micro a few weeks ago. It has enough rhythm and guitar effects for many types of music that it will keep me busy for a while.

Thanks to all on the forum for your help. You are all really inspiring.

Kevin

[Oldrottenhead]

when you think too much about what your doing..................................................


stop!

it's like explaining a joke......................

if you have to explain it it's not that thing it's meant to be........................

am i on the right thread?

keep thinking it's sunday but it's only saturday...............shift wurk feeks wi yur heed.

[phantasm777]

i think we had a question like this before, but here goes ....

i start with guitar whether it is an original song or not. i get the whole guita track down and usualy go and do the bass. then vox (for covers only), or keys. then any background effects from keys or guitar, and or lead guitar. i put in the drums usually after i have the guitar and bass down.

most times for originals, i sit down and record something off the top of my head and just GO! if i dont like some of the changes, then i edit it out, and write a new one. for oringal songs i always write the lyrics last cause by then i have the key and the cadences and the feel enough to get a reasonable melody line for vox.
i agree about not thinking about what your doing too much while playing except when it is a song completely new to you, but once you got it practiced out, then you go into the ZONE and let the magic take control!
i notice many do not do the order i do, but hey, we all take different paths towards the same goals here.

[bruno]

Many ways, but my main method for songcrafters has been start with a drum loop, and then noodle on the guitar until I find something that I like, normally a sound on chord progression. Sometimes this is keys, but mostly guitars. I then record against that single loop. May double guitar. Then add bass, then solo. Next is drum loops, adding in fill loops etc. And then I think of a name, the name comes from the sound. Finally comes the vox, that means handing off, as my lyrical ability is zero. Thanks to Hook here, and his amazing talent musically and lyrically, turns this into a something real and complete. I am always amazed and always greatful. Finally, I may add some extras if I think it is needed. Last job is mastering, which is really difficult. If you get it right, it sounds full, but it changes the balance. Now I know the question was songwriting, but for me, the song is written as it is produced. It isn't first written, then you wonder how to produce it, it is intertwined.
B

[steelguitar]

This is a great question. So many times asked,but it have a meaning. The question of inspiration, of the Muses... What come first? Music, lyrics?
It depends ... sometimes, the lyrics come and fits well exactly to the music.
Sometimes I have to search, work hard to find some lyrics...
Most of the time, in my case, the music flows very easily.
I find my melodies by playing chords, sometimes it's just three notes in my head, so I want to find chords going well with that melody...
Most of the time, one have a influence on the other, and vice versa.
After, I search the right or the possible structure to go with my melody or my chords.... When the lyrics come first, the structure is a consequence of flow of lyrics...

Jean-Sébastien

[Greeny]

These days I tend to start with an idea / theme / song title. Especially a cool song title. I jot them down on a blank page in my notebook until I write a song around them. Then I strum around on an acoustic guitar playing with the word-sounds of the title phrase until I find a set of chorus chords or hook that fit. Then I'll build in the complimentary verses and bridge(s). The theme & emotion of the song then dictates the style and arrangement of how I'll perform it.

I do sometimes just look for a nice chord sequence / riff though, and when that happens, I often find lyrics appearing in my head as I go.

Then, occasionally, I just jam around purely looking for licks and interesting sounds. That's my 'Jemima's Kite' way of working. It's nice just thinking about the guitar part knowing that James will work his lyrical magic over the bare bones.

[thetworegs]

I start with the music do what ever comes up as you may be able to tell if you have listened to my stuff but hopefully the music is by someone else then i can relax and get down to the lyrics,if its myself doing the music then its a little more trouble as i see myself as a beginner and the music is the hurdle to get over to get to the bit i enjoy  where i feel confident , that's in the singing........so with me its the music first i find it tells me what to write. What ever emotion i feel from the music is where i go, simple as that really.....