Help needed on songwriting

[ianjm]

Up until now I have stayed safe doing covers. There are so many good original songs on here that it has inspired me to have a bash...

Where do you start,  music or lyrics first.  Do ideas just come or do you sit down with the intension of writing.  I have sat here long enough staring at a blank piece of paper.

Cheers

[StevieM]

It's different for everybody.There are some on here ( not going to mention any names, cos if I leave someone out they might get offended, but we all know who they are ) that can just come up with music and words at the drop of a hat!!
I'm no good at the melody or anything, but the words just seem to come sometimes.
Ocassionly I get the whole song in one go, then maybe just have to tweak it a bit, but most of the time I get just a line or two. I've always got some paper and a pencil handy, and write them down as I get them, have to or 5 minutes later they're gone again!!
Sometimes the odd line ones get finished later---sometimes they don't.
There's no way I can sit down and say 'Right, I'm going to write a song now'
Normally I keep a little recorder in the car too, came up with a couple on long drives.
Some people start with the music, Phil Collins 'In The air Tonight' is a good example, he just started with a drum rythym.
All this waffle is just to say that everyone's different, and work different ways, so probably no help at all

[OsCKilO]

try Music first.....

Then the ORH stream of thought..... See below....
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=2911.0

Jim explains it quite well....  and during the track!

[Bluesberry]

We have had a couple of threads on songwriting before.  In this video the guy gives the answer:

https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=3563.0

And here is a more serious thread where we discuss writing songs, lots of good stuff in here:

https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=3381.0

[Davo]

I find some chords that sound good together, and work it from there.

[SteveG]

My songwriting technique goes something like....

Melody pops into head....

Play with melody and envision backing...

Come up with interesting theme and inspiring lyrics....

Develop inventive bridge section.....

Get home, grab guitar and MBR......

Totally forget the lot

[ianjm]

My songwriting technique goes something like....

Melody pops into head....

Play with melody and envision backing...

Come up with interesting theme and inspiring lyrics....

Develop inventive bridge section.....

Get home, grab guitar and MBR......

Totally forget the lot

I usualy start with the last point

 

[Geir]

My songwriting technique goes something like....

Melody pops into head....

Play with melody and envision backing...

Come up with interesting theme and inspiring lyrics....

Develop inventive bridge section.....

Get home, grab guitar and MBR......

Totally forget the lot

And that's the reason never to leave home without the mbr (and if possibel, a guitar)

[Diego Ayala]

There's truly not enough time to check so much information/music in this forum...  I checked out the links provided by Osck & BB and after reading the postings - wow, had to go outside w/cup of hot coffee and a smoke and look @ the crushing waves from my front porch - while thinking about all of this stuff......  It is so amaizing to me how we all come up with music!  Crap, I am sure that the car wreck inspired a song all of its on...

Lyrics is something that has evaded me since I started my musical endeavors so many years ago.  I suppose that if I was to sit down and compose my thoughts and feelings for a particular song I may come up with some writings about them.  I just posted a song for ideas on bass lines under the colabs. 

Well, this song (as all my songs) started with building the progression, but something usualy sparks the real accomplishment, which it is to have a finish song - it was mostly just chords with no direction.  One Sunday had the opportunity to go to the movies with my family, but decided to stay home and play the guitar, drink some s. whisky and work on the song --- decided to take a nap while watching the tv, and woke up to a world-war II documentary that stayed with me when I jumped back to the botle and the guitar...  Then everything fell into place, but by the time I got done with the melody I was literaly in tears --- how easily we can be manipulated into commiting atrocities, hence the name of the song => "While we fall asleep" (they come in!).  And for more that I've tried to put words to it, you know to that feeling I had once the song took shape, well it just does not come out into words.

There is usualy something that sparks in me to actualy go from just chords with no direction to a complete song with a name - Is either thoughts or feelings or memories, and for some reason I just cannot get over the hump to put this essence into words...  Funny, because in my case that is what makes the song.

[SteveB]

Up until now I have stayed safe doing covers. There are so many good original songs on here that it has inspired me to have a bash...I have sat here long enough staring at a blank piece of paper.

Cheers

IJM -Here's something that I've been thinking about for a time, not specifically songwriting, but Lyrics. I have TOO many of them. This isn't a boast, but a matter of fact. I have, literally, bags of them. I find lines of words ridiculously easy to write, so much so that I will abandon an in-progress song if I start to mull-over changing a single word that doesn't do the business for me. I have supplied a few lines of Lyrics to a couple of Members for them to use if they wish (No ties or binds whatsoever), so I thought why not start a Lyyrics thread, where Members can post Lines for the express use of others if they can't or don't want to use them themselves. Teething problems can be worked-out as the Thread builds. Any suggestions??

As an example, this is what I just written on the pad by the computer I'm using, if anyone wishes to use these lines in anyway they wish, please, go ahead.

Hey, I should have got lazy earlier,
I should have taken time to care.
I should have befriended the Tortoise,
Rather than chasing the Hare.

And all the Chicken-scratching jobs I've done
All around the World...

*****

There ya go, if you want them. And don't forget, any suggestions about a Lyrics Thread.