inexperienced band stuck on writing

[AddSomeRiddim]

As the title suggests. I'm in a pretty new-to-music band by which i mean we have been playing instruments for just over a year each (a bit less for myself).

We've managed to get some gigs doing covers but we have all grown bored of it. Longish story short we are having problems getting the ball rolling. Between us we have decent theory knowledge.

So i have come to the fountain of musical knowledge to ask for some advice on song writing from the bass brethren. How do you/your bands do it? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[Stumbo]

Here are a few links to check out:
Writing Songs Wiki
Writing songs tips
\ Where does creativity come from?
Writing songs thread
Creating bass lines

Also remember the Beatles played covers for 8 hours a day for a year or two. They knew all the chord changes, harmonies and song structures of what other people did before writing their own tunes. A keyboard is helpful for writing tunes.

Kinda like reading a few thousand books, learning grammar and learning to type before you start writing your own novel. Then critique the first 100 drafts until you get a piece worth reading.

The more you do, the better/easier it gets. It all comes from within.

Good luck.

[skychief]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

Also remember the Beatles played covers for 8 hours a day for a year or two.

And they did it 8 days a week.

Sorry...couldnt resist.

[BassChuck]

I feel your pain. My friends and I have recently learned to talk. We don't like saying things that other people say. Can you help us make up words and sentences so we can talk?

[MalcolmAmos]

The mechanics of writing a song are pretty straight forward.

Have a story worth telling. Put that into verse format. Three verses and one chorus. If you don't have that much to say disregard the following.

Pick a key. The one the vocalist likes.

Pick a chord progression. At this point any one of your favorite progressions will work. Have two V-I cadences in the verse and chorus. One in the first two lines and repeat that in the third and forth line.

Move the chords around so they match the lyrics words. Near the end of the 2nd and 4th line the climax V7 should be introduced. Do the lyrics reach climax at that same point?

Time for melody. The melody notes come from the chord's notes. To have everything harmonize the chord line and the melody line must share like notes. Write the treble clef from the chord's pentatonic. Which notes? The ones that sound good with the lyrics.

That gets a lead sheet. Give that to the bass and let him compose the bass clef.

That's the first draft - introduce this to the rest of the band and everyone work on fleshing this out into the completed song.

Go get a story.

[HeadyVan Halen]

How we have done it:
Music usually comes first. Usually.
Then melody. Melodies are the most important part of the song. What's your favorite song? Sing it...that's the melody.
Then well add words to the melody and 90% of the time the chorus comes first and the verses revolve around the chorus (subject manner)
Then the bass/drums is added as well as other instruments if needed (were a trio)
Finally the the structure...intro-verse-pre chorus-chorus--etc-etc

Now what to write about? well, thats' where 'artist' part comes in.

Or you could be like the Chili Peppers (who I love) where for over 20 years and every album they've ever released I still only know what they're talking about on 'Under the Bridge.'

[ACalbass]

Think about you need to progress on songwriting the same way you do everything :you always starts no knowing what to do,start doing it,then start finding all the problems you have with it,handle them,then keep going until you start mastering it.

Nobody really knows what type of music you guys are doing,hard to outline a basic structure.
But you better start with a structure than with none.

I would suggest starting with slow songs,try to say more than to play,do not worry about how it sounds,will get better with time.
Try to tell people something,even when they were told before,you can find that way people never heard before.
Find a melody,an easy way is to locate which parts you want to emphasize,set a specific way you want to play/say that,a motif.
Then start connecting dots between normal parts and motif.
Simplest way is better,can make all parts the same,then motif with little change every 4th verse.
There are many ways to build songs,have to start somewhere but have to be simple,then elaborate.
Also,keep in mind some songs are made in 15 minutes,some takes years to complete.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by skychief

And they did it 8 days a week.

Sorry...couldnt resist.

Good one!

[finfrocka]

Record any and every idea that comes to you. I carry around a note book to write down any lyrics that come to me, and if I don't have a bass/guitar handy i'll record me singing the music in my head on my computer/phone/whatever.

When it comes to writing originals you have to write a ton of songs just to find a few keepers. Introduce all ideas to band members/friends/family and don't get upset if they say it sucks because they could potentially be helping you out.

[JimmyM]

String together a handful of chords, put a nice hummable melody on it, give it some words to give it some meaning lyrically...BAM!

[hernameisrio]

Don't be afraid to just write pieces and hang onto them, maybe even tag them with any thoughts you have. (RECORD EVERYTHING...even when you're just noodling around, record it! The worst thing to hear after a really cool five-minute jam is, "...man, we should've recorded that." So, yeah...just put together little pieces...little sketches. I've actually started writing some stuff with a drummer where it's just the two of us, and it's been pretty cool.

Also, don't feel confined by a traditional format or by traditional chord progressions...if you really feel stuck, just start throwing around ideas. You know, like when you were a kid and you'd make up stories with your friends where you'd each write down a sentence and it would just snowball into this crazy thing. Here's something even MORE fun...it's like musical Mad Libs. Get each member of the band to write a part for their instrument, then throw them together and see if you can come up with something based on those parts. You never know!

Finally, listen to the bands that you're most influenced by. Listen a lot, and write down what you hear...analyze your favorite songs. I have certain songs that I probably listen to every day in order to get into a headspace where I feel I can write in that style. Just like you shouldn't be afraid to abandon labels and boundaries, don't be afraid to come up with a style either.