Hate being involved in the songwriting process.

[jaxstarke]

Anyone else have to deal with this? I can't take it most times. I'd rather just walk in the room, song's done, here's the parts and here we go. Maybe a little tweaking here and there but for me, just sitting there while the guitar players and drummer try to figure stuff out is mind-numbingly boring. I'll add my own lines and fills where they're needed but I'm not sitting there while everybody goes back and forth 1000 times figuring things out. Burn me a copy of the song when it's done and send it in the mail. I'll be at home watching TV. I do have to say though, these have all been Metal bands. Maybe with other types of music it's different. I'm not lazy, I'm proficient, I have my own ideas but I can't stand the monotony of the back and forth, start here, stop there, this goes 4 times, no, let's go 2 times, etc.......

[hdracer]

May be you should look into some good cover bands?

[Oneirogenic]

You said you're playing metal so they probably wouldn't notice your absence seriously though, if it really bothers you take initiative and help with the process or arrange for the guitarist and drummer to have writing sessions and bring mostly finished songs to rehearsal.

[DWBass]

I don't mind as long as it's a good song!

[Ubersheist]

Originally Posted by jaxstarke

I can't stand the monotony of the back and forth, start here, stop there, this goes 4 times, no, let's go 2 times, etc.......

Ditto. It's a HUGE waste of time at rehearsals. For me, rehearsals are for rehearsing, not songwriting. Songwriting a t practice smacks of songwriters who are relatively young and/or inexperienced. When I hear about stuff like this, I think that the songwriters probably don't have an album's worth of material, or if they're older, maybe only a few dozen songs that are done. Good, proficient songwriters have hundreds of songs without any exaggeration or hyperbole.

I'm not a great songwriter, but I work on this stuff outside of practice. When I collaborate with others (band members or not), it's a simple process usually with just acoustic guitars, and it's done away from the studio. Unless I've got a grandiose vision for a song, the songs stick to standard formats - usually a pop format, or something common. If the song requires something beyond or different then that, it'll come out after the song is basically written to a format.

The only thing I will do at a rehearsal is jam stuff out in a band on occasion, as long as it's being recorded. I won't work on it there.

Ug... now I'm reminded of the frustration I had with several older bands, and all the time we wasted... UG.

[two fingers]

Yep, it's a PITA. And, no it doesn't get much better for older writers. People who must write music or they'll explode tend to worry about tiny little details that matter very little to the overall picture created by the song. I'm with you. Write the dang thing and give me a chart. I'll play the crap out of it after you have worked out all the dumb stuff.

[jmattbassplaya]

I don't like the process much myself, but it's not too bad, either. My band actually wrote a new song today within 45 minutes. No parts were pre written minus the vocal melodies, but those were just back burner parts waiting for a new song to be thrown on top of. I think it just comes down to the members of the band.

[RedMoses]

I would rather be involved, your influence should be used to keep them from going back and forth and obsessing over **** that doesnt really matter.

[hover]

Wow...I mean, really wow. It's the part I enjoy the most. The creative side. Really listening to what the song wants, and trying to arrive there collectively...guess I'm in the minority...nothing more satisfying, not just with music but for many things, than that sense of accomplishment when you can step back and hear or look upon what you've created, and get that all over giddiness. The waiting part can suck, but I'd rather be in the moment than having things decided and then look in on something finalized without me where I "just put my stamp on it".

[Piggy8692]

I'm in the minority too, I suppose.

Yeah, you can write whatever you want under your guitarist's parts, sure. But you have no control over song structure, direction, and a lot more important aspects of the music. Not only that, I think that it's fair to make the guitarists try to write something to what I'm laying down. It's not as easy as they think. (sometimes it is).

Maybe a 'loose' cover band would be good. Everyone knows the predetermined structure, now just do what you want with it. Metal!

[jaxstarke]

It can't just be me. Every band I've ever been in has been like this with MAYBE one or two exceptions. I'm 37 and have been playing since I was 16. Been in some great bands but the best times I've had were when they were already established and all I had to do was jump in and learn my parts, throw my own flavor to them and off we went. This is just a rant by the way. I was sitting here reading some posts earlier about bands and whatnot and it brought back all these bad memories and I figured I'd try to see if anyone else had been through it before.

[Rip Topaz]

Originally Posted by hdracer

May be you should look into some good cover bands?

+1.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by Piggy8692

I'm in the minority too, I suppose.

Yeah, you can write whatever you want under your guitarist's parts, sure. But you have no control over song structure, direction, and a lot more important aspects of the music. Not only that, I think that it's fair to make the guitarists try to write something to what I'm laying down. It's not as easy as they think. (sometimes it is).

Maybe a 'loose' cover band would be good. Everyone knows the predetermined structure, now just do what you want with it. Metal!

I've come to the conclusion recently that most guitarists can't write on top of bass lines. That, or they simply choose not to. It's annoying, and it's one of the reasons why I'm not the biggest fan of songwriting as a whole group.

[4Banger4]

Maybe you're not playing with very good musicians joking! I LOVE trying to write new songs and being a part of what is created. It's just a great feeling when you're in the middle of a song you've never played and you just hear and feel it click. A lot of Black Sabbath songs were written on the spot. If you and your drummer click well and you have a solid guitarist things should just click and be fun doing so... That's just been my experience.

[Oneirogenic]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

I've come to the conclusion recently that most guitarists can't write on top of bass lines. That, or they simply choose not to. It's annoying, and it's one of the reasons why I'm not the biggest fan of songwriting as a whole group.

I won't waste my time with a guitarist that can't write something on top of a bassline I come up with. Most of the time bass parts outlines a chord progression or a riff, how hard is it to fill in the chords, unison the riff, or put a melody/lead to it?

In my band the guitar/singer comes in with nearly fully formed songs or a couple ideas to hash out or jam on. We all three have good chemistry and good sense of arrangements so it's usually pretty smooth. Guitarist and I often have writing sessions but unless I come up with a brilliant groove and bassline right away I wait until we get the drummer so we can work out a groove together. We always try to keep a tight groove and the drummer knows how to make pretty sick grooves.

[pacojas]

i'm either or,..

i recently left a band that has two guitarists/songwriters that had composed an entire set of originals. they up-load the set and charts for me to learn. i get to rehearsal and every 5 minutes they stop to change something!

i left the band because of time constraints, but i think i still would have quit after awhile.

[grisezd]

I really thought that cheap digital recording and email would have changed this by now. When people were shorter and lived nearer to water I would record a super simple two part drum track (thank you mattel Synsonics drum machine!), bass, guitar, and scratch vocal on a four track cassette. I'd hand out copies at practice, others would hand me theirs, and we'd go learn or make up new parts for next practice. Structures were solid, though we'd work up an ending together. Done and done.

[mcnach]

Originally Posted by jaxstarke

Anyone else have to deal with this? I can't take it most times. I'd rather just walk in the room, song's done, here's the parts and here we go. Maybe a little tweaking here and there but for me, just sitting there while the guitar players and drummer try to figure stuff out is mind-numbingly boring. I'll add my own lines and fills where they're needed but I'm not sitting there while everybody goes back and forth 1000 times figuring things out. Burn me a copy of the song when it's done and send it in the mail. I'll be at home watching TV. I do have to say though, these have all been Metal bands. Maybe with other types of music it's different. I'm not lazy, I'm proficient, I have my own ideas but I can't stand the monotony of the back and forth, start here, stop there, this goes 4 times, no, let's go 2 times, etc.......

I enjoy the process and participate actively. Some of our songs have developed from bass or bass and guitar riffs... but we are not metal and bass is more prominent in what we do, so this may partly explain it.

[tmdazed]

my lead player and I Lennon/McCartney it , He and I write the bulk of the songs and the rest of the guys put their stamp on the parts we have written, all written to a canned drummer , our drummer takes the base back beat and adds his fills and whatnot. We tried as a group and it was a mess, with two of us doing it , and presenting a rough product , things go smoother

[Makatak]

My gripe is when someone comes up with a couple of chords and says " ive got an idea for a song " , then you totally invert it , add new chords, riff and even a bridge etc , turn it into a killer tune and then have it turn out that " its still their song " and get no credit, grrrrr