What's your writing process?

[ffutterman]

As strange as it is, getting a cheap banjo turned out to be a major catalyst for my music writing (I'm using the term loosely).

I hadn't really written music before, but I started messing around with the banjo and hit a bunch of those "Wow, that sounded cool!" moments. I'd write those out in Guitar Pro (so I wouldn't forget them), and without knowing much about music theory, I'd sort of hear what chord I wanted to use next and go from there. Pretty soon, I'd have a simple progression, but when I would go back to listen to it, I would hear (in my head) a bass line that I wanted to use.

That seems to be what works best for me: Grab the banjo or uke, goof around til I come up with chords I like, then write a bass line for that.

So now I'm kind of wondering how other people approach writing. What's your process?

[KenHR]

It varies, of course, but I tend to start with chords and melody first. Often a chord progression suggests a melody, which I fill out with some nonsense phrasing until I figure out what the song's about. Then I write a drum part. The bassline comes after all that, then any other ancillary instruments/filligree.

That's the nutshell version. In reality, it's usually a very messy process, with step 3 intruding on step 2, which is revisited in step 5, which in turn has already intruded on step 1....

[Lawkeeper]

I usually put on a CD with music in the same style as I feel like writing. Then I start playing random note structures (I don't know theory, so excuse when I use technical terms inappropiately) until I hit something I like. When that happens, I remember the line and start playing variations to see whether it could be done better.

For me, it usually starts with the bass line, and I work from there.

[Ayce]

I'll usually start by writing random ideas in Finale Notepad, or Musescore, using the piano sound. You can change instruments later to see how it sounds.
If I have an idea for a bass line, I'll work it out on bass first, then notate it in the program. Once I hear what's going on there, I'll add instruments and go from there.
If I'm writing lyrics, I come up with the melody first, and work everything else out from there.

[MatticusMania]

Process? I dont know, man, these tunes just come through me!