Originals- how do you present songs to your band?

[chaosMK]

I play mathy prog metal. I'd always do one on one with whoever was going to be most technically challenged by it (nothing I write is in 4/4, I just can't do it). Once something solid was together, I'd show it to the third member... whoever was most likely not to "get it" when it was just a bass line.

If all I had was a segment, I'd get that down and be paying close attention to the vibes/ideas that my collaborators were going for. Sometimes I'll just be like- that's what I got, where do you think it should go? Let's try a A, B, and maybe C...

In your case I wouldnt stress about complete songs. Sometimes just one good bass-driven idea is all a song needs.

Communication... ya'll need to do that and hopefully no one is all touchy or a control freak. I don't work with fools like that.

[MarkMgibson]

"Mathy prog metal"?? There's another one I've never heard of. I can't keep up with all these sub-genres. Does the "mathy" refer to using unusual time signatures, Chaos?

[Cycho]

Text file with lyrics and a midi or wav for the singer; typeset music for the horn players; iReal b chord charts for the guitarist and me. I use Sibelius for the typesetting and midi/wav. It takes a while and of course there is no guarantee the song will catch on with the band! It's still fun though.

[Runnerman]

Originally Posted by Kmonk

I do the same thing. Rough demo with chords, lyrics, tempo and then everyone develops their parts based on what I give them. I do the same when they give me a new song. Everyone in the band writes and we each have the same approach.

Very close to what I do as well. Usually send out the track, lyrics and chords by email before practice so everybody can think about their input. I will usually have some input like "I'm hearing a blues/rock feel and I think a slide guitar solo might be cool". Definitely collaborative writing process. These songs are usually the best written songs in the end. The ones guys bring 95% complete stiffle creativity of the group. They can be good....but not as good if you have a group of creative guys.

Oh yeah, and we usually pass the writing around in rotation to each member of the group. You can pass on your turn if you have nothing ready.

[dustinfennessey]

Someone comes with a basic idea and then we all chip in and build off of it. If a band member came with a finished song we would probably tell them to go start a solo project or let us put it through the blender