usuallu the way we do it , I come up with a bass line , something i can build on , drummer can usually call up tasty beats, guitar players provide fill and solos. lyrics , sometimes one guy comes up with them , other times, we all work through lyrics
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Creating original music
- Thread starter KellenEvans
- Start date
There is no "right" or "wrong" way to the process of writing a songs.
It varies greatly from song to song and from band to band which approach is used.
Usually the way I have done it was to come up with the music first and then some fitting lyrics, but it happens sometimes it is the other way around or they come up more or less simultaneous.
I've been in a band where the usual approach was to build up the songs around my bass lines I arranged to fit together almost as a base to a finished song, and then as we went along changed the arrangement a bit, added some riffs and put drums and guitar on top of that.
I've also been in a band where the songs were build up around the gutarist/singers more or less finished songs (chords, riffs and vocals), and finally I've been in a band where one of us would come with one or a couple of riffs we presented at rehearsal and then the others would add their stuff on top of that and contribute to the song with additional riffs that fitted into the initial ones and then lastly everyone would contribute to arrange it into an actual finished song.
In the current electronic music project I am in, songs usually starts with one of us laying down a drum track and a bass line, then we take turns in putting down additional tracks, until the song is almost finished, then I record additional non electronic and progammable instrumental tracks down on top of that, and finally we come up with some lyrics and record the vocals.
Anyway welcome to the exiting world of song writing and good luck
It varies greatly from song to song and from band to band which approach is used.
Usually the way I have done it was to come up with the music first and then some fitting lyrics, but it happens sometimes it is the other way around or they come up more or less simultaneous.
I've been in a band where the usual approach was to build up the songs around my bass lines I arranged to fit together almost as a base to a finished song, and then as we went along changed the arrangement a bit, added some riffs and put drums and guitar on top of that.
I've also been in a band where the songs were build up around the gutarist/singers more or less finished songs (chords, riffs and vocals), and finally I've been in a band where one of us would come with one or a couple of riffs we presented at rehearsal and then the others would add their stuff on top of that and contribute to the song with additional riffs that fitted into the initial ones and then lastly everyone would contribute to arrange it into an actual finished song.
In the current electronic music project I am in, songs usually starts with one of us laying down a drum track and a bass line, then we take turns in putting down additional tracks, until the song is almost finished, then I record additional non electronic and progammable instrumental tracks down on top of that, and finally we come up with some lyrics and record the vocals.
Anyway welcome to the exiting world of song writing and good luck
Mostly everything has been said already here. In my band, it depends on who is the one bringing the idea. For instance, if I am the one, then it probably has a specific bass line at the beginning. If it is the guitarist, then he starts with a riff. The one with the idea usually has a chord progression (which can change, but it is the base). When we have the idea, we start playing it. The drummer just does random beats, the rest follow the chord progression and the singer comes up with a vocal melody with random words (or sounds). We build the songs together from an idea and step by step. Maybe it's done in a week and after months of playing it, someone comes up with an idea that improves the song. Every band has their way to write songs, the point I think is not to force it.
It just comes to me....don´t know how to explain it. I have never composed till lately and it´s with the bass. I play piano and keyboards too but never had something coming up on me while playing piano or keyboards. But the bass has something special. Maybe it´s a chord progression, a solo or a simple bass line and starts from there. For me, usualy, music comes first and then the lyrics. So yeah, bass has a special place in my life.
Now I´m working on a lullaby and used the yamaha bb605 for chords, and bass line, a djembe, a maraca, a baby toy and for the solo I want to record a fretless. Now I´m working on the fretless....I thought it was easier....
Now I´m working on a lullaby and used the yamaha bb605 for chords, and bass line, a djembe, a maraca, a baby toy and for the solo I want to record a fretless. Now I´m working on the fretless....I thought it was easier....
Every band I’ve been in has been a little different with regards to song writing. Sometimes it’s just a riff that someone plays during rehearsal, and the next thing you know there’s a song. Other times someone brings something, maybe just the bits and pieces or perhaps a complete song, and it goes from there. I’ve had more than a few songs come together from a rehearsal jam before working on the set list.
My current band has a really prolific guitarist that is coming up with interesting songs. There are 4 new songs that he presented to the band with all the parts (except vocals), and three of them we have been chipping away at for about a month now and they are pretty much done, the fourth was just recently sent to us so I’m sure we’ll work on that soon. He doesn’t have a problem with us making changes to any part of it, though I think we are all careful to retain the essence of the song, especially if there is a certain theme or main riff.
My current band has a really prolific guitarist that is coming up with interesting songs. There are 4 new songs that he presented to the band with all the parts (except vocals), and three of them we have been chipping away at for about a month now and they are pretty much done, the fourth was just recently sent to us so I’m sure we’ll work on that soon. He doesn’t have a problem with us making changes to any part of it, though I think we are all careful to retain the essence of the song, especially if there is a certain theme or main riff.
mark beem
Wait, how does this song start again??
In my old band, Lychesis, usually the guitarist and I would work on our own ideas individually. We used Powertab to develop those ideas into a basic structure; intro / verse / chorus.. Once we got the basic idea down we would normally email these ideas to each other and go from there. Each adding to the other's idea until the song structure was completed. We'd write lyrics separately and then marry those to whichever piece of music would best fit.
Typically once were began working on the vocals, small things would have to change in the arrangements to better suit them for the singer. here are some of the old music we wrote.
