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Where do you start when writing a song
- Thread starter dinghy
- Start date
Guitar, then bass, then drums... that's what my guitarist does, I just write the lyrics and offer input. 
Agreed. Depends on the song though. If I have a cool bassline, I might fix it to a guitar line that works. Usually though, it's guitar part and my main part is just really "polishing" the bass part without "over doing it".
I'm a bass player, so a lot of stuff I write has more focus to the bass... but guitar usually comes first for structure.
My guitarists and I usually come up with ideas on our own, then we notate them in a midi program and send eachother what we come up with. That way we all know the general gist of the song and bring it to practice to further expand upon and blossom into a full song.
Sometimes it all spawns from guitar riffs, other times it spawns from some lines I'll come up with.
Our practices consist of working on new material and ideas first, then we jam out for a good 45 minutes or so and finally run through our set 2 or 3 times. More often then not, after we run through our set we go back over and re-cap what we worked on with the new material.
Peace
-Benny
Sometimes it all spawns from guitar riffs, other times it spawns from some lines I'll come up with.
Our practices consist of working on new material and ideas first, then we jam out for a good 45 minutes or so and finally run through our set 2 or 3 times. More often then not, after we run through our set we go back over and re-cap what we worked on with the new material.
Peace
-Benny
Anywhere. Someone might start with an idea, then we jam on it for 10 hours. Then we pick the 7 best riffs from the jam, and we have a song. Takes one day for that, one day for lyrics. Bam, instant gratification.
Not really, but we just fiddle and jam on an idea for a long time, then just keep taking gems from the jam and fiddling with them till we have something.
Not really, but we just fiddle and jam on an idea for a long time, then just keep taking gems from the jam and fiddling with them till we have something.
I write on guitar - strumming chords as the melody and words come. Once it's down on paper, I pick up the bass and add the groove.
I ususaly go with computer ( Reason),Guitar, bass, drums.
I tend to be more agressive when i write with my bass.
I tend to be more agressive when i write with my bass.
Melody/lyrics, chords, bassline, drums. That's how you write a lead sheet. You have to know what you want to say in order to know how to sing it, you need melody to find chords that fit it, you have to know the chords to write a bassline that won't clash, and then you set a rhythm to the whole thing and that's where drums come in. You can do chords first to make sure the melody you're writing doesn't harmonize into impossible chord progressions, and also to use that cool progression you found as a fill, but IMO it's best to have the first three before thinking about the last two.
It varies - for a while, it was lyrics first. Then I started with a general groove that was usually defined by the bass, drums and rhythm guitar. Sometimes I'd stumble on a cool melody and that became the seed...
But nowadays it's all about the carrots.
But nowadays it's all about the carrots.
I pick out the chords on a guitar, then write the lyrics while strumming said chords. I will then put bass into it then give it to the band where they write the drums, piano, and lead guitar parts while redefining the structure of the song to a well organized package.
Geddy Lee is usually composing with a bass. It should not really matter, use whatever instrument that makes sense for you. --Kent
I actually usually write the lyrics first in poetry form. Then, after I've established the mood, I come up with a cool bass groove(or use a random jam I came up with previously), then think up the general drumline idea(because i'm not a drummer myself), then the guitar, and lastly I mod the lyrics to fit the song.
Drums and bass. Rhythm is the absolutely most crucial part of any song. Melody is meaningless.
Seriously. Play your favorite riffs sometime with no rhythm (just straight staccato quarter notes) and see if they still sound like the riffs.
Seriously. Play your favorite riffs sometime with no rhythm (just straight staccato quarter notes) and see if they still sound like the riffs.
- Oct 7, 2000
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- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Song writing is an individual thing and everybody has their own methods that work best for them. Trick is finding what works best for you.
I used to write a lot, and then got almost completely stuck for years. Now I'm spitting out songs like crazy cuz I've found something that works just about every time.
I start with a beat that I can get from either my head, my boss dr880 drum machine, a casio keyboard... a real drummer. I jam along on bass until I find some bass riff I'm likin. I mold that into the skeleton of a song. Then I start fiddling with guitars. As I'm doing it I make cds of what I've got, play them in my car and scat sing. A melody always evolves as does a lyric or thought, which then grows and sit down by the computer and work it. Guitars and vocals take the most time... but this has been what's been working for me.
It's rare that I ever come up with lyrics first, and from time to time I'll come up with a guitar part and melody before anything else.
I used to write a lot, and then got almost completely stuck for years. Now I'm spitting out songs like crazy cuz I've found something that works just about every time.
I start with a beat that I can get from either my head, my boss dr880 drum machine, a casio keyboard... a real drummer. I jam along on bass until I find some bass riff I'm likin. I mold that into the skeleton of a song. Then I start fiddling with guitars. As I'm doing it I make cds of what I've got, play them in my car and scat sing. A melody always evolves as does a lyric or thought, which then grows and sit down by the computer and work it. Guitars and vocals take the most time... but this has been what's been working for me.
It's rare that I ever come up with lyrics first, and from time to time I'll come up with a guitar part and melody before anything else.
