Starting To Write Music

[Sumx7]

any tips out there that could help me write music, start a band and things that will help me out getting back into the music sceen

[ArisonCain]

keep writing music, even if you think it's bad. i see you live in watertown? i live there too.

[Crowe41]

Cash in on moments of inspiration. Carry around a notebook, write down everything. I keep a voice recorder with me to record any melodies I might come up with. I read an interview (can't remember which band) and the lead singer said that sometimes a melody would come to him, so he would call his phone and leave a message of him singing...even if he was out in public!

Try to avoid writing just for the sake of writing, it is those moments when you will feel the least inspired and are most likely to give up.

Good luck!

[Eastwinn]

Music theory.

[theguy77]

Music theory.

i would argue that while it is good to know music theory in the back of your mind, because it puts things in perspective, and because it can help you develop a more comprehensive feel for things such as rhythm, i personally dont like to consciously use it when writing. its more fun to just play things that sound good together without worrying what chord it is or what kind of cadence you're going to use, etc. etc.

[DisasterTDWP]

Avoid setting time aside specifically for writing. I often do this and it leads to writer's block almost every time (this might just be me though).

Whenever you hear something that you like or come up with some melody or lyric that is appealing, either write it down or try to remember it. After a while, try to compile songs out of the things you've written.

[petervause]

I just wrote my first song let me know what you think.

It is available to everyone as a free download here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?mnzozqmxoyz

*Might need to copy/paste the link into your url bar.

www.myspace.com/mrkitemusic
www.purevolume.com/mrkite

[asthenia*]

Cash in on moments of inspiration. Carry around a notebook, write down everything. I keep a voice recorder with me to record any melodies I might come up with. I read an interview (can't remember which band) and the lead singer said that sometimes a melody would come to him, so he would call his phone and leave a message of him singing...even if he was out in public!

Try to avoid writing just for the sake of writing, it is those moments when you will feel the least inspired and are most likely to give up.

Good luck!

so do you find it's better to write lyrics THEN music, or the other way around? or maybe a middle of the road approach?

EDIT: this question's open to everyone

[Deadbolt23]

Learn how to play a lot of your favourite songs. This will teach you how songs are constructed, and what makes them good, in a very different way that listening does.

Also, I write both lyrics and music seperately, and then put them together. Works fine for me.

[ArisonCain]

i write melodies and lyrics together, usually in the shower. this method has never failed me. i have no good explanation for why it works.

[Idealist80]

i write melodies and lyrics together, usually in the shower. this method has never failed me. i have no good explanation for why it works.

probably kus its a soothing atmosphere
How do you write in the shower..?

[introduction]

writing lyrics first doesn't work for me, i have to have the melody in mind or i feel that no matter what, the melody won't fit the lyrics.

[SD_John]

remember it takes you 100 bad songs to write a good one

[JoeJealousy]

write what comes natural. dont try to force a certain sound out just because you wanna sound like a certain artist or band. i feel that is what is killing music and songwriting in general. we all want to be someone else, but if it comes natural chances are it will be better. capture you and not someone else.

[The Boathouse]

remember it takes you 100 bad songs to write a good one

Wrong.

Write like you care. Know theory. Don't sit there with a sheet of formulas for "good sounds," but you must know it. You must understand chord progressions, or you'll run dry quick.

Play tons of great songs- songs that are great to you, songs that are acknowledged as great (See: The Beatles, Brian Wilson, Queen, etc- I don't care if you don't like it, much like I don't care if an architect cared for Euclid as a human being, he'd still need to know trig)

And please, please, always play it close to the chest. I cannot emphasize that point enough. Don't go halfway. Don't write something if it doesn't make your heart catch on fire.

[FTeric]

i personally come up with a little structure on guitar then find a melody to fit over that. i just use "dummy" lyrics when i record it, then go back and add actual lyrics later.

[theguy77]

fWrong.

Write like you care. Know theory. Don't sit there with a sheet of formulas for "good sounds," but you must know it. You must understand chord progressions, or you'll run dry quick.

Play tons of great songs- songs that are great to you, songs that are acknowledged as great (See: The Beatles, Brian Wilson, Queen, etc- I don't care if you don't like it, much like I don't care if an architect cared for Euclid as a human being, he'd still need to know trig)

i disagree with most of this. i think this is how you become a cliche and dont write anything that's gonna impact anybody or have it's own sense of character. "play tons of songs" is true, the longer you do this the more you learn a lot of things about song structure, and you get a lot of ideas for how to develop/produce any riff or chord progression you write into a fully fleshed-out song. but if you're just siphoning ideas from bands that everybody is "supposed" to like then you're gonna make music that you're "supposed" to make.

And please, please, always play it close to the chest. I cannot emphasize that point enough. Don't go halfway. Don't write something if it doesn't make your heart catch on fire.
this is absolutely always true though. if you're not thinking to yourself, "that sounds fucking awesome" and playing it over and over for like a half hour, then it's not good enough.

[theguy77]

also, and this was written about becoming a poet but the same exact sentiments apply to writing music:


if it doesn't come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don't do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don't do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don't do it.
if you're doing it for money or
fame,
don't do it.
if you're doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don't do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don't do it.
if it's hard work just thinking about doing it,
don't do it.
if you're trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.
if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.

if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you're not ready.

don't be like so many writers,
don't be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don't be dull and boring and
pretentious, don't be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don't add to that.
don't do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don't do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don't do it.

when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.

there is no other way.

and there never was.

[Idealist80]

i personally come up with a little structure on guitar then find a melody to fit over that. i just use "dummy" lyrics when i record it, then go back and add actual lyrics later.


What do you mean by dummy lyrics?

[Eric_Courtney]

I find that my biggest problem when writing is second guessing. The key is to keep it simple. Construct a solid melody and core, and from there work on different instrumentation and do not be afraid to experiment. But keep the basic idea simple.

[SD_John]

Wrong.

Write like you care. Know theory. Don't sit there with a sheet of formulas for "good sounds," but you must know it. You must understand chord progressions, or you'll run dry quick.

Play tons of great songs- songs that are great to you, songs that are acknowledged as great (See: The Beatles, Brian Wilson, Queen, etc- I don't care if you don't like it, much like I don't care if an architect cared for Euclid as a human being, he'd still need to know trig)

And please, please, always play it close to the chest. I cannot emphasize that point enough. Don't go halfway. Don't write something if it doesn't make your heart catch on fire.

you don't sit down and write your first song and its godly.

[PerfectChaos337]

I have trouble writing songs. I dont sing or anything, I play guitar. I have tons of short, cool riffs that I've come up with, but I'm always clueless as to where to "take them" or how to construct the rest of the song.

[Eric_Courtney]

I have trouble writing songs. I dont sing or anything, I play guitar. I have tons of short, cool riffs that I've come up with, but I'm always clueless as to where to "take them" or how to construct the rest of the song.

dont decide where they go. let the songs take you.

[Deadbolt23]

I have trouble writing songs. I dont sing or anything, I play guitar. I have tons of short, cool riffs that I've come up with, but I'm always clueless as to where to "take them" or how to construct the rest of the song.

Try writing a structure of what you want the song to sound like, before you write anything. This used to help me, when I was in your shoes.

[rawkandrowl]

My advice is don't listen to any advice.

[Idealist80]

i personally come up with a little structure on guitar then find a melody to fit over that. i just use "dummy" lyrics when i record it, then go back and add actual lyrics later.


hmm, or not

[FTeric]

sorry dude! by dummy lyrics i mean i just sing random words that fit the melody. then i go back and write the actual lyrics.