What causes you to write a song?

[Anderton]

Do ideas come to you when taking a shower? Walking? After drinking a beer? After being inspired by listening to someone else? Divine intervention? Luck?

 

Where does that initial impulse originate? Please discuss.

[Guest]

Most of the songs I've written have been based on intense emotional experiences. Many have been inspired by relationships with women.

 

Some were based on dreams (both the normal sleeping kind and the occasional "vision", you know, where you get a glimpse of something that hasn't happened yet).

 

A few are based on science fiction themes, such as alien invasion.

 

It seems that I am most motivated to write when things are going badly (maybe it's my long-time love of the blues at work); I wrote a huge burst of songs when I lost my day job about 10 years ago... When everything is going well, I have to force myself to sit down and write; but during bad times it just flows out of it's own accord.

 

philbo

http://www.mp3.com/tangent

[Songbuilder]

Ah yes, the elusive melody/hook/idea. They seem to come in bunches or not at all. Lately I've been co-writing with new friends I've found on the internet. My weakness is lyrics, so I've gone in search of better lyricists in cyberspace. So far it has worked out quite well.

 

It was a whole new approach for me. I had never attempted to write music to a set of lyrics I had not written myself. I prefer no input from the word writer and just let the music come from the inspiration of the lyric. By sticking with someone else's vision of the structure, it has forced me to explore musical ideas I had not been using. It has helped me to get out of a structural rut I was in. I have also found that I am better at making lyric changes to other peoples lyrics than my own. Co-writing has been my new inspiration.

 

Chris

 

Chris

[alphajerk]

when i put a new set of strings on the guitar.

 

lyrics, whenever they pop in my head, usually a couple lines only so i have to write them down. eventually the song fills up, then i connect the dots. color between the lines. etc.

[Scott from MA]

Most of my musical ideas come to me in my sleep. I have learned to keep a guitar and a cheap tape-recorder near the bed so that I can capture the idea quickly. I used to try to wake up and write it out, or record it on my home studio, but as soon as my brain started working the idea would be gone. With the tape-recorder, I can catch it before I really wake up. I have actually found songs in the morning that I don't even remember recording!

 

My lyrics, on the other hand, seem to only come to me in my moments of deepest depression. Luckily (I guess?!), I am depressed often.

[Scott from MA]

I forgot to add...

NP: Dinosaur Jr. - "Hand It Over"

[Kris]

I haven't been able to listen to the radio in two weeks, due to a very recent separation/break up? with a long time girl friend. I really never realized that that's where so much of music comes from! But if you've ever been there, which I suppose we all have or will at some time or another, those songs really hit home.

On the bright side, it's brought on a really kickin' song... guess what its about?

I'd really been too comfortable lately, and hadn't written much music! But now, I feel a bunch of it wanting to spill out.

[Guest]

I usually get ideas from lots of things. It can be a new sound found on a synth, a rhythm that just seems to pop up in my head, another song, somebody saying something. The best way for me to kick start my creativity is sitting down in my home studio knowing that I have three hours for the very purpose of relaxing and having fun. That does it every time.

 

Trying out new equipment for magazine reviews is also often inspiring. There are a lot of new software synths that can be really good inspirators (is that a word?). Try Native Instruments Reaktor. It hasn't failed me yet!

 

Many of my musician friends get a lot of inspiration from drum loops but that very rarely does it for me.

 

Just my 2 öre.

 

Best regards,

 

Mats Nermark

 

NP: The Brian Setzer Orchestra, "Vavoom"

 

[This message has been edited by mats.nermark@swipnet.se (edited 10-24-2000).]

[GeorgeVW]

If I ever figured that out, I'd probably be a more prolific writer. As it is, a song can be triggered by almost anything. Sometimes a lyric fragment will come to me and I'll write a song around it (and sometimes end up discarding the fragment that started it all, because it no longer fits the song. As creative artists, we always have to be ready to abandon our children, don't we?). Sometimes it's a snatch of melody, or a rhythmic hook. Sometimes it's something I heard a couple of years ago sneaking it's way stealthily through my subconscious until it hits me with a 2x4.

 

George

[the stranger]

More often than not, I start with a good riff, or a nice melody line. (Guitar)

I have written around lyrics, but I find that the music isn't as good as it could be that way.

My best songs were just a nice piece of music

that I find some lyrics to fit.

 

I have a good stockpile of lyrics, so I just concentrate on coming up with good music and then find lyrics that fit the mood/vibe of the song.

 

I really love when you get a little snippet of an idea and before you know it a whole song has poured out and into form.

I've had those lucky times when I've written a catchy number in like an hour.

 

Sometimes I just take a good riff/melody idea , get my keyboard set on a good beat and just hit record and improvise for an hour or so. Go back and listen and usually I can find a good few minutes worth extracting from that whole thing. I'll then lay down three or more copies [of the section I pulled] on a tape in a row and improvise over that. My two favorite instrumentals were written in this manner.

 

------------------

destructive workshops

Want to hear some of my stuff?

[studiomusic]

I get my lyrics at night or at work. Write them down and then wait for the time to write the music.

I write better music, contrary to what others say on this topic, when all is well in my life.

Now I need more time! That frustrates me the most. Once I do get a killer idea, time to go to work, or give the kids baths, or eat or work on my Jag (89 XJ6- they have alot of problems).

[Anderton]

>My weakness is lyrics, so I've gone in search of better lyricists in cyberspace. So far it has worked out quite well. <

 

how do you find collaborators? is there a www.wehavelyricsforyou.com?

 

n.p.: "Tube Alive," Frank Heiss

[Guest]

The cassette-player in my car was stolen. And I won't buy a new one because people are constantly breaking into my old Mazda. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/mad.gif

 

The good thing is that I now have to entertain myself when I'm driving. You know you've got to have music. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

I have a little SONY walkman with a mic that I sometimes record my "performances" with. I sometimes get great ideas from that. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

Richard

[Guest]

Since I am fairly level headed ( reads, dulled synapse.In this case, not a good thing. Maybe it was the years of drug and alcohol abuse. oh yeah, that was another post),I don't tend to get depressed or emotional, so I can't write from angst. What I do is take an artist I like ( now that I have a female co-writer, it is a female artist, primarily) and build chords/progressions that I think is in their style. Because of my early influences and musical background, it doesn't sound like anything they have written and my co-writer has to bring it

to fruition ( I don't sing, she does). We use n-track to mail files back and forth and then meet to cut demos. She lives about 80 miles from me. I also use a micro-recorder I keep in the car to save ideas. I usually come up with a hook, and that leads me to the chorus and bridge, and she writes the verses and melodies.

np: Abby Road- You never give me your money

 

[This message has been edited by jpalndar@aol.com (edited 10-24-2000).]

[Anderton]

One way I catch inspiration is I usually have a Minidisc with me when travelling to listen to music, but I also have a mic for recording samples. It's easy to jot down musical ideas that way.

 

Another trick if I come up with something I don't want to lose is to call my number at home and leave the tune or lyric on my answering machine.

[Guest]

I walk a lot. There is something about the rhythm of walking and the timing of your breathing that makes little noises turn into phrases, and then melodies. Maybe I'd better get a minidisc though, there's a few songs I can't remember unless I'm walking. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/frown.gif

[Anderton]

Me too!! I get a lot of song ideas while walking. I think it's a combination of the rhythm, and the consciousness-altering chemicals that get released into your brain while exercising.

 

You definitely want to carry something with you to capture ideas. I've lost quite a few between the time I walked into the house and the time I was actually able to record those ideas.

[Songbuilder]

Craig asked: >how do you find collaborators? www.wehavelyricsforyou.com?< LOL

 

There are a number of lyric boards on the internet these days. Some of them have links to other boards. I've found a few good lyricists that can write commercial lyrics. If you have quality lyrics to write music for, it inspires better music to match. I would say it has definitely improved my writing. Check out some of the songwriter sites on the net.

Chris

 

NP: Me

 

 

[This message has been edited by Songbuilder (edited 10-25-2000).]

[Scott from MA]

On the subject of walking: I was living in Cape Cod for a while a few years ago, and I spent a lot of time walking on the sand dunes. I also found that I would get a lot of great ideas while walking, so I purchased a mini tape recorder and started taking it with me.

 

I would walk out to the middle of nowhere, sit in the sand dunes, and sing into the recorder. Not lyrics, just melodies, almost like chants. I know it sounds like some kind of "hippie-granola-meditation" but it really wasn't. I came up with some great stuff that way. I would take the tapes home and turn the "chants" into guitar lines.

[Tedster]

Once again, a great topic for discussion.

 

I think a combination of all of the above ideas is a key. One thing, you have to tear down the barriers to tossing all of the little snippets that come to you.

 

A troubled relationship has inspired me on many occasions. Sometimes the songs are almost too revealing to perform. Others can be humorous, like on of my favorite blues lines (don't know who wrote it): "I'm gonna sell the bitch's car and buy myself a cool guitar"...

 

Walking, yes! Driving, all the time! Dreaming, yes, but all too often I've forgotten what I dreamt by the time I wake up. I've written melodies around chord progressions, bass lines, anything is fair game. Sometimes a particular lyric phrase will start singing itself in my head. And usually, to that end, it's best not to fight with the initial inspiration IMHO.

 

But, what do you all do with the "song fragments"? A verse with no chorus, a chorus with no bridge, a hot riff with nothing else...etc.?????

[Guest]

Originally posted by Tedster:

Once again, a great topic for discussion.

But, what do you all do with the "song fragments"? A verse with no chorus, a chorus with no bridge, a hot riff with nothing else...etc.?????

I prefer to come up with a chorus as opposed to a verse. It just works better for me. I have found that if I sit down and play the chorus, and then stop!, my mind/soul/gut will start singing the verse, and then I spend a little, or lot of time developing. I have one song it took me three years and my ten year old son's brain tumor (so I guess there is a little angst in there)to find anything beyond the most beautiful gospel intro I have ever written. I cannot contrive, if that's the right word,the music. It has to come from somewhere within me I can't really get to forcibly ( see mind/soul/gut)

JP

np-that song in my head I haven't finished

[Kris]

Or you hook up with your band or songwriting partner and bring your ideas together. Collaborating on songs is somewhat new to me but man it's fun that way! Especially when those ideas and riffs and snippets of songs that have been sitting around for so long really start to come to life.

[Anderton]

>>But, what do you all do with the "song fragments"? A verse with no chorus, a chorus with no bridge, a hot riff with nothing else...etc.?????<<

 

Thankfully, I saved all those fragments over the years. Now I've been turning them into loops which end up getting used with other songs, on soundtracks, whatever. A loop is basically just a good riff or groove, and when you get all those "orphan" grooves together, sometimes you can end up with some really cool results.

[Tedster]

jpalndar:

 

My heart and prayers go out to your son, and your family...

 

Ted

[Guest]

Originally posted by Tedster:

jpalndar:

 

My heart and prayers go out to your son, and your family...

 

Ted

thanks Ted,it was a very scary time for our family. He is ok now, a slight limp, but considering what could have been, we/he are very fortunate. this went a long way to solidify our family and get us back on track as to what is important.

JP

[Tedster]

That's great news, JP...!

[Anderton]

>>He is ok now, a slight limp, but considering what could have been, we/he are very fortunate. <<

 

I know this is off-topic, but if you could briefly describe what therapy worked for you, I'd be interested -- conventional? Alternative? A combination of the two? I don't mean to pry nor do I expect a long answer, just a few words would be helpful.

 

I promise I'll get back on topic with the next post.

[Guest]

Craig, I will try to be brief. After the surgery,he was partially paralyzed on his right side. He quickly regained all functions except in the right leg. It seems to be the hamstrings that are hypersensitive, which is the opposite of what I expected (little to no feeling, resulting in little to no control of muscle function, extreme sensation can cause the same end result). He can't set the foot down heel first, so he has to "throw" the foot out as he walks. We had a PT come to the house three times a week to start, and tapered down to one office visit a week in the end. It helped a little, and I really appreciate those wonderful professionals, but I don't think they can do much more than our high school football coaches used to do, and I have been out of school a long time. I hope that answers your question, and I hope everyone will forgive this sidebar.

JP

np-the concern of people everywhere

P.S. I would be interested if you have any info an alternative treatment ( no balms that involve bat urine, please). You can email me to keep it out of the board, if you like.

JP

 

[This message has been edited by jpalndar@aol.com (edited 10-27-2000).]

[the stranger]

No forgiveness is needed.

 

After about a year on the internet and most of that time spent on various bulletin boards, I've realized that that is the best quality of them. I've seen many a thread morph into something that wasn't even close to the original topic, yet still totally valid.

It's like a good conversation. If two people get together, they don't pick a subject and talk only of it. The conversation has the potential to go anywhere. Every word or exchange of idea triggers another thought.

 

Best wishes to your child and family.

[ST.Morigeaugte.net]

Ditto the Tedster & dr destructos sentiments. As a father of five, your son and family are in our prayers.

 

Morigeau