songwriting

[let it ride]

Oh. My. I think my five-month songwriting draught may be over. Oh. My. !!. I am very, very excited. I thought I was dunzo with music forever, and not because I wanted to.

[soft revolution]

Ok, um, how does everyone come up with guitar rhythms? Do you come up with a tune first then fit the guitar round it or the other way round.

I've finished most of a song, but I'm just doing the last bit. I've got the chords but can't seem to come up with a decent rhythm. I think I've been thinking about it too much, but I don't want to fall back into my natural sloppy 6/8 clatter.

[gloom button]

I was just thinking about this the other day, and deciding that it'd be interesting to play a rhythm in the same way as an (imaginary) drumbeat. Is that a terrible idea? So it's just an 8/4 rhythm but with stresses falling where the bass-drum beats would fall (in my case on beats 1, 2, the 'and' of 2, the 'and' of 3 & the 'and' of 4). I can't tell if that's terribly naive, but it makes things sound a bit different anyway, and seemed to drive things along nicely.

[schlump]

your numbers and timings confuse me, but it seems topical to point out that bo diddley basically played the drums, but on a rhythm guitar. bo diddley - bom-ba-bom-bom, ba-bom-bom-bom - is a bass drum getting hammered but translated onto a guitar.

(maybe this is totally irrelevant, but you know, bo diddley!)

[soft revolution]

I was just thinking about this the other day, and deciding that it'd be interesting to play a rhythm in the same way as an (imaginary) drumbeat. Is that a terrible idea? So it's just an 8/4 rhythm but with stresses falling where the bass-drum beats would fall (in my case on beats 1, 2, the 'and' of 2, the 'and' of 3 & the 'and' of 4). I can't tell if that's terribly naive, but it makes things sound a bit different anyway, and seemed to drive things along nicely.

That's a pretty nift idea, I may give it a go - maybe the toms could be different chords and the cymbols as an upstroke. Um, maybe that's formalising the relationship way too much though.

Think I'll give it a go, but slow it right down too and see what happens. Ive been meaning to write a slower song for ages now.

[let it ride]

Hmmm. I couldn't sleep last night, and was up until four, but in that weird half-sleepy state, lying in the dark. I obviously thought I "had" something as I woke up to find two new songs in a notebook next to my bed. But they are uncharacteristically "funny" and I don't do that anymore as I'm not ridiculously funny. But it felt like such a great start!

Sometimes, it's much easier to just write down a ton of words than to sit with guitar or piano.

[let it ride]

Hmmm. I couldn't sleep last night, and was up until four, but in that weird half-sleepy state, lying in the dark. I obviously thought I "had" something as I woke up to find two new songs in a notebook next to my bed. But they are uncharacteristically "funny" and I don't do that anymore as I'm not ridiculously funny. But it felt like such a great start!

Sometimes, it's much easier to just write down a ton of words than to sit with guitar or piano.

I can't decide if these lyrics are fun or kind of crap. One song title has the word sex in it which makes me blush because that seems a bit crude! Hmmm. Why is it so hard to write songs sometimes? Answer: It's not if you're good at it, haha!

[Sootyzilla]

I can't decide if these lyrics are fun or kind of crap. One song title has the word sex in it which makes me blush because that seems a bit crude!

I think that one of the requirements of being a songwriter is to be a bit shameless, in that you have to be willing to write about your most intimate feelings and sometimes about what you like to do in bed. It's why I'm no good at it.

[let it ride]

I can't decide if these lyrics are fun or kind of crap. One song title has the word sex in it which makes me blush because that seems a bit crude!

I think that one of the requirements of being a songwriter is to be a bit shameless, in that you have to be willing to write about your most intimate feelings and sometimes about what you like to do in bed. It's why I'm no good at it.

Haha, me neither! But then it feels weird to sing random "feelings" that you don't particularly feel either, just to sing something I mean. In any case, it's hard to judge lyrics before you sit down with piano or guitar or something to see if it is possible to sing. Heh, who knew being away from instruments made you want to write songs more?

[soft revolution]

Following all the random outbreaks of song at Indietracks, I've been pondering my method of writing songs using weird chords and timing changes. It's great (and long may it continue), but it's not singalongable and most people probably wouldn't call it indiepop. It takes me ages to come up with anything resembling a pop tune over it, which tends to be the point where my songs stick for several months.

I think I'm going to start another new side project where I go back to using chords that people have heard of and using progressions like C G F G etc. I'm also going to give myself a 1 hour limit for writing it, and a 1 hour limit for recording it (once I've got recording stuff set up at home) and do what feels natural and instant rather than pondering stuff for ages.

[let it ride]

That sounds sensible! All my best songs are written in under ten minutes, you know when the melody and then the words all come stumbling out and you are struggling to keep up with writing it down before you forget it again.

Simple can be really good sometimes! I take the Wilco approach, that you can always deconstruct it later, the basic song structure is still there.

[Carys]

I think last year some people did "Record an album in a month" - I remember that Gloombutton did... well, I think that's my plan for August. I've just set up the 8-track and everything. I quite like the idea of forced creativity...

[postalblue]

I need to be forced to do anything music-related these days. So sad. It seems the only way for me to make a new record in the near future is if some label comes along with a release date already set.

[let it ride]

I have a big weird project going on, that I need approved before I want to talk about it properly but it involves songwriting and (cheese factor) self-discovery and shiz. I think it might be awesome. I am just so damn excited about songwriting again!

[soft revolution]

Does anyone else come up with holding lyrics to remember a tune before you have chance to write something decent?

Yesterday apparently started with the lines "Scrambled eggs, Oh, baby how I love your legs" before McCartney had chance to do the lyrics.

The chorus for Falling and Laughing classic 'Lights Out Birmingham' used to go "Where on earth is Laughter Chilembe now"

[Pip68]

It's either chords/melody/words or melody/chords/words. About 60% of the songs I've written were with a hangover. Not sure why...
In the old days, when I couldn't play the guitar (still can't), I'd hum the melody to a guitarist and he'd try and find the chords. That reminds me of a very funny sketch from Big Train...

\

[Pip68]

It's either chords/melody/words or melody/chords/words. About 60% of the songs I've written were with a hangover. Not sure why...
In the old days, when I couldn't play the guitar (still can't), I'd hum the melody to a guitarist and he'd try and find the chords. That reminds me of a very funny sketch from Big Train...

\

Oh and I'd always write temporary gibberish words, intending to rewrite them later, that the singer would end up preferring. So be careful, otherwise the wind might change!

[James_B]

Does anyone else come up with holding lyrics to remember a tune before you have chance to write something decent?

Yesterday apparently started with the lines "Scrambled eggs, Oh, baby how I love your legs" before McCartney had chance to do the lyrics.

The chorus for Falling and Laughing classic 'Lights Out Birmingham' used to go "Where on earth is Laughter Chilembe now"

most of my band's songs started like that, though we normally end up being too lazy to think of new song titles and they get called things that reference the nonsense lyrics...

[Pardon My Rhythm]

Does anyone else come up with holding lyrics to remember a tune before you have chance to write something decent?

Yesterday apparently started with the lines "Scrambled eggs, Oh, baby how I love your legs" before McCartney had chance to do the lyrics.

The chorus for Falling and Laughing classic 'Lights Out Birmingham' used to go "Where on earth is Laughter Chilembe now"

I used to write my holding lyrics in near-gibberish French, the best one being 'Pays de Galle', which was about the Welsh rugby team. Pays de Galle has had two lots of earnest, heartwrenching English lyrics about relationships since it was written, both of which have been ditched because I later realised they were utter toss.

At my local jam night in Cornwall people still request it. "Trish, play that French song, it's beautiful". I sing it very slowly and mournfully and bring the room close to tears. Fortunately this is because most of them don't speak French, otherwise they would know that they were offering silent, reverential consideration to...

I used to live near Australia,
but now I live in Wales
I used to live near Australia,
but now I live in Wales

Oh Wales Wales Wales

I used to play for the Black Alls, but now I play for Wales
I used to play for the Black Alls, but now I play for Wales

Wales Wales Wales Waaaaales

[humblebee]

Teehee, ^^that's^^ ace!

I've started writing a new song this week and mrs humblebee can't get the chorus out of her head. She reckons this one's the hit!