KVR Audio

V0RT3X · Post by **V0RT3X** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:17 pm

Ok so after a while of looking around I decided to start saving up for a small songwriting studio setup. I also have decided to sign up for music lessons with a focus on guitar based songwriting and singing.

Anyone else here do songwriting with guitar? I would love any kind of tips, recommendations, etc!

Cheers

fedexnman · Post by **fedexnman** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:51 pm

I do . I mainly do acoustic guitar and vocals . There is a book called " How to write songs on guitar " by Rikky Rooksby . Get a pencil , pen , loose leaf paper , and folder , a cheap drum machine like a Boss or Zoom one . Hook your drum machine up to a small stereo , guitar amp , or computer speakers . Try to keep your computer and DAW off .... That book is really cool it covers stuff from mowtown , madonna to kate bush , radiohead , bob marley , cat stevens etc etc .. , i also think if you played piano it would be a good book to look at , too ...

robogone · Post by **robogone** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:54 pm

I think guitar or piano are probably the best songwriting instruments. Not sure about tips, but starting by working out other people's songs might be a good bet - it gives you a lot of insight into how songs are constructed and the relationships between music and lyrics.

Tricky-Loops · Post by **Tricky-Loops** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:57 pm

There are millions of books about songwriting with guitar.

But only a few for keyboarders...

fedexnman · Post by **fedexnman** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 7:00 pm

Tricky-Loops wrote:There are millions of books about songwriting with guitar.

But only a few for keyboarders...

Chords are chords wether on guitar or piano ... I know some piano players will play a chord with the right hand and do the bass line with the left . Or do a chords with the left and a melody with the right , and do some singing .

V0RT3X · Post by **V0RT3X** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 7:26 pm

fedexnman wrote:I do . I mainly do acoustic guitar and vocals . There is a book called " How to write songs on guitar " by Rikky Rooksby . Get a pencil , pen , loose leaf paper , and folder , a cheap drum machine like a Boss or Zoom one . Hook your drum machine up to a small stereo , guitar amp , or computer speakers . Try to keep your computer and DAW off .... That book is really cool it covers stuff from mowtown , madonna to kate bush , radiohead , bob marley , cat stevens etc etc .. , i also think if you played piano it would be a good book to look at , too ...

Thanks for the reply, I'll definitely look into your recommendations. I am actually thinking of turning my computer into my drum machine by using Ableton Live + Foot Controller to trigger clips which will have an acoustic drum sampler and audio clips on it.

I really wanna just focus on setting up basic tracks to learn on. So I want to learn how to play Bass, Guitar and sing. For the drums I was thinking of just using pre-made midi packs for the drums and editing them.

fedexnman · Post by **fedexnman** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 7:36 pm

Yes , you can use the computer and a DAW as a drum machine too , I find myself losing focus and being distracted by it though , but thats probabaly just me . I try to write AWAY from the computer and headphones .... I like the cheap drum machine and its included beats to keep time , I sing and play at the same time , so ill mess with the tempo and bpm til i get it to jive or me play and sing at a comfortable tempo . You can write songs anywhere you go , get a pocket notepad too .. or use your android phone or iphone and record a song into it while on the go . Find you a song writing buddy too .

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:47 pm

roy walker gives the best advice on songwriting, in a crappy 80s tv quiz show.

"say what you see".

thecontrolcentre · Post by **thecontrolcentre** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:57 pm

+1 to getting away from the computer when writing, and to "say what you see" ... I like to write with my guitar usually, but often use a melodica to find the melody/tune . I don't write many lyrics these days, but my writing partner writes about his own experiences mainly. I recommend listening to your favorite songs and learning how to play and sing them. Even better to have a friend to jam with during the process. Good luck

dusted william · Post by **dusted william** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:15 pm

There is a great free songwriting course starting this week.

I recommend it

https://www.coursera.org/course/songwriting

RunBeerRun · Post by **RunBeerRun** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:36 pm

Yeah it's fun, I've been singing with guitar since I was 15. I learned it for the physicality of it, I never liked rock music.

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:06 am

http://songstuff.com

It's mostly about lyric crafting. Almost everyone there is the singer songwriter type. Playing Guitar/Singing or Keys and Singing. Mostly attracts "folksy folk". Nonetheless its a wonderful place to learn from people rich in the songwriting tradition as well as get some education on marketing/performance tips.

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:42 am

When I first started playing guitar back in the 70's
Learn a few songs with the basic chord structure while attempting to sing them.

Strum, fingerpick it' doesn't matter so long as you can hold onto the basic rhythm pattern and transition the various chord shapes.

People seem to obsess over chords but not rhythms which are just as if not more important (for keys and guitar) You have to be able to pull off a rhythm and move from one chord to another. Knowing a chord in the abstract isn't the same as being able to play it and move both to that chord from another chord and from another chord to that chord. It's muscle memory all. Your muscles need to be taught not just your brain.

In regards to learning accompianment keys. There is just as much if not more learning material on this as guitar it's just buried under all the other keyboard stuff available on the net and in print.

michael2 · Post by **michael2** » Wed Jan 29, 2014 5:06 pm

i have been writing songs for a long time now with guitar and/or piano.

I think I probably focused on other peoples work at first to get an idea of how chord structures and melody/harmony worked. I learned a bunch of songs by artists that I admired so I could gain more understanding of the process. then I learned a bunch of other songs to gain insight into other ways of doing things. all the while, I was writing my own derivative pieces of fluff. but eventually it came together.

it wasn't that long before I was able to sit down and write a song that I was proud of. i may be deluded, but I feel like songwriting is one of those "you have it or you don't" types of things. that's not to say that I am the best songwriter in the world, but I have been able to hold peoples attention in various bands over the years.

what type of stuff are you influenced by?

Going to get into songwriting.