After writing songs on & off for years and they always take ages to finish.
I've decided to look for fast methods of making Melody's & hooks.
Can anyone point me in the right direction eg. A good Lively songwriting forum.
Thanks in advance.
songwriting methods
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- KVRist
- 53 posts since 1 Jun, 2007 from UK
Good question! I like the idea of a songwriting meetup or songwriting lodge as described in some book I read. If you have film/classical inclinations the VI forum is really great. Anybody else have thoughts?
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- KVRist
- 53 posts since 1 Jun, 2007 from UK
Actually...if you taking ages to finish perhaps you need deadlines. I made a song-a-week challenge group a few days ago...haven't started it yet. Currently at 2 members. Would need 5-6 minimum to start i think. Take a look if you're interested! https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities ... 2897021865
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- KVRist
- 109 posts since 3 Oct, 2010
Sounds like you're not being inspired by what you are writing and thus have little to no motivation to finish your songs. I suggest stop trying to force yourself to "write" and do more improvisation keeping the warts and all.
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- KVRAF
- 2696 posts since 3 Aug, 2003 from Narnia
Songwriting Recipe:
Ingredients
Notepad & pencil
Acoustic Guitar
Recording device (phone will do)
2 bottles of wine (cheap stuff will do)
1. Wash your hands, then down a couple of glasses of wine.
2. Sit comfortably and place guitar across lap in playing position (don't worry if you can't play the guitar, it doesn't matter).
3. Strum some chords, or bang out a rhythm on the guitar and sing whatever comes into your head.
4. Drink some more wine.
5. Repeat step 3.
6. Write down any useful lyrics/chord progressions.
7. Repeat step 4.
8. Repeat step 3.
9. Repeat step 4.
10. Turn on recorder then forget you just turned it on.
11. Repeat steps 3 to 9 in random order until the wine is finished.
By now you should have at least 3 or 4 song ideas, maybe even a whole song, Go to bed and listen to the recording till you fall asleep.
Ingredients
Notepad & pencil
Acoustic Guitar
Recording device (phone will do)
2 bottles of wine (cheap stuff will do)
1. Wash your hands, then down a couple of glasses of wine.
2. Sit comfortably and place guitar across lap in playing position (don't worry if you can't play the guitar, it doesn't matter).
3. Strum some chords, or bang out a rhythm on the guitar and sing whatever comes into your head.
4. Drink some more wine.
5. Repeat step 3.
6. Write down any useful lyrics/chord progressions.
7. Repeat step 4.
8. Repeat step 3.
9. Repeat step 4.
10. Turn on recorder then forget you just turned it on.
11. Repeat steps 3 to 9 in random order until the wine is finished.
By now you should have at least 3 or 4 song ideas, maybe even a whole song, Go to bed and listen to the recording till you fall asleep.
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- KVRAF
- 1676 posts since 17 Dec, 2002 from Yorkshire
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- KVRian
- 1395 posts since 16 Jan, 2004
I find that just humming a random melody is often the initial spark of an idea. Then begin to put words to the melody. This can occur by just humming a section of the melody and then seeing what pops into my head. It's surprising how well this works.
Saw a documentary - I think it was the Abby Road series of musical documentaries - Brian Adams did this exact thing for "Run To You".
Saw a documentary - I think it was the Abby Road series of musical documentaries - Brian Adams did this exact thing for "Run To You".
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- KVRian
- 1004 posts since 2 Aug, 2004 from Sweden
Me and a few friends play the 20 song game from "Frustrated songwriters handbook" now and then. Works remarkably well. There's a lot of little helpful games in that book.
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- KVRAF
- 44101 posts since 11 Aug, 2008 from clown world
"Frustrated housewives handbook"? 
If you want quick song arrangements, check out your music collection. Every song in it has an arrangement.
If you want quick song arrangements, check out your music collection. Every song in it has an arrangement.
This is the same method MJ used when he was working on Anthony Marinelli's Thriller.
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- KVRian
- 1004 posts since 2 Aug, 2004 from Sweden
Nah, divorced since 10 years so don't need that...Aloysius wrote:"Frustrated housewives handbook"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersion ... on_Society
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- KVRAF
- 44101 posts since 11 Aug, 2008 from clown world
Didn't take much persuasion. 
Actually quite interesting. I'll have a proper read.
BTW: My own ''marriage'' finally ended some 16+ years ago now. Enuff said!
Actually quite interesting. I'll have a proper read.BTW: My own ''marriage'' finally ended some 16+ years ago now. Enuff said!
This is the same method MJ used when he was working on Anthony Marinelli's Thriller.
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- KVRAF
- 7001 posts since 20 Mar, 2012 from Babbleon
One method I am trying out now is:
I put notes in a virtual bag, shake it up, pick 5 to 12 notes that sound good together (this part takes a long time, so many permutations, not too many combinations that sticks out, but less time than trying it out on an actual instrument like keyboard and guitar, bypasses muscle memory tendencies too). Try to find words that fit the chosen notes (that is the hardest part, takes the longest time too, most times I just give up and put it on hold). Create song structure. Create harmony (bass, guitar, triad pads) that fit the melodies. Create beats. Try different tempos. Try different freeware VST plugins to make the sound better. My songs lack riffs among many other musical things. I want to improve that.
Sometimes I don't do it in the order as above. But mixing the sound is usually done last and fast (I don't know anything about mixing, I just wing it like everything else, I have several mixed versions of the same song and one day I will like the mix that I hated from another day). I do all this in between speed scrabble games. A song can take months to complete. Many are not completed. I work on other incomplete songs much later on.
I spend more time on trying out different songwriting methods than on actually completing songs. There are a lot of distractions, like typing stuff like this on forums, in between speed scrabble games. This post probably took a week to do (little by little). Most of my so-called songs have no lyrics yet. Your thread title didn't say "amateurs don't bother replying".
I put notes in a virtual bag, shake it up, pick 5 to 12 notes that sound good together (this part takes a long time, so many permutations, not too many combinations that sticks out, but less time than trying it out on an actual instrument like keyboard and guitar, bypasses muscle memory tendencies too). Try to find words that fit the chosen notes (that is the hardest part, takes the longest time too, most times I just give up and put it on hold). Create song structure. Create harmony (bass, guitar, triad pads) that fit the melodies. Create beats. Try different tempos. Try different freeware VST plugins to make the sound better. My songs lack riffs among many other musical things. I want to improve that.
Sometimes I don't do it in the order as above. But mixing the sound is usually done last and fast (I don't know anything about mixing, I just wing it like everything else, I have several mixed versions of the same song and one day I will like the mix that I hated from another day). I do all this in between speed scrabble games. A song can take months to complete. Many are not completed. I work on other incomplete songs much later on.
I spend more time on trying out different songwriting methods than on actually completing songs. There are a lot of distractions, like typing stuff like this on forums, in between speed scrabble games. This post probably took a week to do (little by little). Most of my so-called songs have no lyrics yet. Your thread title didn't say "amateurs don't bother replying".
ah böwakawa poussé poussé
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- KVRian
- 880 posts since 26 Oct, 2011
If only people would know the despair of musicians trying to find inspiration.