Most people approach songwriting in the same general way. For those that write music, versus lyric writing only, that process is to go t...
Most people approach songwriting in the same general way. For those that write music, versus lyric writing only, that process is to go to their instrument and improvise until they stumble upon something that sounds good. They choose to focus only on the goal of having a completed song instead of focusing on the wide range of available processes to compose music. In other words, these people focus on the what (the song they want to write) instead of the how (which processes and methods can be used). Once the decision is made to write a new song, they begin with the one process that is easiest and comes most naturally to them - improvising at their instrument. For the purpose of illustrating the examples below, let us assume your main instrument is electric guitar. Natural pros and cons inherently exist with every songwriting process and method. Here is the obvious set of pros and cons for the process of improvising with your instrument:
·
This is the easiest songwriting process for most songwriters.
·
You can begin immediately (without little or no pre-compositional
planning or thought).
·
You can take advantage of the guitar's natural possibilities of tone,
playability, pitch range, the number of pitches that can be played
simultaneously, dynamic range, articulation, etc.
·
If you are a competent guitar player, you can easily create music that
is natural for the guitar. You probably have at least a basic command of
general guitar, so playing your guitaristic ideas won't be a major problem in
most cases.
·
Because most songwriters (even many pros) write in this way, your
musical results may be similar to some of those that have gone before you and
written successful hit songs.
This Method's Disadvantages
·
You are limited by the instruments limitations of tone, playability,
pitch range, the number of pitches that can be played simultaneously, dynamic
range, articulation, etc.
·
You are likely to repeat similar ideas that you have used before in
other songwriting sessions.
·
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking like a guitar player only
versus a songwriting musician.
·
You may discover your hands are doing most of the creating, not your
true creative mind.
·
The range of possible musical results is limited when using this single
process exclusively. Not necessarily because there is anything wrong with the
guitar or you. Any single songwriting process will be limiting. You must really
work hard to squeeze as much out of a single process as possible. Of course
having multiple processes is better than having only one (I will discuss other
methods of writing songs in future articles). Go to your instrument and begin
improvising, notice what types of things you do naturally. What is the process
that you usually start with? Do you begin by trying to write a melody? Or do
you begin with chords? Here is a list of ideas you can use to begin.
·
Begin with Melody first. 01. In this case, decide if the melody
you are trying to write will be a vocal or instrumental melody. This is very
important because vocal melodies need to have room for a singer to breathe and
you must also consider the pitch range - a singer's pitch range is more narrow
than most instruments. Keep this all in mind when writing melodies. 02.
Consider the melodic contour (shape and direction) of your melodies. 03.
Is there a clear climax (high point)? Where should it be in the melody?
·
Begin with Chords first 01. Choose a tonal center (key) to begin
with. You don't have to stay in that key for the entire song, but it is wise to
at least begin in a single key. You can deviate from the key later if you wish.
02. Think about the progression of chords, where are there moments of
tension and resolution? Are these moments placed in the best order?
·
Begin with Chords and Melody at the same time. 01. I like this
one a lot. Begin with a single chord and a melody note or phrase, as you add on
the next chord and more melodic notes, write them together. Experiment by
changing the chord but not the melodic phrase. Experiment by changing the
melodic phrase but not the chord.
·
Begin with Rhythm first 01. Consider the types of rhythmic
patterns that you normally use. Perhaps one of them is exactly what you need to
get into the grove of a new song. 02. Experiment with variations on your
favorite rhythmic patterns. Take a common pattern and play it backwards. 03.
Create something totally new. Force yourself to disallow any of your favorite
rhythmic patterns to creep into your new song idea. Dynamics, Texture and Form
are the most often overlooked musical elements among songwriters. Record
companies hire producers to improve the quality of the songwriting done by the
writers. Most producers have to spend a lot of their time (and the artist's
advance money!) shaping the songs in these three areas because songwriters
often neglect to spend enough time and effort on them. Most people can write a
melody and put chords together, but struggle with dynamics, texture and form.
·
Begin with Dynamics first 01. If you are thinking about dynamics
while composing each part of the song, you are already ahead of the game. 02.
Plan out what the dynamic range of each section of your new song will be. Which
parts will be louder and which will be softer? How can you create smooth
transitions between them? Do you want smooth transitions?
·
Begin with Timbre first 01. The variety of instruments you use,
and the sounds you get out of those instruments brings color to you music. Once
you have written a melody, experiment with how many different types of tone
qualities you can use to play it. Even if you are only writing a song for a
solo instrument, how can you color the sound with that instrument? For example,
on a guitar, playing down by the bridge produces a totally different sound
quality than picking over the center of the string (12th fret).
·
Begin with Texture first 01. The density of sound and timbre may
influence the types of melodies you compose. Consider how the density of
texture may change from section to section. What type of musical effect will
result? A single guitar line might lead you to write guitaristic lines, but if
you use a guitar to compose a keyboard part, your approach will often be (and
probably should be) quite different.
· Begin with Form
first 01. Starting here can do wonders to keep you out of trouble
(musically speaking). When you don't think about the form (arrangement of the
parts of a song) early on in the writing process, it is easy to paint yourself
in a corner later. When you have written various parts for a song but can't
seem to piece the individual parts together in a cohesive manner this usually
happens because there was little or no thought about form early on in the
writing process.
