[ekim68]

It's probably not a 'do it yourself' topic, but, I write songs. Simple and non-commercial.
But, I was wondering, how would anyone else write a song.
Because I'm a guitarist, I generally start with a melody line, or series of notes,
and then put lyrics to the music....(And, I'm not really a decent wordsmith...)

And, a friend of mine writes a song in the form of
a poem, and then puts it to music...I'm sure there are many ways.
Anyone else do this?

[iltos]

Originally Posted by ekim68

It's probably not a 'do it yourself' topic, but, I write songs. Simple and non-commercial.
But, I was wondering, how would anyone else write a song.
Because I'm a guitarist, I generally start with a melody line, or series of notes,
and then put lyrics to the music....(And, I'm not really a decent wordsmith...)

And, a friend of mine writes a song in the form of
a poem, and then puts it to music...I'm sure there are many ways.
Anyone else do this?

i write poetry, and so it is the words that drive it....but my musical talent is limited to interpretations on the piano....i see music as a foreign language, and can do little more than appreciate it and envy those who speak it

[blues_harp28]

Hi..best way I have found is to team up with someone with similar interests..
Most successful songwriters have been part of a team..Lennon and McCartney for one..
Went from simple songs like Love me do,to Sgt Pepper etc..
If you get the sheet music for Beatles songs..the chord changes for some of their songs are incredible..on comes to mind..If I fell..on Hard days night..
Bb..Cm..Dm..C sharp dim..Cm7..F7..all in the first two bars..ok Im a beatles fan..

[shadowman25]

i just get with friends and jam, always record everything you do, go back and listen to it, and refine it into something sweet. words come after

[little den]

I don't have a set way of doing it... sometimes I'll come up with a melody first, then the lyrics - other times it's the opposite.

It all depends on how I'm feeling at the time.

I think one of the keys to making a good song is; to do something that is instantly recognisable. For example, GNR's Sweet Child Of Mine has the guitar intro that everyone knows, Phil Collins 'In the Air Tonight' has the drum track.
All of the classics are the same.

Just an opinion..

[ekim68]

Cool. There are many ways to grow a garden, too....I love 'theme and variation'...
iltos, I wish I had the poetic way with things, but, too many times, I've demonstrated
that I don't.
blues_harp28, thanks for the chords. I played them today and it's an interesting combination.
I'll play with them more, and, I like the Beatles, the only problem is, that all of their stuff
that I have is on records, and I don't have a record player anymore..(I know, I got to
change them into CD's and such....)
shadowman25, we did that for years...Jamming and recording on a very little recorder,
and therefore a lack of real quality. But the jams were great, and we usually partied
while we did it, and therefore the next day, they sounded a lot less than we remembered.
littleden, I agree, those are classics...I've always liked Phil Collins. He really did a good job of injecting drums with vocals. One of my favorite memories is when my mom
sang when she was cleaning up, always an upbeat kind of way. And, it inspired me to
want to sing....