No, I'll Get This Started!!

[Deleted]

OK, then. What are the various means and methods to stimulate and satisfy your muse?

1. Hear-it-all-in-the-head. A la Beethoven who just wrote down on manuscript what he had rattling around between his ears. Particularly useful when the ears themselves became unservicible.

2. Pinch some beats from the web, put them in a never-ending loop and improvise over them until, serendipity-like, something pops-up.

3. Improvise on the piano over a I - vi - ii - V7 - I chord progression until you make an interesting mistake.

4. Take an existing successful song, deconstruct it, and put it back together again in a different order and, maybe, in a different key.

5. Analyse a favourite song and use some of it's strongest features as a starting off point for something even better of your own.

6. Drink/smoke/otherwise ingest* (*delete as applicable) some stimulant and force your muse to submit to your wiles.

7. Read Charles Rosen's "The Sonata Principle" and write a song with exciting and provocative key changes.

8. Read Rolf Harris' "How To Write A Pop Song" and write a song without any key changes.

My way? Noodling on my acoustic with a bottle of Chianti close at hand. Maybe some manuscript and pencil and paper, too. Muck around with some scales and modulations and see what happens. Sometimes something does.

What's your way?

[Gypsy Picker]

I tend to start with a poignant event, emotion, or even turn of phrase. I usually start by writing lyrics, then develop a melody, then an arrangement to fit the melody. When the muse is absent, I try to fictionalize something poignant and work it from there. Musically, I do tend to "borrow" (hey, I'll give it back if they want) progressions, riffs, or parts thereof to incorporate in my songs. If something sounds TOO familiar, I'll chuck it and try again.

[Gypsy Picker]

ps., you're a rat bastid.

[Cribbs]

I have found that writing some thoughts down about something big in my life is a start. I will write what I feel like, how I am dealing with it, and how others are. It is also therapeutic.

Also, listening to things going on in other folks lives provides a lot of food for thought. Sometimes when I think things are bad in mine, I listen to stuff other people have to deal with. Perspective provides a lot of powerful emotions.

[Deleted]

It is also therapeutic.

Ah, yes. Catharsis. Safety-valve, too. You know, I think I'd be doing time if I didn't have a guitar. Some folks think I should be doing time because... Ah, I see you're ahead of me.

[Gypsy Picker]

Cribbs... might you post a lyric of yours? I don't recall ever reading any at TTT.

[Cribbs]

I would gladly. I have stuff at home, but never got the balls to put it out there for critique. Perhaps now I will, since I am starting to put chords with it all.

It's all at home, I will try to do it when I get in tonight if I have time before heading out to the woods.

[Gypsy Picker]

Cool... don't be upset if you don't get an immediate response from me -- I'm off to the bar for a little pre-tweaking before tonight's texas hold 'em game.

[Deleted]

texas hold 'em game

I know I'm only from Scotland, but what the feck is that??

[Cribbs]

Dave, Texas Hold 'Em is a poker game, which is taking off to unbelievably popular levels with coverage on TV.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_hold_%27em

[Deleted]

Ah! I thought it rang a bell. I'll have a look at that - thanks!

[Cornflake]

Interesting subject.

I've used many of those approaches. Nine times out of ten, the keepers begin with an idea or a memorable line. There's seldom an instrument in my hands when the good ideas come.

A few decent songs have come music-first, but that doesn't seem to work often for me.

The "all in your head" part reminds me more of arranging. I'm about to begin another recording project and I'm working out detailed arrangements for some of the songs. That usually involves playing the thing on guitar while testing imaginary vocals or mandolin or dulcimer or whatever in my head in certain places, then making notes. Detailed arranging is something I've usually been too lazy about on past recordings.

Almost all my good ideas come before 7:30 AM.

[Doug]

I get a piece of lyric and then look in my "song snippits file" and see if I can find suff to go with the original piece. I try to mess around witht he chords while I'm doing that and sometimes something comes out. (not very offten)

[Cribbs]

That's off 'Flake. You must be a morning person. I hate mornings, and I always do my best work after about 9 PM, late at night is when I am most creative.

For some reason, when I have a thought sometimes, or an observation, it will hit me and I will rethink it, and think "That would make a damn fine beginning to a verse..."

And I'll record it in the truck on the voice recorder for later.

Riding around in the woods at night usually does it for me.

[iamjohnne]

The few things I have written start out with a line that I hear.

I held on to "two forties and a deuce" for two years and all of a sudden a song came out in about fifteen minutes.

I can't rhyme for the life of me, and I am just not creative when it comes to putting words together.

[Gypsy Picker]

I can't rhyme for the life of me, and I am just not creative when it comes to putting words together.

I'm not buying that, Johnne. I've read your songs. You are indeed creative.

[Deleted]

My best songwriting comes lyrics first, usually a line or two that are an observation or commentary I'm telling myself about something. If I want to get past the burst of inspiration I need to record and improvise the lyrics asap, blathering out much more than I'll ever use but leaving plenty of editing options. That all works best if I'm walking (I walk to and from work many days, about 3 miles each way, and try to keep my minidisc with me.) Sometimes a melody comes with the lyrics. If not, I'm usually f**ked there, as that is the hardest part for me. Occassionally I start with an instrumental riff or chord progression and mush lyrics into it. Changing tunings is often a good catalyst, especially for the riff-based version of song writing. I do a lot of word play goofing around with my 11 year old to keep the rhyme cutter sharp!

[Deleted]

Usually have a thought or idea in mind. Start messin' 'round with some chords and stuff. The melody starts to surface. I quickly pull out my iPod w/ iTalk attached and get it recorded, because I don't buy the thought that "if it's good, you don't have to worry about remembering it." 9 times out of 10 the whole song gets written in one long sitting. I'm not one that can put a few words and phrases together and then come back to it 3 weeks later and finish it up.

Kari and I went to an interesting workshop on collaboration at the Willow Arts Conference. It was called The Paul and Silas Approach to Songwriting. The artist (Sarah Kelly) picked out 3 guitar chords and had someone sit and play them over and over again. Then she had the rest of us start to create a melody. Once a few melodies were selected, people hummed them while the guitarist played and the rest of us were told to start writing down words to the melody. It was pretty cool. Later nuances were added to the guitar, phrasing of the lyrics and melody were enhanced and a pretty decent song began to surface.