***The Official Songwriting Thread***

[GreedylilPig]

Mitch/Miguel: Do either of you have albums? If not, are you working toward compiling one? I've written a lot of songs, but only consider myself half-way there in terms of completing my album. Just wondering about others' experiences pursuing the same goal.

i have about 20 or so songs. i'm definetly going to make a 5 song EP soon and very soon. my problem is that it will be all acoustic. which is ok by me, i just would like to have a bit more before i take it to a record company or anything.

My album is going to be all acoustic as well, at least as of now. Ideally I'd like to have a violinist/cellist and a pianist add some more depth.

[Appfro]

Mitch/Miguel: Do either of you have albums? If not, are you working toward compiling one? I've written a lot of songs, but only consider myself half-way there in terms of completing my album. Just wondering about others' experiences pursuing the same goal.

i have about 20 or so songs. i'm definetly going to make a 5 song EP soon and very soon. my problem is that it will be all acoustic. which is ok by me, i just would like to have a bit more before i take it to a record company or anything.

My album is going to be all acoustic as well, at least as of now. Ideally I'd like to have a violinist/cellist and a pianist add some more depth.

definetly. i don't necessarily want a full band yet. i'm enjoying the acoustic scene. eventually i'll want one cause i love to jam, but for now like you said, acousitic maybe some keyboard and violin and MAYBE like a hand drum like a djembe or something would be perfect.

[NJPearce22]

Any tips on forming solid vocal melodies to add lyrics too for music that is already done?

[RunsWithBuffalo]

If you have a piano handy its very easy to come up with melodic lines just palying with scales. If you dont play piano, use tape and mark all the keys that work, then come up with little patterns. You may have no idea what youre playing but thats ok, just start humming along until the hums become coherent and eventually turn into worlds..you can do this with a guitar too but i think its easier on a piano.

Great thread, glad to see it on top

[ut4ever8]

ever since ive started playing ive been trying to write here and there, but recently ive put alot more effort into it, but whenever i seem to get somewhere with something, i notice that it sounds too much like a song, either the chords will resemble another song or the words will be really similar, i guess im just having trouble making my music more original, if that makes sense, does anyone else have this problem? or any tips?

[buttermuffin4]

I love to write, I find lyrics come best when I'm feeling really crappy.

If I'm feeling crappy, I can write down a complete song, if I'm not feeling crappy, sometimes verses or lines just run through my head really quickly and I have to write them down right away or I'll forget.

I have song lyrics laying around all over.

Is there a thread somewhere dedicated solely to posting one's poetry/lyrics? I can't find one. . it might be my searching skillz, they lack.

[whatshername]

top. i can come up with cool things on the guitar all day long..i can't write lyrics for my life.

[Easy E]

top. i can come up with cool things on the guitar all day long..i can't write lyrics for my life.

join the club

[sunglassesatnight]

I like to think I can write lyrics and music, but they don't exactly get together well. I only have a couple songs I'm at all happy with.

[afurth]

i think you have to have something to say to successfully write lyrics - that may seem self-evident but its something people overlook a lot.

and to further the thread - i've felt so creative ever since i started playing with a band. there's just something about writing to play with other people that's so much fun!

[RunsWithBuffalo]

i think you have to have something to say to successfully write lyrics - that may seem self-evident but its something people overlook a lot.

and to further the thread - i've felt so creative ever since i started playing with a band. there's just something about writing to play with other people that's so much fun!

I think thats really true. Playing with other people is a big plus. I tended to write happier music in a band setting i think because i wasn't so in my head like i am when writing alone with the acoustic or the piano. The other side of playing with a band is its easier to find melodies and rythmic lyrics.

I havent had my band for about 2 years now and its killing me. I do find that playing along with my drum machine helps. It focuses the guitar and i find if i write lyrics along with it, i tend to develop a good meter automatically rather than just counting out syllables.

[TimmyJ4140]

and to further the thread - i've felt so creative ever since i started playing with a band. there's just something about writing to play with other people that's so much fun!

I've been struggling a lot lately with writing lyrics, I've got a shitstorm of songs in my head, complete songs, just no lyrics to go with them. But I found that the stuff I co-wrote with the band I was playing in last summer was actually halfway decent, I was writing a lot more when I was playing with the band. Now I'm not, and there are no lyrics, and it's fucking killing me. It's enough to send me down the instrumentalist path.

[Easy E]

The best songs I write are the ones about Jenn






*ducks*

[TimmyJ4140]

Very fucking funny asshole.

[RunsWithBuffalo]

I was reading mike doughty's blog the other day and he mentioned something pretty cool. He said that when he reads he looks for cool words and phrases that are rhythmic and unique and puts them in a notebook. Then he builds songs around them.

I tried it and it really seemed to work for me. Try it out!