songwriting is hard

[glagola1]

Man, those bands you listed seem like they would be really hard to be in the same vein as and to come up with original material. Greenday hasn't written a new song in years.

[superpenguin79]

like the previous posts mention, just let the material come as it comes to you. If you are starting a band, usually its a good routine to see what all of your influences are..etc.. and you guys might come across a few covers that you all know..etc.. and be able to derive idea's off of that at very worse case scenerio. Sometimes just jamming comes up with cool stuff like that.

As for writing, just write whatever comes to you. I keep a book of random thoughts in addition to my song writing books (I have about 9 albums worth of stuff in my notebooks) but whenever I am dwelling on an idea or I think something is good bad or indifferent I will write it down and sometimes look to that book for idea's if I get stuck in a bind. Songs take time, development and can be about anything you want them to be about really. Goodluck

[Rigsby]

like the previous posts mention, just let the material come as it comes to you. If you are starting a band, usually its a good routine to see what all of your influences are..etc.. and you guys might come across a few covers that you all know..etc.. and be able to derive idea's off of that at very worse case scenerio. Sometimes just jamming comes up with cool stuff like that.

Actually, that's a really good point, if you like what this guy does then perhaps it's best that you don't have too much pre-prepared, a lot of the things you write aren't always suitable for the people you're playing with. I have had that situation many a time, that the group are great but just don't have the playing style for that material; if you're starting together then perhaps a few good ideas or things to jam on are a better starting point than having material and thus expectations.

[superpenguin79]

yep, anytime I have started out with a "band" project in the past I always go into it just as a jam session at first to see how things go and mesh styles..etc.. whether its for an audition or you are the person forming the band..etc. Once you find something that everyone digs and come to common ground for each member and you find the right personalities..etc.. in all your members and you guys or girls can all hang out and get along, play tunes that you all dig..etc.. you will have your band. Takes a bit of work, but usually if you come in with a whole pallet of songs that you want the band to play right off the bat, the people auditioning won't dig it caus they are either going to have idea's of their own or they are going to want to become hired guns to play as your backup band for your project.

[dungeonsound615]

Well i met the bass player i think it went well and we talked about meeting, up again next saturday so im happy. I dont think he wants to play exacetly the style im into but then i was thinking thats probably a good thing put two styles together and get some interesting. HE also came up with a cool part for a riff/chords progression i had so that was cool and jams in a few other bands and even ask if i was ok with that which i am.
all in all a fun time and i hope it works out

mike

[Robman2]

There are 36 plots in literature, and I do not remember them by heart but, it's a premise.

Tilte, usually tied to the Hook or main chorus line...4 H

Songs usually have verse, stating the activity....I'm lonsome , here in the Phoenix mini mart fillin up the van, on the way back to Louisianne'

The B section, developing the back story tie to emotion... S'still about you, that hog sweet voice of yours, the wallow swill drifts perfumin' through my mind...

The Chorus...Evertime I see a link, you are on my mind, Every plate of ham n' eggs, gets me back to cryin', all the tears in Baton Rouge, could turn jus' right as rain..you're still the porker of my heart, the grand champ of 4H.

And a bridge...reiterating...That's what you got for bein' large, once we won that ribbon, the auction went so fast an it's hard, but 4 H I'm forgivin...


Stuff like that. it would be a Sheila Davis book, you can get from a decent book store, about lyric writing...

R

[skypractice]

4h is hilarious...

but that aside...

Collaborating is the key, I feel. Even if you are the instigator musically in the group, someone else is the modifier and refiner...

Unless, as previously mentioned, the song pours straight out and writes itself, it will take time of playing together and refining... When you go to practice get rid of your expectations without losing your standard of creativity. And when you are improvising, have faith in each other. evertytime I improv in practice there are moments where I feel like stopping because evrything sounds so wierd, instead we try not to lose faith in our ability to intuit and listen. Eventually you come out of it into something really sweet.

It depends a lot on why you play music as well. If you play because you are inspired by the image of a performer, think about that and ask yourself if you are more in to the idea of music than music itself...

Playing music can be a dialogue among the musicians themselves, that is just witnessed by an audience. It can also be a statement. It can be a way of blowing of steam. It can be a way of being a ham and having fun partying on stage while playing your favorite style.

If you feel confident in what you get out of the collboration with your bandmates, then don't justify it yourself, just enjoy it. Of course you want to combine your different styles to creat something different and unique, please do!

As for influences, many don't sound like their influences... You like pop punk? and guitar? well dont listen to pop punk and don't listen super guitar based music...
Try Charles Mingus's "Mingus Mingus Mingus", or Talk Talk's Laughing Stock, or at least some Unwound or Fugazi if you insist on some guitar heavy stuff with decent lyrics...

Whatever you do, stay off the beaten path of what you aspire to play in terms of genre or style, thats how you can carve your own name in the pop punk world...personally I'd ditch concepts of type style or genre anyway...but we all are different with different aspirations...

Ok I've slipped into stating the obvious...

Good luck with your new project...

[snuffinthepunk]

If you need things to write about, just start considering everything that goes through your mind as potential song material. For example, you see some atrocity on TV that gripes you? Write a song about it. I write Christian oriented lyrics, but they are not about things that many Christians approve, for example, I have a song called "Preacher Politician" that is about preachers that use Gods time and money to promote their pet political bitches. That is a pet peeve of mine, so I wrote a song about it.
Song matierial is all around you, it is just realizing that some of the most seemingly mundane and every day happenings are potential material.
Another thing, get yourself a Rhyming dictionary, and a thesaurus if you don't have them, they are invaluable time savers, and can increase the quality of your work.
Get a John Hiatt CD from the library and read the lyrics, or find some of his lyrics online, he is an expert at taking very mundane and everday life things and writing songs around them. I am not a fan of his music, but his lyrics are an excellent study.

same here, that's good advice man. i also write down any sentence or phrase that I think would be effective in a composition...and i may not use 'em all, but when it comes down to it, i've got some good things written down that I may be able to use either in a song or to kick start the creative process at a later date.

[yardleyone]

I have a habit of doing stream of consciousness writing with the intention of finding song lyrics. I'll write like six pages worth of lines, and then when i get a chrd progression I have files to go to. This is just an idea starter. Out of six pages of this junk, I might find one or two lines that catch me a bit. Starting is the hardest part and this technique gets me outta the gates a bit more quickly.

***Drinking can help with this stream of consciousness exercise... or not***

It's really just about recordng your ideas. Most everyone on this planet has let a few genius words out of their mouth. Usually they are forgotten as quickly as they are uttered, but if you start writing them down, well there you go.

[joeysimms]

So im supposed to meet with this bass player tommorrow to try and start up a band. so i thought this week i would try and write some new songs. I came up with one song that i like and everything else is just chord progressions with no lyrics. I cant think of any topics to write about and now im starting to not even like the chord progressions and rythems im coming up with in the last two days.

Im sure its just that im feeling a little pressure to write something good and i know you cant force a good song. but damn i cant think of a topic at all to write about. The music is pop punk like greenday(damn there new stuff is good) screeching weasel, ramones. Real simple stuff although im just drawing a blank with chords progressions and lyrics...

Unless you're 12 years old, i'd say give it up.

[Bad Halen]

3 words:

ELL. ESS. DEE. = song

[jamoo]

another three words for songwriting:

PEE BEE ARE