[Satchmo72]

When your developing a new instrumental song, do you write the whole rhythm first and solo over that or do you work on everything together?

 

[axeshredder]

well many people are different but i write chord phrases and work them together and sometimes change keys for the solo like your favorite axe player..lol..theres no rule except to use your ears..they will lead you in the right direction

 

[Satchmo72]

Thanks Axe, Funny you should say that, a lot of my soloing and my rhythms are like those in crushing day and such.

 

[Satchmo72]

Hey axe, what forum would you put this in? I dont see a songwriting forum.

 

[axeshredder]

probably the guitar rack would be the best place

 

[SLoB]

should have a new forum section for songwriting to go in tandem with the lyrics section as its a great and fascinating subject aswell as boshing some sort of theories etc..

i usually come up with a riff or chord progression and try to make it sound cool lol
then piece some stuff around it, but ideas can come out of the silliest of things

I do like the earlier songwriting of satch tho, his new stuff just hasnt got that fresh appeal like the Extremist cd for example (his best one songwriting for melody wise for me)

 

[Satchmo72]

I agree, I saw one on another board but it does not look like it gets much traffic though.

Right now I am in the process of recording (and writing) my first song since I just got all of my recording stuff. I have some cool rhythms and riffs that could fit all together since they are based out of the same key but when I try to solo over some of it, I only like the sound and feel of one of the scale positions, any others seem to take it into a darker feel and that is not what I'm going for.

I may try some different scales to get a different, more happier feel. The Ionian mode is the only one I like over the Fmaj scale that the song is based out of .

Do I make sense?

 

[andrewtheshreddr]

ic..
sometimes a song can come from anything
maybe a vocal melody, a guitar riff, chord progression, anything... its always a good idea to record all ur ideas down in case you need it later..

regarding whether to write rhythms first?
well, sometimes u can write a solo first, then figure out a chord progression to accompany the solo...
but most of my solos are improvised so i usually write a pretty simple backing progression so that i can be extra creative when soloing..

 

[axeshredder]

great thread and comments here.....one thing ive realized that in you try to put too much fancy stuff it ruins it....keep the base of the song fairly simple..like joe, but work with those simple rythyms and complex them a little in spots..but the real key is writing a great riff or lead to go with it that expands the rythyms possibilities...if you understand that.

 

[Satchmo72]

Agreed

You are exactly right axe, when I first started writing this song, I thought I would have some complex chord changes and such but as I go along, I'm finding that I may only have a couple throughout the whole song. I do have some really cool fills though that I am trying to work in.

I sat and wrote a progression just to put one of the fills into. I have never thought about all of the stuff that goes into a song before now. The one progression I thought would sound good underneath the fill ended up sounding terrible when mixed so I had to take it back to square one. I like the passage alot now and just have to figure out where to put it.

This songwriting stuff rocks. I am finding my influences coming out in both my rhythms and my leads. I have been re-listening to a bunch of my Satriani, Vai and Garsed stuff to try and get a feel for what writing of mine is really influenced by them.

 

[axeshredder]

thats real cool Satchmo...sounds like a new chapter is starting for you.....since i started recording ive really layed off the writing thing...was getting stale....sometimes a long break from writing is helpful.....sometimes you cant push it ...but sometimes you will punch out alot of ideas....i am also weary of posting originals due to creative theft so be careful with uncomplete projects and if you really think their good....copywrite em....its better to learn the process now than later...just a thought

 

[trey85stang]

thats real cool Satchmo...sounds like a new chapter is starting for you.....since i started recording ive really layed off the writing thing...was getting stale....sometimes a long break from writing is helpful.....sometimes you cant push it ...but sometimes you will punch out alot of ideas....i am also weary of posting originals due to creative theft so be careful with uncomplete projects and if you really think their good....copywrite em....its better to learn the process now than later...just a thought

If you dont mind me asking.. how do you copyright your stuff???

Also, I like haivng to solo over a difficult rythem.. than rather having a lax rythm... You have to think more to make a solo over a difficult chord progression work, than an easy one..

My reasoning for this is.. If you have a lot of songs and you have an easy solo rhythem in each song.. unless you are on top of your game when recording.. they will start to sound the same. therfore, make it a little more difficult to solo over and you will have to rethink what you are going to play and it will help keep your solos from sounding the same.

 

[ibanezlover]

Here is a good article on songwriting by Eric Vandenberg.

http://www.ibreathemusic.com/article/172

 

[axeshredder]

you should propose the copywrite question in its own thread!!1...i only know the old way...which is to have it transposed to notes on paper then submit it but there may be easier ways today

as for song writing interpretations......ay whatever works...theres no rule or law

 

[ibanezlover]

not sure what ya mean there axe??

 

[SLoB]

i kno in one of the bands i was in we mailed via recorded delivery the demo tapes to one of the band members (was me lol) so we have proof of originality if opened up in a courtroom for any disputes
thats the cheapest way, didnt really look further than that, anyways the band broke up so theyr not that much use lol, we wont be reeling in the money for the tunes in years to come heheh

 

[Stiglar]

This is more suited to the guitar rack so i'll just move it over that way for more exposure

 

[Stiglar]

i kno in one of the bands i was in we mailed via recorded delivery the demo tapes to one of the band members (was me lol) so we have proof of originality if opened up in a courtroom for any disputes
thats the cheapest way, didnt really look further than that, anyways the band broke up so theyr not that much use lol, we wont be reeling in the money for the tunes in years to come heheh

That's the easiest , simplest way . good post there slob !

you don't literally have to copyright every song it happens automatically when you have a record of the date it was written . such as registered mail .. very cool i think ..

of course if you want to say give your song to someone or collect royalties for it being played you should really get it copyrighted with the government so you can collect the royalties.