Questions For Musicians/Songwriters.

[PleasureToBurn]

How do you go about writing a song. Do you start with the music or the lyrics first. What comes first, melody or harmony. Do you think more in sections like verse, chorus, bridge, I IV V, ii V I, or do you think more in terms of mood, atmosphere, textures, key centers.

And when you go about lyrics, does it start with a line, a concept, a theme, or what.

Do you listen to your influences or try not to listen to them during the writing process.

How many forms does a song usually go through until you're satisfied with it.

[PleasureToBurn]

Really wish I had my amp fixed so I could start fucking around with these pedals, but whatever. Come January I'm taking a week off and basically locking myself in a room for a week and not coming out until I've written an album.

[Full_fathom]

hah, album in a week, that's ambitious!

Seriously though, it was Johnny Cash who said something about 3 chords and the truth? whether 1-5-3, or 1-4-5... or 1-2-5... perhaps a diminished 6, add 9, whatever, pick a key, play a mode.

It's your sound, whatever speaks to you. Some really great artists 'simply' put arrangements to other's words (Elton John). Others made a structure to afford some nice riffs and asked a singer to squeeze the words into it.. (Van Halen).

Now, I don't consider myself a musician by any stretch, one thing is certain though, you can have an instrument and use it to exercise your thoughts/study, no amp needed, however it helps if all you have is an electric guitar! Speaking of which, something I enjoy having fun with is a looping pedal I bought a few years ago, it definitely helps for layering one thing on top of another.

[Full_fathom]

this seems like a cool insight into how a gifted musician develops sound... i like how it starts obscure and weak but then confidently finds its legs midway, with the beat and message, coalescing into a concrete something or another by the end. Just chords and words.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNTsYfjBcuQ