The Smiley Smile Message Board

My compositional method is to sit at the keyboard, doodling melodies with my right hand, while making random chord shapes with my left hand, sometimes while singing "dummy lyrics" over it. I usually get nothing done, however when I do my songs turn out good. I generally write about one song I'm proud of a month, but nothing comes easy.

Does anyone know of any ways to inspire the creative process when writing melodies, etc.? Does it just require enthusiasm and a willingness to fail? The process is just killing me...

Here's an alternate way you could go about it:

Find a song you like. Re-write it, essentially. Change the key. Change the melody and cadence enough to where it's different. Come up with an entirely different concept for the lyrics. But don't be afraid to be inspired by a previously written song. Once you have a rock solid melody, then start playing around with chords that match it best. By the time u get done re-arranging everything, it will be a new entity.

Just an idea  :wink

I come up with my melodies while riding my bike or walking. I then record them on my smart phone.

Writing one good song per month is not bad. Benny Andersson (the ABBA genius) sits by his keyboard from 9-5 every day and he only keeps 3 minutes of melodies in average per month and has done so the past 50 years.

Where can we listen to your music, Amanda? Do you have a Soundcloud account?

It's kind of funny... I can finish a song in minutes, bridge, chorus, etc. if I have something to go off of. Searching for that first initial interesting melody is the only struggle I have with songwriting. I can't lie, I'm a perfectionist and I discard far more melodies and ideas than I keep. Does anyone have any tips, based on their own experience, how to arrive at that initial fragment?

I am not sure I can be of any help, but it seems I have the opposite problem.  I can get that first fragment, usually a chorus melody, but then I am stuck...no verses, no bridge, and most of all...no lyrics.  Occasionally I get a complete song in just a few minutes.  Most often I'll get a chorus melody, some "place holder" lyrics for the chorus, and sometimes even a verse or bridge...but still very few lyrics.

Would you mind posting some of your stuff so we can all hear it?  Maybe you will find a collaborator who can come up with that initial idea and you can finish it...assuming you don't mind collaborating.

Just a thought...

I like to do it all by myself because of copyright expense and because I would rather have it be all my own work, if you can empathize. I

I only write lyrics after I write the music. I've tried writing lyrics first but it just never works for me.

No problem, I understand.  Any chance you will post links to some of your work?

Try writing in fragments, that's what I do.

Write a verse, record it make that :30-1:00 part be perfect, then move on. Then, you can even cut down on recording time, and have a really well done track!

https://www.youtube.com/user/DevinLundymusic


Here's my music. My last record had pretty dire vocals (Shaking World), but has my best songwriting. It's sad how that works out. My favorite cut is "Sweetie Pie."

The vocals on my new music is a huge improvement. Unfortunately I didn't have a good sense of taste towards lead vocals when I made the record, and spent most of my time making the backing tracks. I just didn't consider how my roughly recorded vocals would sound. All I heard was "me" coming back from the speakers and that was enough. I think it was also a somewhat subconscious stylistic choice; my vocals on my 2011 album, The Little Regime, sound really good for the most part.

 This time I'm going for the smoothest sound possible with my voice. Part of the reason I want to get songs out is to show everyone what a good singer I can be, and maybe even get a few fans. I'm sick of being apologetic.

ehhh tonight I actually wrote two solid melodies by making a catchy drum beat on my sequencer, layering over simple chords, and playing a melody line over it with my MIDI keyboard. One of the songs is actually inspired melody and arrangement wise by Sail On Sailor.