Composing music

It changes from time to time. I haven’t written anything in about 12 months – I think I’m suffering from a severe writer’s block. But a long time before that – 2-3 years ago, when I started writing my magnus opus, Lex Naturae, I would find inspiration in simply writing one song each month. Lex Naturae includes 12 songs, one for each month. So in that way I would be in that exact month and be closer to the feeling of being in that month, if you know what I mean?

It’s an old project now, and I’ve decided to re-write all of the music. I just have to find some serious inspiration first – seems dificult these days.

That was one approach. The other one is just coming up with either a nice riff, bassline or drumline and simply building the song around that. I find it easier when it is a drumline. Even though I’m a guitarist, I for some reason find it easier to write a song where the main focus is on the drums, and I find it easier to vary the drums enough to make it not sound repeating.

Another thing that happens sometimes when writing is simply, as you, Rick, said, stream of consciousness approach, in a manner of writing a couple of measures/bars for one instrument and then just adding on top of that for another instrument and then work through the entire song, untill I feel it’s finished.

Well ussually I just hear the melody I want in my head, especially during travel, and while siting having nothing to do 😛

If I manage to keep that melody in my head till I get home, than I try singing it and than I try transporting it to the instrument.. once I got a basic idea of what I want I will try making the chord progression, and after that the rest of the song 🙂

@OrganisedConfusion 1522 wrote:

100% in my head. I hear a new song idea or melody and I will tab it and I will dream about new riffs to go with it and hear new riffs in my head.

You actually dream riffs? 🙂 haha

@OrganisedConfusion 1678 wrote:

Seriously yeah. It happened for a long time before I was aware and now I dream of playing certain riffs on guitar that I’ve never played before in my life and wake up and tab them out. It’s weird. My dreams are very realistic. They are always things that could be happening in my life and they confuse the hell out of me.

I think I remember Steve Vai saying that he dreamt about For The Love Of The God, and the morning he playd it 🙂

My process is somewhat weird, Alot like Sean, im all over the place. Im just messing around and if I get a cool riff, i go from there. Or if i have written lyrics and want a song to have a certain theme to it, Ill mess around with chords, licks, little riffs to fit the atmosphere. Or sometimes ill start a song as a simple 3:00 instrumental, but when i play that last chord and im recording, Often times i just keep playing while recording is still going on, Next think you know the 3:00 song is now 7:00 😀

Here’s something I wrote about this topic on another forum, very recently.

“Well there are the two main methods of writing music.

The first is probably the most popular. When an individual artist or a band has an idea, or a story, or just a feeling, they sit down and try to plot out a way to put it to music. Writing lyrics that coincide with whatever that particular event or emotion happens to be. Maybe taking specific words or phrases from the actual event. Writing the instrumental part can become more symbolic – if it has to do directly with whatever the band is talking about.

The second method is just to sit with a feeling, and write whatever comes to mind. The first method is more like looking at the whole picture when writing music, whereas this one is more like looking at small pieces and not worrying about how things run together. I usually write music using this method. I usually sit down and keep that emotion or idea in my head, or stomach, and just write what I feel. I don’t necessarily worry about what the whole thing will be like at the end. Even though it might be a little bit harder to listen to or comprehend, I find it way more productive as far as expressing certain emotions go. You just sit there and let it all come out. And when you focus on small pieces you can (in my opinion) get into far more detail with the lyrics or music or whatever. I think I may have started to write like this because I thought it was easier than plotting and directing everything out. I guess that may have just been me being lazy, but I really enjoy writing like this.

That’s what I’ve noticed.”

I dont really have any special ways of doing this. But I think I can learn a thing or two from all of you gurus!