Deep Emotion

I don't know. I did listen to a lot of music while growing up, but played very little. I now play a lot, but listen to music very little. If I'm driving on a long trip, I will play some CDs. Or I might go to an occasionally concert. I also hear others play live just messing around or at an festival. But I do not sit and listen to music hours on end. I love music, but have too many other things to do.

You are probably right in saying everyone is influenced by other's music. My just playing the guitar was influenced by others, but I don't hear something and try to duplicate it and claim as mine. I might learn a song or even change it, but it's not mine. I have rewritten lyrics to existing music, but I don't claim it as mine. Same goes when I rewrite the music.

I'm working on a song now that I heard a guy do live at the Peace Cafe in Dayton, Ohio. I liked the lyrics (somewhat), but did not like the way he played or sang it. So, I am rewriting all the music and changing some lyrics, but I will not claim it as mine. He was the originator.

So, I guess you can say I was influenced my is song.

Originally Posted by: looneytunesWriting lyrics is magical!

hmm.... then where do I get more magical powers? I seem to be lacking them...

It appears magical to me, because I possess no special skills. I have to work at everything I do. I practice rhyming and I rely on inspiration. I have been given a subject and maybe a line to start off with by an artist, but then the magic kicks in. I am inspired my something that someone said or something I saw, something I dreamed, etc. Then the lyrics are written without much effort at all.
I mean some people have the gift, but I don’t. To write so many songs, that people seems to enjoy, without any special talents is magical.
It you want to write lyrics, I suggest you practice rhyming. Just start off rhyming words, then lines. Practice rhyming every other line, etc. Then practice choruses and verses. Don’t start out trying to make sense or to write a song. Just practice.
While practicing rhyming listen. Listen to people around you, sounds, study behavior, habits, pay attention to everything around you. Inspiration came come from anywhere, but you have to pay attention.

Originally Posted by: earthoneA song is not a song without emotions.. When I write I visulize the time and place. When the music and lyric are right it brings tears to my eyes. I love telling a story in under three and half minutes. A story that brings pictures to ones mind and they too, responnd with the emotion of dance, foot tapping, or buying another round.

Putting myself in touch with an emotion rather than being overwhelmed by emotion is more my style. Many times I search to find a sound that I like first. I play around with the chords & fingerings that lay a nice groundwork. I might have a page full of verse & chorus ideas, but once the pot is boiling with some good tunes then I add the tasty verse. It seems to work for me.

I catch myself getting hung on certain words as I go thru my daily routine. How they sound. Various meanings. What they could do in the right setting.

I noticed some famous artists use certain words or phases as "catch phases" to hook people. I wondered why that works so well.

Communication of an emotion or expression that paints a picture or story takes some thought & ability to reach people. I heard a critic use the word "relevent" recently....meaning the artist communicated to some recent theme or popular thoughts. Sounds a little over critical of the material to me, but I'm not trying to make a hit recording.

Originally Posted by: MCBluesmanI noticed some famous artists use certain words or phases as "catch phases" to hook people. I wondered why that works so well.

Communication of an emotion or expression that paints a picture or story takes some thought & ability to reach people.

The "Catch Phase" or "Hook" is used to attract the listener early in the song. The average listener will get only devote a few seconds to a new piece or neew performer. If they are not attracted to the song or performer in that short time period they quit listening. That is why the "Hook" is so important. If the listener doesn't listen to your entire song the emotion or your personal expression won't matter, because most people aren't going hear it.

Of course, there are some who will listen to the entire song from start to finish, but the majority will not. That is way I say, if you are writing and performing for yourself, whatever you want to do is fine. However, if you are tring to attract an audience, publisher, artist, etc. the "Hook" is very important.

There are other things that make up a good song or performance, but don't under estimate the importance of the "Hook".

Just my opinion and we all know it ain't worth much!

You dont write a song, the song writes you.

Originally Posted by: la'guitYou dont write a song, the song writes you.

This statement doesn't make much sense to me, but if floats your boat!

I understand a song may seem to write itself. With some inspiration and your talents the words or tune just seem to fall into place quickly and effortlessly, so it appears to write itself, but "the song writes you"????

I must be missing something.

Yeah, he's just being "funny" and saying the stupid stuff everyone else had the decency not to say. ;)

It's like," You don't look through the window, the window looks through you". You can do it with pretty much anything. And it actually makes sense if you do the right drugs.

Originally Posted by: Drew77Yeah, he's just being "funny" and saying the stupid stuff everyone else had the decency not to say. ;)

It's like," You don't look through the window, the window looks through you". You can do it with pretty much anything. And it actually makes sense if you do the right drugs.

It's true. That's where I got "the good thing is having bad things" and "not working makes it work." But then, it's also where I got "67 = 79 = bL."

Don't do drugs, kids.

I agree this was a strange quote from me yet it means what ever you want it to mean. I like this statment because it is very open and you can make it out to be anything you want it to be. What im basicly saying is you could sit down for 20 years thinking of the perfect song but you have to feel it.

Hey, i really like what you said, and Metal Core is amazing. Basics, i am 15 as well, and just got a guitar for Christmas. I have been playing for one full year. ( used my dads guitars before mine)

Anyway, i write songs by just sitting and playing. never when i am mad or happy, but just wanting to play. first i would learn stuff, and then i got out of it and just played my own way, and stuff. dont have a teacher. my dad is amazing, been playing since he was a kid, but i learn most of my stuff fomr tabs and youtube.

Example, sit there and play scales, and chords randomly until you find something cool, or that matches. then go from there.

The N.I.
My youtube page is youtube.com/norseindian but i dont have any of my own stuff up yet

MUSIC IS EMOTION! so if you having an emotional moment you will be easyer to write.

I'm good at thinking up guitar riffs when im alone in my room, guitar in hand...im not so good on thinking of lyrics. My friend tells me to just let it come to me, but nothing has yet. :(
But i love writing and trying out new tunings as well! :)

I usually write songs to the best of my capability after a batch of mac and cheese.



regards.

I can tend to be a bit of an emotional whackjob.... :rolleyes: LOL
So highly emotional periods at either end of the spectrum usually aren't so productive for me. LOL
I tend to get more inspired by movies and/or some sort of visual stimulus. Movies, Frazetta paintings, the UFC or even Animal PLanet/Nat Geo all tend to serve as my best inspiration. Kinda cheezy perhaps, but it is mainly metal stuff that I write anyway, so......
Full on Spinal Tap mode! :p LOL

Originally Posted by: EPISODER
I really would like to know under what conditions you guys (and gals) write better songs.

:D Lot's of Alcohol. :D

Originally Posted by: EPISODERI find it easy to write songs whenever I'm feeling very strong emotions.

Most of the time (sadly) the crappier I feel, the better of a song I write. Lyrics seem to come to me whenever I feel good, but melodies and beats just flow out of me when I'm down.

I write metal-core most of the time, but recently something came up with a girl I really care for, and I wrote the best song I've ever written, in 10 min. It was sort of like a metal ballad.


I really would like to know under what conditions you guys (and gals) write better songs.

Perseverance.

Seriously.... I have a timeclock program on my computer and every time I sit down at it I click it on and count how much time I'm spending on songwriting and studio work.

On average I probably do 5 to 8 hours per day.

The general idea is, just sit there and do something.
Even if it sucks or you have no ideas at all... there's always something you can be doing like coming up with lyrical ideas, or loops, or riffs or even just general maintenance on your website or whatever.

At the end of the week I'm always surprised that I've spent 30+ hours or more working... even though to me it doesn't seem like work.

I think of it this way.

I've got a Sony PS3 that I play Grand Theft Auto on just as often as I work on music.
I just treat doing music the same way as playing the game.
It's a way to pass time and the more time you spend on it the better you get.

(and if anybody wants to get into a helicopter battle with me on GTA, gimme a shout.... I'll trash ya :)

i find it hard to make lyrics,but i have finished the music for my song. its so hard to make the lyrics..

am i not too deeply emotion enuff?

It's just life experiences from my point of view.

You should see some of my earlier songs. Majorly corny and laughable.
At the time I thought I was doing great, but now looking back I can see that I just didn't have enough of a vocabulary to draw on. Didn't have enough life experiences to draw on the emotions.

FYI:
If you can afford a couple of hundred bucks I'd highly recommend buying a program called MasterWriter specifically designed for song writers.
Besides having a well laid out method of writing songs, it also has every rhyme you'll ever need, a thesaurus, phrases, alliterations, references to pop culture, a dictionary and a notebook where you can sketch ideas.

Like all you do if you get stuck in a song is type in a word, hit a button and it gives you dozens of ideas.

Like, I just put in the word "Rain" and got back 3 pages of rhymes like, crane, drain, grain, champagne, John Wayne, ...
and rhymed phrases like:
Constant complaining
In the Time Remaining
An angel in training
etc etc..

Phrases:

A driving rain
A soft summer rain
Left out in the rain
Kissed by the rain
Burning candles in the rain...
Rain-washed dreams

From there you just double click on one's that might fit and it sticks them in a notebook for you. Then you can click on another word and continue until you find other words and phrases that either work... or give you ideas to work on.