How to come about writing songs

Originally Posted by: recordist I've never decided to write a song and then did it...my songs have all been accidents...it just happens...if I sit down with the intention of writing something I may be able to come up with something decent...simply because I've been doing it for nearly 15 yrs and I just naturally have a musical brain...but most likely it would be forced and un-inspirational to me...the best songs write themselves and just come together easily...nothing forced...some don't come together as easily and still end up being cool songs but it always begins with something that was accidental...a chord change that I didn't expect while just messing around on piano, guitar, or bass...I wrote one of my favorite songs of mine completely in my head and it started with a bass line...I just began humming it and it turned into a very catchy tune...sometimes they just fall in your lap...It feels so good when that happens...I live for that experience...

I can not agree with this more. For me, the greatest songs almost wrote themselves. I had something to say, and a musical agenda of sorts; and BOOM, out it was. I also feel a key to keeping a successful songwriting rotation is to develop a discipline about it. Sit down, and work till it's done. The more you push at the idea, the quicker it comes. Song-writing is a skill that develops much like being better on your instrument with an added dose of inspiration and spontaneity.

Keep up the good work! :o

I often start with something that inspires me from another song, I might hear a moment that doesn't develop in the way I expect, so I basically take those few seconds or part of a riff and develop it into the way I imagined. Then it's an issue of time, like combining these moments and letting them gestate until they feel like they're a complete song. It usually takes a long time, I try not to force out a song, because ideas are always bubbling in my mind and I feel like they come out when they're ready.

i usually write a good riff and just build the rest of the music and then wright the lyrics

regards,

Greg Lawson,

http://www.howtoplayguitarlessons.info/recommanded/specialoffer.php

i listen to a lot of music and am constantly thinking up little lyrics and stuff in my head, some of my stuff is cover songs, but even when i do covers, i usualy do them in such a different genre that all the music and such is completely different.

usualy when i write a song i'll just start playing random stuff and thinking of catchy hooks and kind of expand on that, my main prob now is getting some kinda dynamics in the song and keep it from feeling stale

I usually think about some story (movie, book etc) that inspires me. When a story is going through your mind it's easier to hear music that represents it so to speak. At least this is how it works for me

I do something similar to shred-zombie above.