when you write songs


Incidents Happen
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Incidents Happen
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08/23/2002 7:24 pm
I know alot of people write the music, then put songs in, but am i the only one that does it simultaneously?

What i do is i start strumming some good chords, and start mumbling, and after a few bars of repeating it, i find some good lyrics. I dont know how i do it, but it just comes out, after like 10 minutes. Does anybody else use this format?
# 1
Dr_simon
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Dr_simon
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08/24/2002 12:15 am
Totally Dude,

With me, if the chords are nice, the melody just happens, then its a question of finding 2 more nice rifs , some words, and........stardom !!!!!

maybe !

My instructors page and www.studiotrax.net for all things recording.
my toons Brought to you by Dr BadGAS
# 2
Incidents Happen
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08/24/2002 1:04 am
thats one reason why i dont post my lyrics on here...anybody could steal em, copyright it, etc...

i know its a paranoid thought, but every single one of my songs i have edited thousands of time to some sort of perfection...Check out Robert Hunter's work (grateful dead...check out China Cat Sunflower or Terrapin Station for the ultimate...)
...mine is sort of like that, and its not easy to do.
# 3
Dr_simon
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Dr_simon
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08/24/2002 12:24 pm
Copyright is an interesting subject. When I was at school (in the middle ages)it was a commonly held belief that you could mail a demo tape of your song to your self and, when it arrived, sealed and post marked, stick it in the bank. This would prove that you had written this song before a certain date. The bank would have a record of the deposit and could show you had not moneyed with the envelope.

I was later informed (convincingly at the time) that this idea simply would not hold up in court, and I can remember why !

Anyone have any helpful hints that will keep my cash away from the copyright lawyers whilst protecting my songs ?

I imagine this is of interest to all unsigned song writers out there and Id love to know if theirs a quick fix !

Cool beans
S

My instructors page and www.studiotrax.net for all things recording.
my toons Brought to you by Dr BadGAS
# 4
TheElectricSnep
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TheElectricSnep
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08/26/2002 9:05 pm
http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=4179

That's one of my threads from a while ago....check that out....I wasn't the first to bring that topic up, so that thread's got other links on it to previous ones which are all good.

I sometimes use that approach IH, usually I get a line in my head, make a few chords to it and sing garbage over them occasionally picking out something that speaks to me.

And yeah I see what you're saying about being paranoid, I'm the same way. My material is my own and nobody elses to steal. If had recorded it on an album or played it at a gig a few times I wouldn't object to anyone covering it...that's almost inevitable, but the net is full of those who will copy stuff from others and call it their own.
'There's no such thing as bad weather, there's only the wrong clothes...'
# 5
Josh Redstone
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Josh Redstone
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08/26/2002 11:35 pm
I cant write lyrics, but once I got that riff goin, the melody comes easy.
And God said, 'Let there be rock!'
-And it was good
# 6
Incidents Happen
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08/27/2002 12:57 am
Sort of like how Jimmy Page ripped off all those blues licks and copyrighted em...

when you guys write songs, do you write simple songs or mega-complex songs? I try to make it simple, base it around the melody, and go nuts with (the possible ideas for the song) until i eventually make a new song (alot of my songs evolve, in that way, which is neat to see a song take metamorphasis into itself).


# 7
Josh Redstone
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Josh Redstone
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08/27/2002 1:51 am
Whatever sounds nice, doesn't matter if its hard or simple.
And God said, 'Let there be rock!'
-And it was good
# 8
TheElectricSnep
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TheElectricSnep
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08/27/2002 9:46 am
Sometimes I've tried to complicate songs for the sake of being a more adventurous composer but I've later thought 'lets cut out the **** and keep it simple....' Bit like the Beatles, do a simple song and then draw everything out of it.

I kinda work as my own producer, often cutting bits I previously thought were my best lick/riff etc yet and seeing how the work is without them. Sometimes its a great deal better. To add to that I try changing instruments, like playing the chords on the piano instead of guitar, or trying that melody on the Cello instead of cranking up the gain and blasting it out on my LP. I love orchestras and if I had a synth that kinda sound would certainly contribute.

Another approach I've started to play with is to think of which player(s) I sound like once I've recorded something I've written. Like the other day I came up with a small guitar brake in an instrumental I called 'Arizona Skys' and when I played it back I thought 'Hey, that sounds like Eric Johnson!' (Not that I'm that good, it just made me think of his style) So I played some EJ CDs for a bit and tried to think how he might have developed that little brake I wrote. That approach doesnt always work but it can be fun.

'There's no such thing as bad weather, there's only the wrong clothes...'
# 9
fendermonkey77
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fendermonkey77
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09/02/2002 3:51 am
I write lyrics....

I write music....

Every once in a great while I'll realize that some of my lyrics would fit perfectly into a song I wrote...

Thought I'd share.
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# 10
malweth
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malweth
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09/04/2002 2:54 pm
In RE to the copyright question, you should look at
http://www.copyright.gov/

By no means is it required that you copyright a work - if you can prove legally that you were the first to create a copyrightable material. If you want the security of registering your copyright, the application fee is $80. (It might be good to read the FAQ on that page above). You do get a certificate of copyright after you've registered.

(Changed the price... the pricing is a little confusing looks like $80 for one document, and $20 for each additional document)

[Edited by malweth on 09-04-2002 at 10:18 AM]
# 11

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