• Want to write / record songs from home, not sure how to start
    11 replies, posted
So, basically what the title says - I want to write songs and record them myself from home, but I'm not really sure how to start. I come up with ideas for songs, but I don't really know how to start writing them or anything. I didn't take music as a subject at school, and I'm a self-taught guitarist, so I don't really know any music theory or anything like that. I'm also not entirely sure what to do if I [I]do [/I]come up with a few songs - I don't really want to perform them live, since I have basically no self confidence and would suck if it came to performing in front of a large group of people, but I think I'd be cool with recording them and putting the songs on YouTube, maybe posting them around Facepunch and stuff. But I'm not sure about the quality of my video camera at the moment, and whether or not it'd be better to buy a cheap recording microphone and some recording software and just record it like that. Stupid thread, I know, but can you guys help?
What you really need to learn is piano. Guitar is good for writing songs, but piano is the best start. Besides online keyboards, do you know where you can get your hands on a set of keys?
Piano is nice for writing songs. You might also want to learn some musical theory, maybe get a teacher to help you with that too, because it can be a difficult subject to start learning. As for the recording equipment, it's up to you about how serious you are about it. Do you just want to upload a video of yourself performing a song, or do you actually want it as a recorded track/song? Also depends on your budget.
piano piano piano.
I'm in the same boat as OP, but I know some basic theory and how to read some music. I've been playing guitar for upwards of 6 years and know a little about piano. I have Reason v5 as well. I would like to do just recording of stuff (I don't care for making youtube videos). I'm not trying to steal OP's thread, I just am also curious of where to start.
Fuck anyone that says piano. I'm a guitarist, never really played keys, yet I still manage to write my stuff as do most other guitarists. Writing can be hard to try and do. When I sit down with the intention to write a song, I usually can't do it. Riffs and melodies just come to me at weird times, most of the time I'm not even trying. The actual songwriting process is a hard one to give tips on. I'm kind of a firm believer that theory shouldn't dictate how you write music. I prefer to sit down on something that just sounds good to my ears.
guitarpro is a cheap program for tabbing/writing guitar parts and other instruments and allows playback
Don't go with the piano unless you have a strong urge to learn piano. It would be idiotic to learn the piano to learn how to write songs. Learn some of the most common chord progressions and play them. Especially do this if you're coming up with acoustic songs. Take chord progressions from your favorite songs and use them. It isn't at all stealing especially considering that everybody uses the same chord progressions and that you're never going to come up with an original chord progression. It's all been done. I'll list a few chord common chord progressions I V I IV I IV V I IV I V I vii IV V The I IV V has been very overdone. Here is a chart that lists all of the chords in a key. For example, the I IV V progression in the key of E would be E A B. [IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/73fk7q.jpg[/IMG] Once you got your progression, come up with some lyrics or sing out a melody. Make the song however you want. You shouldn't care if you come up with crappy lyrics. What I'd suggest is make lyrics making fun of something because that's a lot easier because you don't have to take yourself seriously. Do some generic verse chorus verse chorus structure and you can make the chorus stand out by using a different chord progression. Also you can base riffs on a chord progression. I'd just record yourself with a webcam and mic like a lot of youtubers do. Don't be concerned with the audio quality. If you find that you really like doing this I'd go on to buying a recording interface and some mics, but you want to make sure the investment is worth it. If you want to make whole songs, you can compose them in guitar pro so something similar, use a DAW like Reaper, and do everything out. You'd need to learn some mixing basics. Your first songs are going to suck, you're going to find one that you really like only to listen to it 1/2 a year later and find that it was terrible. I really suggest learning music theory whether you intend on using it or not.
Listen to other songs. Copy. Try making covers as identical to the original versions. You will learn a shitload of useful stuff.
The two above posts are excellent advice. With those, I find it best to try and set aside time to write. Set a whole day, make no other plans and clear your mind. Go somewhere you find relaxing and without unnecessary distractions and just play guitar. Play songs you've learned, mash them with other songs. Maybe something will click, maybe something won't. I've tried just forcing myself to think of new ideas, and while I CAN occasionally do it, the songs don't turn out organically. And that's what you want and that's what you need. You need your mind to manifest something organic and let it grow into it's own thing. Those are the best songs (imo). Eventually you'll hit a progression or even TWO CHORDS that sound fantastic together and match something flying through your brain at the time. You can play through it a couple times and then a tune will start to come. Sing gibberish lyrics to the tune and they'll being to morph into real lyrics and then into something you can truly relate to and be proud of. Every song I've written has been an accident, and usually when I'm drunk or completely euphoric. One was at a depressing birthday party/night out and another was on top of a mountain (cliched, I know). The best of luck to you sir, hopefully this helps!
[QUOTE=pod;27399093]What you really need to learn is piano. Guitar is good for writing songs, but piano is the best start.[/QUOTE] No not really. And since he's already invested time in guitar, he should stick and write with it.
Thanks guys I'm not going to try learning piano, I don't really have a vested interest in learning it (even though it might help when it comes to writing songs) and I'm sure not every successful musician knows how to play. I've come up with a chord progression that I'm pretty pleased with, based on this little thing I came up with while messing around with an interesting chord I'd seen somewhere (I don't know the name of it). Tomorrow I'm probably going to concentrate on getting some lyrics together, then maybe if I finish it I'll try recording it with my camera and post it here. That's [I]if[/I] I finish it all. If not I'll probably get it done next weekend, since I've got a load of schoolwork to do over the week.
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