Jimmer Godwin

I was wondering what personal approach musicians might take to writing a song. If im depressed i find it harder to write anything as i become over critical of lyrics but under critical of melodies/chords ect.
Do you need to be in a certain frame of mind?
Are there certain starting points and methods people use that work really well? How do you deal with writers block?

 

Aqualung

Well, if depression makes you overly critical, don't write when you're depressed. I don't write songs, per se, but I write a lot of other stuff. To deal with writers block I usually just try to relax (listen to some music, watch some TV, whatever). I find that if I sit around focusing on the fact that I have writers block it never goes away, so if I can't write, I don't. I wait until later, and then revisit it.

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Strings

My best stuff comes out when I'm just goofing off with other musicians... I'll hit some cool progression or riff and it'll just take off.

MusicMan

When it comes to lyrics, if you're too depressed to write very well try this. If you're not able to constructively write a song while you're depressed try just writing down a few very strong representations of how you're feeling at the moment. Then step away from it and focus on other things that may make you lighten up a bit and be in a more relaxed mood. Then go back to what you wrote and start expanding on it. If you conveyed your feelings strongly enough in the first place, you'll find that writing a song around those core thoughts is much easier when you're not down in the dumps.


Another thing worth trying is to just write out everything that's on your mind
when you're depressed. Don't write as if writing a song, just write to get everything out and don't be worried about making a song out of it. Keep the frame of mind that what you're writing may produce a couple of song-worthy lines in the end, but don't put the expectations of the whole piece being lyric-worthy. Then go back later and you'll have a ton of writing that effectively expresses yourself, but may not be songworthy. Just extract what you can, change what you need to, and you may end up with a song after all.

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I am lono

I think you gotta just remeber all the ditties you like that you accidently come up with... put 'em on the back burner because ineviatably you will, later on, accidently write something that will fit with it. It's a matter of piecing together a puzzle and approaching that puzzle in a variety of interesting ways. Bored of the guitar? Get a drum machine or a bongo or a violin - anything to keep you inspired and thinking. Or... you could nick yer favorite riff and pass it off as your own. Thats a dark, hellish path filled with lawyers and fanboys. heh

HotaHota

I'm not good with writing lyrics, but I have no trouble writing a score that is unique. For riffs, they come accidently when I solo. If i hit a strand of notes and think it sounds cool, I build off of it. Then comes the Bass, ect. No matter if the notes sound too close to another riff, just edit it and change the tempo. Takes time, and to me it is quite enjoyable.

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hermitbadger

Apparrently Dolly Parton hides away in a log cabin in the middle of no-where, and fasts for a few weeks.........
I myself currently have five songs i'm working on they are all skewiff, not one is finished, well what i'm saying is i can't help anyone as i have trouble working out my own head..... I am new to crafting ideas musically but the satisfaction of the process is just as great an experience to me. The process is just as important as the finished product....

/Tilt/

I will just be in school and I'll come up with two lines and write them down. I see if I can build off of that and then I decide whether or not to put guitar to it. This actually works for any type of lyrical style. I have written songs that are humor, folk, punk rock, blues, rock and roll, and even raw poetry. It's really fun once you figure it out.

hermitbadger

this songwriting business is very interesting indeed, brings up alsorts!
I've decided to change my angle on this process, i have lyrics, I have tunes i like and neither go to together!!!
So the frustration has lead me to look at things differently. what i'm doing now is simplifying the chords dropping all the bass lines and drumbeats i've got going on in my head and the strings, my god the strings!!!! I have an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar neither top notch quality, that is all!
No recording equipment, no spare cash! It is jolly frustrating! Added to my skewiff head!!
I've been listening to PJ harvey and some of my favourite songs of hers are really simple for example 'Angel' is just guitar but is an incredible song i could listen to it all day. So this has prompted my change of plan....
Simple chords, learning harmonies and singing whatever comes into my head, it's working i feel like i'm really finding a deeper connection......
Good Stuff....beats therapy anyday!

Strings

I know what you're talking about Hermit... I too have issues with the KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid!). I'll sit in my studio recording 17 guitar parts, 5 vocals, 3 bass, 12 keys, 20 drums, 12 strings, some brass and woodwind and still be missing something! There's just too many cool sounds out there! Like you I'm just about on the verge of going with acoustic mando and maybe a guitar just to make things manageable!

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hermitbadger

K.I.S.S. is now branded on my forehead!

mammoth1

I do this thing where I come up with a basic like three or four chord progression, and it's usually in 3/4 or 4/4, and then I come up with a vocal line on top of it, and from there I let the vocals drive everything... which seems like a good idea until I play it for my... bandmate (is one a bandmate if there are only two people in a band? must find a different word), and he's like: what fucking signature is that??? and I think about it and somehow it's become something retarded like 18/4. which I guess is really still 3/4 but a non-repeating mess that still sounds good-- maybe better than if I'd done something that made sense-- but is a bear to put a baseline on or play with, and at this point we throw up our hands and just make noise over it, which is fun and which seems to work but the song is never quite what I thought it'd be. and I guess this is ok and I end up liking the parts when it doesn't follow the rules, and sometimes you can't even TELL I only play part 1 three times before I play part 2 8 times, which is good, but in the end the whole thing feels as loose as this post and I wish I could keep the good of it but have more control. sigh.

Strings

Another thing that helps me... and I know this isn't something everyone has the luxury of... is using different instruments. A song I write on mando is inherently different from one written on piano is inherently different from one written on flute... Just rearranging the notes like that and changing how they're played puts you in a completely different mindset.

I've even noticed that among my guitars or basses there's big differences in the way I play. If you know me and the music I play you can tell if I wrote a song with a Ric, Tele, Strat, Jag, Guild, Starcaster, Godin... in my hands

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hermitbadger

Totally agree with that even though, i only have an electric and acoustic the songs are transformed depending on which guitar i play on. I do have a piano too but have recently tried learning something and three of the keys are dud!!! It is old and needs fixing

Another thing, i write what i need, so if i was really low and unhappy, i tend to write more tender, comforting songs with oodles of love.

Clay Wilson

Probably not the best time to write a song if you are depressed. On the other hand once you get started with the song you may find yourself more motivated, and your depression will lift. My advice would be just go with the flow, and you can polish your song later on. I hope that helps. I'm Clay Wilson

Evoluted

Don't hold a lighter to your hand. That's one way about how not to go about the writing part.

No one can tell anyone how to write because it's up to uand always has been.

I write when I feel so inclined.

snoturky

Whenever I play guitar, I have a direct-in from my amp to my computer and have the computer recording the whole time I play. When I am done, I save and date the recording. That way, no riff I ever come up with is lost. I can always go back several weeks and find that one really cool riff that would go great with the one I just wrote today.

I don't bother writting lyrics because I am not good at it and I have little desire to. The types of lyrics that move me are the very in-depth kind where it can take weeks or even years to fully understand the depth of the artist's feelings. My favorite song writers are Opeth, lyrically and musically. If you like hardcore music and dont mind harsh or growly screams, check them out. If you just want to read an amazingly emotional and moving story, read the lyrics from each song in order from the album My Arms, Your Hearse. you can find them at www.opeth.com

Aqualung

Hey snoturky! Welcome to the forums. That's a great first post. Feel free to introduce yourself in the introductions forums, but if you don't want to, here's a from me to you!

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captaintrips

i think there are a few different things i do when i write. sometimes one doesnt work so i have to try them all. isolating yourself helps, listening to pink floyd helps me (or songs without a lot of words), going outside to write (or a walk), getting stoned helps (SOMETIMES!!!), writing all of your random thoughts down helps too. i also find that it sometimes helps when writing lyrics to have an idea in mind first... although some of the best lines came from my first time hearing a riff and going "OH, THAT SOUNDS LIKE..." there is a certain fram of mind i have to be in to write and sometimes i just cant do it. relaxing really helps... tea with honey, incense, candles... you know set the mood for yourself and something you enjoy will come out of it eventually.

WastE

basically i just can t write anything if nothing happens, if my life s empty, the song will be too (which is not necessarily bad). Sometimes I hear the song sleeping and try to write it the next day. I feel like an inspiration hunter. But in that discipline you can t come home with an empty bag... coz there s always something to play whatever it sounds like

KevinRCunningham

You should never pass on you depression to others (although clearly Radiohead and Coldplay have made careers of this). You should try and use your music to get out of your blues - that's what the old blues guys did (contrary to popular belief!).

Think of what would cheer you up - it should be far more inspirational than being grumpy and irritable.

Just my own opinion of course...I'm sure there are others.

Aqualung

That's a good take on it. I agree that it might be more powerful to actually try to change the way you feel through your lyrics, rather than just writing about your current feelings.

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Map Of June

When i write i will usually have a topic in my mind or a certain feeling i want to express and ill just write, usually the first write i have there is some stuff i wanna change and other times it just flows...

i try to have two perspectives on the topic, like part of the song from a negative way and part from a positive side of the situation

because with most situations and feelings in the world there is always a positive and negative way of going about things...it just depends on how i feel

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BRD

if i am depressed i write metal (go figure ) Some times if im dicking around my lyrics mean nothing they are just sentances but everynow and then i get deepand serious and those start to sound like u2 lol

pianok

Now this may sound like alot of Toro de Caca but it is a true story. About a week ago I saw a news story on local telly about a couple riding home from church on their scooter when a guy pulling a trailer with a tractor on it lost control and fish tailed his trailer out of his lane into the oncoming lane and slapped both off their scooter and killed them instantly. I felt deep remorse for the loss and had no idea who the two were. Within just a few days it became apparent by true coincedence that the guy driviing the motorcycle was my old "ex lead guitarist" from a band I played in eight or ten years ago. So from that inspiration I penned the following......
NO ONE THAT YOU KNOW
Intro:
Verse:
You have wealth, you have strength, Or so that's what they would like for you to think.
You have love and you have friends, until you wait for help that no one sends.
Bridge:
You try to get a grip, or take back all the words that you let slip.
You could run but you can't hide And no one that you know will tell you why.
Chorus:
Yes the road is dark and long and no one that you know will come along.
Repeat intro:
Verse:
You need heart, you need soul and some one who'll remember where you go. You need time that you can't buy and no one that you know will tell you why.
Repeat bridge
Repeat chorus twice
Repeat intro
End

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