Those in a band, how do you write?

What's Hot
TeleMasterTeleMaster Frets: 10103
I prefer to set a drum loop with common or different time signatures in Logic and start working on ideas at home. Often I come to practice with a fully formed song, and then the drummer and bassist just work out their parts and add their bits etc. Then I will do a rough recording to send to the singer who will add the words, and then we’ll agree on it all together and start playing it so it takes its final form. 

I don’t like jamming songs out and I get much better results just doing it on my own and then working on it in practice to finalise it all together. 

What about you? :)
0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
«1

Comments

  • Head > fingers > then I realise someone else actually wrote it and I’m completely unoriginal, rinse and repeat x 30 years. 
    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
  • Been in a few bands and had different processes. The usual way is to get a main hook/chorus progression and work around that. Try and get vocal melody going and then shape the song. Very rarely have I started with a vocal line and it turned into a song.

    I too don't like random jams that go nowhere with each band member not having any idea of how the song goes before we hit the rehearsal room. One band I was in used to do this and we never got anything done as the song would get pulled in different directions by everyone (there was 5 of us in the group) and by the end of it we had nothing to show due to too many conflicts and changes. Before I'd used to bring in a song idea which I had recorded and sent to the vocalist to put rough vocals and programmed drums on so we had a little demo. This worked but then we had a line up changed and the new guy kinda just took over everything and tried the random in-the-rehearsal-room jam which never worked. Trying to show people ideas they don't believe in is the hardest thing in the world.

    The last band I was in (or wasn't in, it was my mate's band I depped for numerous times and helped out with backline stuff) had a much better writing process. I'd be close with the 2 guitarists (one lived about 15 minutes away from) so the 3 of us would meet up and work on ideas and record it onto Logic on a laptop. Because we weren't in the pressure of the rehearsal room it was chilled, natural and flowing and we bounced ideas off each other. I think musically we got on a lot better and share the same vision. Any disagreements were resolved with compromise and what was best for the song. As there was less of us the writing was quicker and most of the time we'd have a full song finished by the end of our session.
    That band finished 3 years ago.

    Nowadays I still write music with one of the guys I kept in touch with. Again we have similar ideas and write well together. Often we can get a song finished very quick, I think we have 4 demo'd tracks in the space of 2 months.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • robertyroberty Frets: 10893
    I usually get a verse/bridge/chorus ready, and maybe some inkling of a middle section (but not always), and take this to the band, I take as light a touch as possible at this stage, I prefer to let everyone do their thing but I will steer if I feel it needs it. It is easier to change something that's already there than try explain it from scratch

    Once we have the verse/bridge/chorus going in a loop I will audition ideas for the middle section. It is useful to record rehearsals at this point for listening to later, often things sound very different on playback to how you thought they did at the time

    I don't like to be challenged on decisions when I am in writing mode. Likewise if I am in someone else's band I will try to bring their vision to life rather than impart my own
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • thecolourboxthecolourbox Frets: 9654
    edited January 2022
    This is interesting, having never wanted to write with anybody else, it's fascinating how many different processes there are when you income other people.

    What I struggle with when writing is demo versions - what quality do they need to be, as every time I've done a rough demo and sent it to anybody they've picked faults with the production and said the content needs polishing or editing, which seems rather the point surely? Maybe the people I send stuff to don't quite understand the concept of demos or sketches I suppose
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TeleMasterTeleMaster Frets: 10103
    This is interesting, having never wanted to write with anybody else, it's fascinating how many different processes there are when you income other people.

    What I struggle with when writing is demo versions - what quality do they need to be, as every time I've done a rough demo and sent it to anybody they've picked faults with the production and said the content needs polishing or editing, which seems rather the point surely? Maybe the people I send stuff to don't quite understand the concept of demos or sketches I suppose
    Why would anyone care what the demo sounds like? 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • prlgmnrprlgmnr Frets: 3964
    This is interesting, having never wanted to write with anybody else, it's fascinating how many different processes there are when you income other people.

    What I struggle with when writing is demo versions - what quality do they need to be, as every time I've done a rough demo and sent it to anybody they've picked faults with the production and said the content needs polishing or editing, which seems rather the point surely? Maybe the people I send stuff to don't quite understand the concept of demos or sketches I suppose
    Why would anyone care what the demo sounds like? 
    So later on when you get to the studio you can complain it isn't as good as the demo and then never get finished
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • poopotpoopot Frets: 9098
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    An initial demo is just to get the tempo, chord changes and, possibly, melody down - if only for copyright reasons later on.

    Telemaster's approach makes sense. Band member A gets the composition under way, then, trusts the others to contribute. In music publishing terms, creating the drum and bass parts counts as arrangement.

    Writing with others brings checks and balances. If all contributors think a piece has merit, it stands. (Several classic British comedy writing partnerships worked this way. If one person's joke made both laugh, it stayed in the script. If either had doubts, the gag would be dropped.)

    Of course, the team approach can slow things down. One case that springs to mind is Marillion. Four of them would convene to throw their latest musical fragments into the hat. Then, they had to devise ways to link the fragments without the results sounding forced or stilted. (I shall leave you to decide whether they succeeded or not.)

    More often, collaboration follows the later Lennon and McCartney model. One of them writes a complete song, plays it to the other and accepts constructive criticism. e.g. "It needs a key change in the bridge." "That lyric line is too cheesy."
    Be seeing you.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • For me, I get a spark, almost exclusively a riff these days. Then build it in Logic, adding lyrics, melodies, etc., using drum loops, playing all guitars, bass myself and sing. Then take it to the band and let them put their stamp on it. 
    Trading feedback info here

    My band, Red For Dissent
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • This is interesting, having never wanted to write with anybody else, it's fascinating how many different processes there are when you income other people.

    What I struggle with when writing is demo versions - what quality do they need to be, as every time I've done a rough demo and sent it to anybody they've picked faults with the production and said the content needs polishing or editing, which seems rather the point surely? Maybe the people I send stuff to don't quite understand the concept of demos or sketches I suppose
    I think partly the ease of getting into recording on a budget has brought the average quality of demo's far higher than it used to be. 
    ဈǝᴉʇsɐoʇǝsǝǝɥɔဪቌ
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • TeleMasterTeleMaster Frets: 10103
    edited January 2022
    This is interesting, having never wanted to write with anybody else, it's fascinating how many different processes there are when you income other people.

    What I struggle with when writing is demo versions - what quality do they need to be, as every time I've done a rough demo and sent it to anybody they've picked faults with the production and said the content needs polishing or editing, which seems rather the point surely? Maybe the people I send stuff to don't quite understand the concept of demos or sketches I suppose
    I think partly the ease of getting into recording on a budget has brought the average quality of demo's far higher than it used to be. 
    It’s true.

    Considering that I used a 4 track Tascam thing with a tape when I was 15 and it sounded bloody awful things have come a long way quickly. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • usedtobeusedtobe Frets: 3841
    When I did write, it was usually lyrics first, then guitar chords/feel/tempo came from that. Sometimes it all popped into my head as a whole.. occasionally, it came from a riff or chord sequence that just happened while I was sat strumming..
     so if you fancy a reissue of a guitar they never made in a colour they never used then it probably isn't too overpriced.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TeleMasterTeleMaster Frets: 10103
    usedtobe said:
    When I did write, it was usually lyrics first, then guitar chords/feel/tempo came from that. Sometimes it all popped into my head as a whole.. occasionally, it came from a riff or chord sequence that just happened while I was sat strumming..
    I think that is rarer to write like that. Most people do music first then lyrics. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • This is interesting, having never wanted to write with anybody else, it's fascinating how many different processes there are when you income other people.

    What I struggle with when writing is demo versions - what quality do they need to be, as every time I've done a rough demo and sent it to anybody they've picked faults with the production and said the content needs polishing or editing, which seems rather the point surely? Maybe the people I send stuff to don't quite understand the concept of demos or sketches I suppose
    Why would anyone care what the demo sounds like? 
    Well usually because I'd send it to them saying "What do you think of this?"  =)
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • usedtobeusedtobe Frets: 3841
    usedtobe said:
    When I did write, it was usually lyrics first, then guitar chords/feel/tempo came from that. Sometimes it all popped into my head as a whole.. occasionally, it came from a riff or chord sequence that just happened while I was sat strumming..
    I think that is rarer to write like that. Most people do music first then lyrics. 
    Interesting.. I always was a bit odd.. =)
    Mind you, I started writing lyrics before I learned to play an instrument, so maybe that’s got a bit to do with it.. I suppose I (mostly) just carried on being a lyrics first kinda guy.. When I was in a band with a vocalist/lyricist, I tended to wait for him to send me the lyrics, first, and work a song around them..
     so if you fancy a reissue of a guitar they never made in a colour they never used then it probably isn't too overpriced.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • 26.226.2 Frets: 519
    Currently the singer sends us demos with just him and an acoustic. Sometimes he gets together with the bass player and they add bass and a drum machine to the basic demo. Then it’s down to me to see what the demo inspires - it might turn into a riff-based song, or I might try and work in some extra chords or suggest an instrumental section or get an idea for a solo. I know his writing style pretty well by now and I tend to have a store of little riffs and progressions that I can pull out to bring the song to life. I tend to try and push the demo in the direction that I think it needs to go based on what it suggests to me - it might be ‘Beatlesy’ ‘Floydy’ ‘Rockabilly’, ‘Garagey’ ‘Psychedelic’ to name a few possible directions. They’re not always obvious in the final version but I find that having a kind of idiom in mind helps, as the demos are pretty bare-bones. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    edited January 2022
    I write much better alone than with others. I can't stand aimlessly jamming in a room, sometimes it brings up some good stuff but I don't find it focused enough for me to be able to try stuff out. I usually come up with the main riff then get a Reaper session started to get the tempo sorted and start to build up the rough drums with EZD. This usually helps inspire the rest of it. If that doesn't work I send it off to the band to get feedback and usually our bass player is good at coming up with complimentary ideas for verses etc. When the full song is mostly in place the vocals come in and then that usually informs the final arrangement a bit better and any tweaks to the riffs etc are made - usually simplifying things so they don't clash with vocals.

    My current band (which has just sort of gone tits up as it happens) wrote all our stuff entirely remotely. We were due to meet and jam just before lockdown hit so we kind of didn't have much of a choice. It worked really well and I'm not sure I'd want to do it any other way now.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    edited January 2022
    In a variety of ways.
    On guitar, on piano, with modular synth, straight into the DAW, onto paper or with others in a rehearsal room.
    I get a lot of good ideas doing things that are not music, running, cycling or doing the washing up.
    Mrs Oct is very understanding when I'm in the middle of cooking dinner and suddenly *have to go to the studio*.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • IMC1980IMC1980 Frets: 141
    I have been in a virtual band for the last 6 months and we have had a fairly unusual process....

    Guitar, drum and bass demos are put together by @poopot, normally a short first verse, pre and chorus and he will send over to @Bezzer and I to see if we are into it (I don't think there was a demo that didn't end up on the album), once he gets the thumbs up he will put together a full length version of the track. At that point it is over to Bezzer and I to add our parts. Bezzer will lay down strings/keys/synths/general sci-fi goodness and I will start to think about the vocals.

    If Bezzer gets done before me (usually the case), I will get an updated mix with his parts so I am working with the latest instrumental - very important because this stage can alter the mood of the song - I start off with melody, singing along to the instrumental and writing lyrics as I go, recording myself on a phone voice recorder to listen back and refine where needed.

    Once the final lyrics are done, I'll get recording. As of today the three of us have never met in person, people who have heard the album are pretty surprised by this, have a listen and see what you think: 

    https://dirtysnakemouth.bandcamp.com/album/catharsis

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • jeztone2jeztone2 Frets: 2160
    It’s always varied. My current band is really ideas in a rehearsal room. But there usually led by the other singer/guitarist. 

    Last band was myself and the drummer writing on acoustics and getting the song structure and lyrics there before the others came in. I preferred that method. The songs seemed stronger and we cancelled out each other’s bad tendencies. 


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.