I have been working on a new song of which I do not know the name but have a great feeling about. It is funny how songs go. You write them on some inspiration and hope for the best. Sometimes, they come out way better than you expected and other times they just are not as good. My process cannot be defined but can be filmed. I am, at the moment, working on a project that will demonstrate the fuzzy logic that goes behind writing a song.
My trusty inspiration capturer
I normally work this way. I record a melodic idea into a personal recorder. The H4N by Zoom to be exact. I then piece all my ideas together into what I think the structure could be. I think the operative word here is what I think because songs change and evolve. I have written songs where I started with a verse, came up with a chorus later on, then scrapped the initial verse I had indeed worked very hard on. The original idea had disappeared but it left me with something fantastic. The whole idea is to get the ball rolling and, most importantly, not to get too attached to parts, that later on, you think should go to let the song grow. Re writing is the hardest thing to do while writing.
Cubase 6 does the structural organization for my songs
After working with the H4N, I put the song to click (metronome) in Cubase 6 so that if ever a collaborative opportunity pops up, I can send a track that is workable to another musician. I tell him or her the bpm and they can work on the song. This is where I like to iron out structure in my songs. I like to know how it evolves. Should there be a bridge? How long is the pre-chorus? How is the finale going to sound etc.
Here comes the hard part for me. I love to finalize my lyrics at this point. So far, everything has been sort of a mumble into the microphone. Some great ideas come from mumbles because song melody tends to push us toward a concept and a song idea. Most of the time the place it pushes us to lyrically isn’t off by that much. But this is where I leave the computer and try to find an original angle to what I am trying to say. Lyrics are sacred and I rework and write till the album is printed. I have been known to sometimes re sing stuff at mix
Hopefully I can sort of film this fuzzy process for you so that you can see what I go through from idea to finished product. I want to work on this during the holidays. Hopefully my schedule will permit.