How does one go about songwriting?

Raiyux

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
Okay, this is borderline about writing but I'm also asking about music. So that's why I posted here. :P

Anyway...I've seen many original songs, so it must not be that hard to produce one. I'm usually pretty good at writing poetry (or so I've been told), so I suppose that is a step in the right direction.

But what do you do if don't have the means to produce music? Or even know how to read it, for that matter? Am I screwed? I don't know a thing about composing music! I'd love to write lyrics for a song, but someone else would have to create the music for me.

Also, it'd probably best to start with English, huh? My knowledge of Japanese grammar is quite limited. Unless there was someone who was good at translating...

Argh, I don't know! I want to try writing a song someday, but I have no idea where to start or what kind of approach to take. If you're knowledgeable about writing originals, I'd take any input you've got for me. ^^;
 

KitWistful

Teto's Territory
Defender of Defoko
oops I wrote something long again, let me try to clean it up a bit:

If you're at all curious about songwriting, then do it. It's not hard to pick up, and you don't need a formal education to do it. You can start making songs with sequencers like OpenMPT (free) or FL Studio (unlimited demo). Once you know how they work it's not that difficult to get something going.

As for lyrics, if people tell you that you're good at poetry then you're probably danged good at poetry : ' ) You could probably even start working off of some verse you have written already if it has a good rhythm/structure. I recommend listening to songs that you like and see what kind of arrangements they have (like, is it like, chorus/verse/chorus/verse/bridge/verse??? And how does it open??). I find that songwriting, musically and lyrically, is a balance between repetition to keep a piece anchored and changes to make it interesting. (well, build. By changes I mean building on top of the already-good bit.)

You'll get better as you go along. You'll start being able to hear music better, and identify the thingies in music better. You'll figure out what's important when you work, and you can sometimes learn things from reading stuff on the internet (if someone has a question about songwriting on a forum, or if you see a video on how to make dubstep, then there's prossibly something interesting in there!). Looking up formal music theory stuff like chords, scales, and time signature will be helpful, too.

okay I think that's good, here's my original post down there VV

I speak as an uneducated amateur.

If you're at all curious about songwriting, then give it a try. You can start making music with any number of free or cheap sequencer DAWs. It's not impossible or even extremely hard to make a song without any education...there's a whole lot to learn, but it's not like you have to take a course or something XD Most things I know about music I picked up while trying to make a song, or while watching a YT video or something. In any case, it's a skill to be honed like drawing or anything else.

OpenMPT is a free and pretty solid tracker-style program that can load a variety of instruments. Trackers can look intimidating, but they're actually pretty straightforward.  If you're willing to cough up a couple hundred bucks, then FL Studio is pretty intuitive and universally recommended (you can also try the demo version. It never expires, you just can't access save files after you close the program). There are other free/cheap DAWs out there, I just don't have much experience with them >w>;;

For lyrics, I'd highly recommend writing in a language you're very fluent in. You gotta get some subtleties goin'.

... anecdotally, it's hard to write lyrics if you haven't done anything like poetry or music before. If something isn't working, then don't be afraid to try again and try another route. Songwriting for an amateur is a lot of trial and error, which isn't a bad thing : P

EDIT: which you just said that you can poet

and I didn't even know it : ' O

I don't know how you poetry but if people say you're good then you're probably good XD If you have some verse with a good rhythm/structure to it then you can probably even try to make a song with that.

There are some formal arrangements for songs like Intro/Chorus/Verse/Chorus/Bridge/Verse/Exit. Er, something like that. I'd recommend listening to songs you like and see how they're arranged. It works like, within a work, every chorus has a similar melody/rhythm/lyric structure, and it builds each time around. It's the same for verse parts and bridge parts....when it comes to repetition and building, it's a balance between keeping a work anchored and keeping it interesting and exciting. If that makes sense.

I hope my rambling helped somehow

EDIT: someone save me from the edit function, I just can't help myself : ' O
 

Raiyux

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
Thread starter
Actually, I read it all. I don't mind reading long things, especially since I'm usually the one to type them, lol.

But thank you! I find your reply to be helpful. As for the music stuff, I'm willing to try FL Studio. It seems a bit complicated, but I'll give it a try, anyway. Of course, I'm flat broke so I'll just have to play with the demo until I can afford to buy anything.
 
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Hadal

Momo's Minion
hey raiyux,

definitely understand where you are at, I am in the same boat of not knowing any japanese and trying to create lyrics for it, but I have been  producing for a few years,  so maybe some of this will help you out a bit.

The first thing to do would be to listen to Kit Wistful and get yourself a sequencer aka digital audio workstation, or DAW. A DAW to a producer is like a canvas is to a painter, it will be one of the most important tools in your arsenal.  FL Studio is one of the easiest DAWs to pick up and is very friendly to beginners, my recommendation.  it will have synthesizers and instruments, drums, effects, a virtual mixer, and samples. Try playing around and familiarize yourself with it, read the manual, search for tutorials, etc.

Now about music theory, this includes reading notes, chord progression, harmony, song structure, etc. It would be very tedious to learn by reading, so my advice is to learn an instrument instead, or more specifically, learn the piano. The piano roll, the piano keys you see on the left hand side in UTAU, is pretty much a standard in every DAW, you will see it in just about every DAW out there. By learning how to play a piano, you will also learn music theory at the same time and this skill will help out in FL Studio as well.

I am starting to write too much, but last advice is to get a midi keyboard. It will save you a ton of time, instead of clicking in every note with a mouse. Also, it makes music producing much more fun :smile:

Sorry that this post got so long, but feel free to PM if you need help with anything.  If your interested, I wouldn't mind collaborating on something together so you can get a more hands on approach, I often find it easier to experience it rather than just reading lol
 

hessa11

Momo's Minion
you need a deep feeling to write a deep song.....go to where it hurt...think about it in a quiet place...and then write your song
 

Sweet_Kei (0//w//0 )

Teto's Territory
When it comes to songs, I suppose the best thing to start with would be feelings, or something that you know. If you're more spontaneous you could practice writing songs about all sorts of random things (like those jingle writers who make songs about toast), and if you don't really know how to read or write music then starting simple is key (so you can gradually improve and make better songs)

idk if this helps (or even makes much sense) I'm kind of a song writing newbie too :sing:
 
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Ghostysenpai

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
Well really, songs are about feelings, if your song expresses a feeling it's a good song. If it expresses a feeling AND people can relate to your song it's a hit!
Really as with all creative mediums you shouldnt worry too much about right and wrong, as long as it sounds good it's right.
 
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Kiyoteru

UtaForum power user
Supporter
Defender of Defoko
my free DAW of recommendation is Podium Free. on the website there is also a link to where you can find plenty of free VSTs. it's windows only but i've had success running it in Wine on a mac. the free version allows commercial usage.

having basic background in music theory is very helpful. try to learn more by listening more closely to songs- mentally break apart the structure, the instruments, the chords and rhythms.

it's easiest to start out with generic verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure and easy chords with simple melodies. it won't sound fantastical and unique, but by following the well-worn roads you'll be guaranteed to end up with something that was proven to be good. after that is when you can start experimenting around- learn the rules so that you know how to break them.

lyrics-wise, you need to have one specific idea for the song. things like "a girl becomes a witch" or "i want power" or "you are special to me". (i get a lot of writer's block so i tend to leave lyrics to the end, so having the idea of where to take the song is very helpful.)

make up the lyrics and the melody at the same time. that way you can easily make the rhythms fit.

write the lyrics in your fluent language. feel free to use lyrics-writing as a way to practice a learning language.