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Recently i went thru a bad break up with my ex. I took a note book and just jotted lines of thoughts on paper in no particular order. How can i turn them in to a song. I t hurt me very bad was very upset for 3 weeks. Crying every night
etc. YA bad stuff.

any help would be great. Where not getting back together we done for good.

The way it works for me, is to determine the overall feel to the thing. I start with the music. Is it mad, or sad, or hopeful of the future, or just feeling bad?

Once I have the tone of the song, musically, the words usually fall into place. I'll get a catch phrase as I play it, & build the entire lyric from there.

Other ppl do better building the song from the lyric to the music.

The way you do it really depends on how your mind works, how you are most comfortable. There is no right or wrong, only better or worse.

Try not to be too wordy. Get your message across, but don't make it a saga. Harry Chapin & Gordon Lightfoot wouldn't go very far today, with their super long & windy tunes. Audiences just don't have that kind of patience anymore.

For me I just have to let it out. It's not a concous effort kind of thing.
Pain often makes for good music (strange that) Pain also is one of lifes greatest teachers.
Just write the damn song and move on!
You may find that once you move beyond the initial emotional response you will have little or no interest in the song. Our band has several of these laying around not getting any play time as Ray has moved past the emotions that created the songs in the first place.

philbymon wrote:The way it works for me, is to determine the overall feel to the thing. I start with the music. Is it mad, or sad, or hopeful of the future, or just feeling bad?

Once I have the tone of the song, musically, the words usually fall into place. I'll get a catch phrase as I play it, & build the entire lyric from there.

Other ppl do better building the song from the lyric to the music.

The way you do it really depends on how your mind works, how you are most comfortable. There is no right or wrong, only better or worse.

Try not to be too wordy. Get your message across, but don't make it a saga. Harry Chapin & Gordon Lightfoot wouldn't go very far today, with their super long & windy tunes. Audiences just don't have that kind of patience anymore.

Like your advice phil. It's too bad there is truth to the last 2 lines

Actually, if you keep it interesting for the whole 8-10 minutes and keep the crowd involved, you can pull it off perfectly. Been there, done that.

Hey do not bash on Gordon Lightfoot... lol

We do a cover of "Sundown" and it's alright.. we bash the arrangement, but HEY IT'S THAT TYPE OF THING.

I'd hate to admit I don't even know of one other song of his, but that one was cool enough to draw respect as far as I am concerned.

You don't know "The Edmund Fitzgerald"? What kind of Capt. are you?

Never found it easy at all. I agree with Sans. If there is an idea every part of it should be on a table so you can look at it and change parts and so on.

Writing is much like feeling sick and spewing up to form a pavement pizza. You can see exactly what you were thinking about some minutes before.

Yeah the title of "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" alone oughta tell you it's gonna be a looooooong song! LMAO

I wasn't bashing on Mr Lightfoot, Cap. I happen to like a lot of his work, but most ppl these days wouldn't appreciate him.

EasyKill wrote:

philbymon wrote:Harry Chapin & Gordon Lightfoot wouldn't go very far today, with their super long & windy tunes. Audiences just don't have that kind of patience anymore.

Like your advice phil. It's too bad there is truth to the last 2 lines

Not entirely true. Bands like Dream Theater do just fine with long compositions (Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is ~44 minutes long in six movements). Rush still packs big outdoor venues and they've got some lengthy songs and lengthy lyrical parts.

You can carve out a niche with non-mainstream music if you are good and really work at it.

Acousticman26 wrote:Recently i went thru a bad break up with my ex. I took a note book and just jotted lines of thoughts on paper in no particular order. How can i turn them in to a song. I t hurt me very bad was very upset for 3 weeks. Crying every night
etc. YA bad stuff.

any help would be great. Where not getting back together we done for good.

*IF* you can play an instrument, I'd start there. It's where I like to start.

I like to try and just put together a chord progression, and arpeggio, anything. Three chords, four, five - something. Just get something together. You don't have to try and pin it down as a verse or chorus just yet; just get something down musically, even on a cheap tape recorder. Then try and hum a melody over it, or sing a lyric over it. The melody will help you figure out the flow. If it doesn't fit the mood of what you want to say lyrically, save it and start over. Another chord progression. Another arpeggio. Something. Hum a melody over it; sing some lyrics. If it doesn't work, rinse, repeat until you find the right musical "tone" to what you want to say.

When the chords and melody work, then you can start to concern yourself with "is it a verse?" or "is it a chorus?" Start playing variations of your chords; find the changes and segues. Now you can work on arrangements and length. Do you have enough measures of the verse to say what you want? Do you have enough measures of chorus? Here is where you fill out the rest of the lyrics to say what you really want to say.

When you've got the basic chords, verse and chorus, and lyrics fleshed out, then you can get crafty. You can start to arrange. You can add bridges, interludes, musical segues, solos, breakdowns, build-ups. You can start to substitute catchy riffs, hooks, whatever for the basic chords.

But in the beginning - just figure out the chords and melody so you can write the lyrics you have floating in your head.

"The Edmund Fitzgerald"

Hey that's one of my fav acoustic songs that i can play a few chords of. Awesome song.

Dude- "not getting back together we done for good." is a horrible nightmare to live thru. I feel for you. I've been there. Chicks can wreck your life. For many years. I hope you can get past it. If you play an instrument (havent checked out your profile yet) you can let it out on to tape or disc. That's what made me feel better..at least a little bit..
take care of yourself.. theres more fish in the sea.. i know that's not much consolense.. (is that a word?) .. well u know..

they worked for shark6and Capt Scott they'll work for you too.

~Emerald dressed elves playing by the pool,
old men playing checkers abiding by the rules.
Long train passes by,
the conducter waves,
and says goodbye.
Fast train goes into a cave, cho-chogie,
give me a your love, cause I am brave.
Tickle my ears, squeeze me tight,
Love me tender, and say Goodnight!~
I love your fragrance it drives me wild~
but with your love sweet thang I am but a child.~

PS. Be sure to use your own interpretive body lanquage. Best of luck.

EasyKill wrote: Harry Chapin & Gordon Lightfoot wouldn't go very far today, with their super long & windy tunes. Audiences just don't have that kind of patience anymore.

Like your advice phil. It's too bad there is truth to the last 2 lines [/quote]

I have to disagree with this one. Audiences will listen as long as they feel something. Jam bands go on forever with 5-7 minutes of lead swapping and few vocal's; they generally bore me to tears but others like it.
Look at Fish and other "dead style" act's!

most of my songs run between 3 - 4 1/2 min.s
dont ask me why but my most popular song is 1:50

*(;>)-~

www.myspace.com/blunderingeye
www.myspace.com/445175001
http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/6039/

"It is what it is"

EasyKill wrote: Harry Chapin & Gordon Lightfoot wouldn't go very far today, with their super long & windy tunes. Audiences just don't have that kind of patience anymore.

Like your advice phil. It's too bad there is truth to the last 2 lines [/quote]

I have to disagree with this one. Audiences will listen as long as they feel something. Jam bands go on forever with 5-7 minutes of lead swapping and few vocal's; they generally bore me to tears but others like it.
Look at Fish and other "dead style" act's!

most of my songs run between 3 - 4 1/2 min.s
but then my most popular song is 1:50

*(;>)-~

www.myspace.com/blunderingeye
www.myspace.com/445175001
http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/6039/

"It is what it is"