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I like to go out & piss off as many ppl as I can.

When some lady finally snaps & slaps me, I look at her all weepy-like, and then I'm ready to write an emo tune.

If it's a guy that hits me, I'm ready to write a real violent screamo thing.

Once I got kicked in the balls. I couldn't write anything for awhile after that.

Sometimes I do my best writing when I'm out in my canoe without any paper. That really irritates me, cuz I usually have forgotten the thing by the time I've paddled ashore.

My dog made me write this epic poem one time, at gunpoint. It wasn't very good, though. I don't do well under pressure.

Having a lot of affairs, if you're married, will keep love alive for you. You'll be able to write about young lust & new love & all that sorta thing real good. And when your wife finds out, you can write about the heartbreak of the breakup.

See? It's all about living life & writing about it. The more stuff you can experience, the more stuff you have to write about.

Warning - this type of song-writing style is usually short-lived, as the songwriters are usually short-lived when they're such total jerks that others just wanna kill them.

Good luck. Now get out there & DO it!

I think songwriting is a discipline you have to practice.

Always have something to write song ideas on where ever you may be. Cell phones have little voice recorders that you can store a hummed melody in. When you arent in the mood dont worry about it. I dont know how many songs Ive written thru the years, but I was always writing songs or ideas. I can sit down and force a song if i need too. But when the well is dry I just leave it alone a few days, weeks, monthes or in some cases years.

You might get in a regular habit of working on songs even if they arent any good and believe me most of them if you listen back a couple of monthes later wont be as good as you think they are initially. Dont be afraid to steal from yourself and rework songs. We all are stealing ideas from others in the past so dont be afraid to take your own song and re write it.

If you have a friend you can share writting with, sometimes thats a good thing. I have a friend who understands basic theory better than me and he will tell me to throw in a minor or diminished chord that sometimes just makes the song or leads to a whole new melody.

For me in general its pretty private, I write about stuff that means something to me and whether anyone likes it or not doesnt matter, cause Im not trying to sell it. You can go to my profile and one of the last songs I wrote and recorded was Ive Been Shown, its down the list past some of the covers I posted. I threw this song together in a couple of hours. Is it a hit, hell no. But it means something to me as basic as it is.

Just keep writing even if it sucks, develop your skills.

thanks for the help, it's nice to know people will help you out on the board...instead of being a smart @$$. But I guess I would probable be the same way to if I saw countless song writing threads.

Gee. Did I seem like a smartass? Didn't mean to.

Okay, I'll be totally serious with you. I sit & write a chord prgression. I go "ooh" & "all" over it until a few words & melody come to mind. Then I build a whole song around that phrase.

I read a lot, and I believe that this helps me to stay creative, and to put my head in a mindset it doesn't usually reach, so I can write from someone else's standpoint when I need to.

I hear a lot of stories from ppl that like to talk, too. Sometimes that can give me a spark of an idea.

Then there are times that I wake up with a thought that just won't go away. So I apply it to a tune if I can.

I like the idea of the old pocket recorder so you can keep those stray ideas that pop into your head until you can explore them later, but this one doesn't usually work out for me. Still, it's a worthwhile effort.

Another one I've used successfully is to turn the radio on so low I can't actually hear it. Still, there are sounds seeping through, but not necessarilly the ones the composer intended. You can hear harmonics and such like this, & that may inspire you to take a basic idea and run with it.

Like a lot of ppl, I often write in moods, rather in concrete ideas. The idea will coagulate sometimes into a solid thought when I let it, but not so much when I try to force it.

I haven't written in quite a while. I found myself working an a new tune the other day, about modern slavery & such. It's turning into a real pain in the butt, so it's on the back burner for awhile until I feel ready to tackle it again. I'm trying to write it from a cop's point of view as he searches for the kidnapped kid. Tough one, that, but it does bring up all sorts of good solid emotions & phrases if I'd just let it go on by itself.

Anyway, that's what usually works for me, & I hope this makes up for my prior assholishness.

Peace, love & frisbee, man!

Assholishness?

Honestly everyone was trying to help. Except the Captn. and well it's the Captn.

There is somewhere a very intense and informative thread on writing technique.

I cant help you any. Songs just come to me "POOF" like that.
Usually at times of exhastion or great stress. Sometimes in my sleep.
My Sifu taught me over a period of several years to be aware of dreaming while still in the dream state. I am not as practiced as I used to be. One time many years ago. While on a job in the Oil fields. I woke up from my lunch nap got out of the gang truck to walk and streach. I walked back to the truck to ask the gangpusher a question and saw myself asleep in the backseat.
Holy sh*t Scared me real bad. I stopped practicing dreams.

lol What am i being blamed for again?

Seriously, if you are going to get your hackles up because you think someone is being an "A$$", then seriously, what are you going to do when someone critiques your music. If you are going to be that touchy, then maybe you should think of another hobby to do. This is music and you will get a lot of smart ass replies and if a low level one is going to get you this upset...then don't bother. People are trying to help you out and from what I have read in past threads...they are being pretty darn nice too.

Jah Soldier
Jah Soldier
Send a message to the foreign land
Jah Soldier
Jah Soldier
Strap your boots and head out to the foreign land

Rastafari live in the name of hope
Let peace and love be the only boat
To the promise land where Jah and man
Be one in the same from the sun to the sand
Rise up to the highest mountain
Your fist held high
No gun in your hand
Just a message for all to understand
I bring only love and alone it will stand

In the name of Selassie, yea I, oh see I
Rastafari send Jah Soldier so say I

-Shred
HaleAmanO

And that, Class, is how you write a song. =)

not to jump your thd but im curious which comes first for any of you, does your words or does your music or both at the same time.?. for myself its all of the above I believe songs are either centered around the music or they are centered around the words.

man I can't even be sarcastic online with people knowing...I have no problem getting critique, I get it every day of my life. I was just trying to poke some fun..but it's cool..I did write two vs of a song though...it's not done and I'm not sure where to take it.

My Emo Song:

Tight Pants are cool
Tight Shirts just rock
I wish I could be!
Emo Around the clock!

My Hair is so long
It covers my eyes
But it's alright cause
I'm hanging with my Emo guys


*The I thought about throwing in a massive break down and scream random words. Yes this is meant to be a fun song...or well to me because where I am from it's like that all anyone wants todo/be in is an Emo song/band. I have nothing against emo, this song just came to me.*

In my humble opinion there is no set formula to song writing in general. A lot of famous song writers have developed their own formulas that work for them. My advise is to try to develope your own formula and above all keep an open mind, song writting is not for everyone and you don't have to be a writter to be a musician just because you find it more difficult to write doesn't mean that there is something wrong with you, it usually is tough in the beginning for everyone. Learn as much thoery as you can but don't depend on theory completely. Music is a discipline and an art, song writting is an art form very similar to a painter you have a canvas and colors now paint your picture in moods and words.
When I listen to a song it is difficult for me not to hear the mood first, then I have to really listen to it several times to get to the flesh & bones of the song structure, lyrical meaning and instruments used to make the recording, I have written songs in the past that I intentionally left the meaning obscure so as to leave the meaning for the listener to dertermine. Some times song ideas just come to me when I am practicing, practice takes discipline also to really advance yourself musically you have to have a structured discipline, example; 20 minutes of scales 20 minutes learning new scales and chords 20 minutes site reading 20 minutes learning songs off of recordings and 20 minutes of free jambing, not all in the same day of coarse.
So if you decide to take on the duties of being a musician, song writter, band leader, and recording artist you probably have more on your plate than you should, and you will become very frustrated to try and excell at all of these, trust me I am there. Be patient don't be afraid to set your sites high, if you shoot for an A+ it's okay if you get an A- it's not that bad!

I was in a relationship back in the early 90's that was just miserable, constant nagging and accusations, life in the crapper, dead end job, no money, etc..

playing guitar and recording on my home setup, which literally was recording a track to cassette, then doubling to a second one, using a casio KB for drums, clean tone on my guitar to substitute bass, and through a rockman for distortion...it was my only escape

Some of the best music I ever wrote.

Well, if you were being sarcastic, then my apologies for jumping your gun.

no problem, I have a bit of a sarcastic, dry sense of humor...I confuse allot of people. But ne thoughts on the song above I posted some parts?