if this sort of thing has come up before then i aplogise.

i was wondering how you guys go about writing song's
does something suddenly just pop into your head and you think i'm gonna put that on guitar or do you f**k about for hours untill you think of something.
or just basically what do you do because it would help me alot.
because i cant write songs for s**t.

any help is welcome

much appreciated

fuck around for hours

Well there's heaps of ways, sometimes i'll be working on a song and conciously trying to think of a riff, but that doesn't always work, sometimes I find I get my best riffs from when I just let loose and get in that "zone" you know, where you just fuckin play whatever comes into your head continuesly for like fifteen minutes straight, not thinking, just feeling the music, it's hard to explain but i'm sure a lot of people can relate.

i have actually had that feeling but unfortunally for me nothing comes out of it.

thats probably why i'm in a tribute band.

this thread had been done before, but i couldn't find it..

basically mess around, until u hit something cool and original.

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I'll basically accidentlt write a riff that sounds cool, and then write more riffs based around that one, and then try to write interesting lyrics that don't make really any since.

I do exactly the same thing.

I think most people can write songs, if they spend a lot of time on it. I'm just a lazy motherfucker, and can't be arsed sitting down and trying to figure out cool and original licks.

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For the newbs

I don't even try to write shit by myself. If I accidentally do something cool while practicing I'll record it (very important, otherwise you will likely forget it entirely).

Mostly my original riffs are spiritually induced by jamming at high volumes with a drummer, mostly... I record the entire jam session and then review it and cut out the "good" shit and save it. Then next jam session we review the good stuff and mold it into something useful.

Maybe I should just sit down and think of shit more often, but the problem I have is that everytime I think of a riff, it sounds like a song that already exists, and it ends up being a rip-off of some band. And it seems weird to me with the number of solos that I can like even friggin whistle to, when it comes time to write one, I can't think of any.

that's a really good idea thanks

i have the same problem i thought i made up this killer riff it turns out it was
like some slayer song that i have never heard of.

There are 12 notes, that's fewer than half of the letters of the alphabet. If you can learn to read and write words, you should have no trouble learning to read and write music, if you put your mind to it.

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i guess some people have just got it
and some aint.

i mean i'm really good at soloing but when it comes to writing songs

i like to 'visualise' hence my band name Vizulize This

i don't even use my guitar sometimes, i just imagine myself playing in my mind's eye and we all know what the notes sound like and i just use my imagination, then i go to my guitar and bash out what i'm thinking and work from there, i usually start with a couple of riffs in my mind and then write them on the guitar, adding things or changing things as i play them, that's how i write most of my songs, without my guitar.

When playing and writing it just don't seem to come off for me, sometimes it does though.

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good tip

thank's

About 3 weeks ago I invested in a 30 dollar voice recorder from Target and ever since music has been a lot easier to write. Basically I kick a few brews back when I get off work then I put my recorder in front of my amp and start recording. I usually do a improvised solo when I first pick up my guitar then go into riffs that sound fun/upbeat/semi-technical. I just try and use various picking techniques when coming up with riffs and do simple chord progressions. After doin' that for a few minutes I can change the riff around to make it sound better and better. Its like making a rough draft riff then cleaning it up.

I wouldn't try to write a fucking crazy song in 30 minutes. I'd rather make a piece of shit song that sounds almost like a pansey punk tune then turn it into Death Metal/Blues style by changing riffs and licks little by little until I'm satisfied. Then drink more beer.

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I normally have simple riffs in my head which i then put down onto the guitar and then show the band members. I find songs become better and stronger if ideas are bounced between band members, picking out tiny things e.g. a chord or a riff which sound weak and then expanding it to make a good song.

The idea of jamming is the best thing. At the moment, my new band just play improvised gigs in the area. We work out some startout riffs and then just play for 30 minutes. We have someone recording the show and then we can listen back and hear stuff. Normally it sounds pretty messy but there are times when the spur of the moment inspiration becomes a foundation to the next song.

Don't listen to him, he has ADHD

i know what u mean thing is.. i made up bout 10000000 SICK riffs and i forgot em all

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Usually I sit down with my guitar and shred for a bit... if I come across something that sounds cool I'll play it over and over again until I memorise it well enough to be able to try and progress to another riff and not forget it. Then I'll open up PowerTAB and transcribe it, save it... then usually forget about it and never get anywhere with it :P

thats the problems with riffs, they don;t stick with you unless you record them or actually sit down and make a whole song with them in. The amount of riffs we must of all forgotten......

I remember I used to (well, still have) a book of blank TAB scores that I'd write my riffs and stuff in, then when I went to replay them I had no idea how to play them cause I didn't know rhythm notation at that point. I should flick through that book again, I remember there being a couple of killer Soulfly-style metal riffs in there

soulfly ........

I can't really talk i just found a tape of me recording a load of hardcore punk songs, had some cool riffs going on in some, but can't remember what the fuck i did

As the wierd person i am, i'm just sitting somewhere looking at the wall and all of the sudden, BAM! A good idea, and i wasn't even thinking about music. Just comes out of the blue, then i run towards my guitar and play it as i saw(heard?) it in my head and record it.

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I'm pretty stupid and useless when it comes to most things in life, so my only talent is music. I usually write a song in less time than it takes to play it (music-wise, anyway). If it sucks, I'll trash it. But usually I can come up with endless songs off the top of my head. Whether it's good or not doesn't depend on how longit took to write it, but simply on the luck of that particular song. Usually, I'll be playing various shit on the guitar (or bass, whatever) and I'll come up with a nice riff then write it down. Sometimes, I'll just think of the music in my head and tab it out without playing it first. I'll just imagine how it sounds, and write down the notes. Then I'll play it and see whether it needs moderations or not. Still, I usually just sit down with my instrument and some pen/paper and come up with good enough riffs. And like I said, it usually takes me less time to write the song than it does to play it. So it definitely "flows".

the thing that bother's me the most is other than the fact i cant write song's for sh** is when i have wrote one in the past it normally end's up sounding like someone else's.now i dont really want to get a record deal or what ever
and get sued before i even start.

any tip's on not copy writing please help.

Sadly, there is probably not one riff or chord progression that has never been used in someone elses song. As long as it's not a very recognizable riff, the chances of getting sued or something because of copyrights is a slim chance. There are so many bands/musicians out there that some things just come up twice. And you can forget about an original sound. You may be able to write your own songs, but they're going to sound like they could be done by another band. It's just the way it goes. So as long as it's not identical to a well-known song, I wouldn't worry about writing similar music. Just don't steal lyrics and you'll be fine.

This is exactly the reason I don't try to premeditate riffs. This is also the reason all bands with shitty drummers suck ass. If you're drummer sets the right mood your subconscious mind will automatically fill the empty space with something "new" after a few minutes of random jamming.

thanks man that's helped

i read somewhere
i think it was in guitar techniques magazine.
that a guitarist from a band wrote a song and it ended up sounded similar
to bls zakk wylde's doomsday jesus.and he actually wrote to guitar techniques
because he was also worried about

1 getting his ass kicked by zakk
2 getting sued

thanks again for your help dude
much appreciated..

I know this one dude on metaltabs who wrote a song that sounded like Angels Holocaust by Iced Earth. You know who you are Yeeeah you guys got the dready headbanger logo! Too bad I cut mine off

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a really good idea for qriting music, is just mindlessly play the guitar fuck around like everybody said but in the meanwhile have something to record it on i.e. voice recorder, or even mp3 players with voice recorders built in.. thats what i do

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cool man

haha fuck you, my song owned

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Yeah, whenever I decide to make up some songs, I have to have my notebook there, and just play around with riffs for hours, writing down ones I like... and then a few days later go back over it and fix em or cut the ones that suck ass, and put some chrod progressions/breakdowns around the ones I do like.

I usually just play for about an hour, and than i say to myself i should write somthing so than i start playing around in different keys and find the best one i want, than i think of riffs in that key until i find one that i like and than i write the rest of the song around that riff. Than at my next band practice i play it and the drummer gets a beat going and the bass player does his thing etc.