We had a post recently about posting your own original music, maybe we can also have some discussions aimed at music-makers.
I write music, and I aim to write just a little bit every day, and finish every composition that I start, without too much pressure for everything to be “good.” Every six months or so I listen to everything I wrote recently and pick out the good stuff to put online, and everything else gets stored away in a sort of personal archive that isn’t public. Maybe it’s a “quantity over quality” approach but for me it feels like it helps to always be working on something
I learned while in university that just sitting down every day and writing something is the way to go. I never need “inspiration”, my brain just goes into composing mode and ideas start flowing. But it took a few weeks before that happened.
As for the actual process, I ten to write whatever idea I have down, and see how far it takes me. If it starts veering into something I don’t like, I save the file as a new version, delete the part that I didn’t like, and start on a new path. In the end I’ll have something like 10-20 different versions, sometimes I’ll go back to an older one with fresh ideas and continue on a new branch, etc. More than a couple times I’ll marry two versions and have the final product nearly finished just by doing that. If I get stuck, sometimes I’ll just repeat a section with different instrumentation just to get a fresh take on it which will jog some new ideas.
There are also times where I think strictly “logically” or structurally about a piece. Let’s say I’ve got a nice A section and some nice B section but no way to join them. Then I can reach into my proverbial toolbox and write something that I know will work (a short fugue-like bit, harmonize things to transition smoothly, etc). This is something I enjoy doing because it’s like I create two puzzle pieces and have go figure out how to fit them together.
Man I wish I knew it myself, it’s very much a wildcard for me. Different approaches create different music.
If I start with a specific melody in mind, usually that melody is more or less present throughout the whole song playing nonstop, as if I can’t let go of it.
Sometimes I create the overall song structure first with e.g. the drums and the bass, and then build everything else on that.
…Or maybe in a flow state I create a short musical doodle that I expand on later. Or just play random bullshit and see where it takes me, possibly fitting old ideas in there. This usually creates the most experimental and fun songs, which I like. I’m all about crazy music that breaks all expectations and genre limits.
Most of my music doesn’t get past the production barrier. I love mixing and working in my DAW, but damn it’s hard to to actually start tracking and putting the time in. But once I get over that hurdle, I hyperfocus on it and can’t think of anything else.
I’m not one to output a lot of content, and I don’t invest the time into my own music enough to feel confident about it’s quality. But i for sure will share my process!
Goal: First I set a goal for the song. This could be to get the melody I wrote out of my head and onto paper, this could be exploring a musical idea I had, or a topic I want to write a song about lyrically.
Constraints: I like music theory, and a lot of novel concepts and 20th century techniques in my writing. One take away from Stravinsky is setting up your own rules. When you define what rules you will NOT be breaking, you can have fun exploring the sounds and possibilities all while not breaking the rules you set. This helps the piece have cohesion, and not just a bunch of ideas all at once. It’s easy to get carried away and lose your initial goal.
now Write!!: For me, this is a after work, spouse has gone to sleep, nothing else is going on, opportunity to focus and create the song. I like to do this in 1-3 sessions. Try to stay true to your original intent, and also know it’s okay to throw something away that doesn’t work. This is what causes my music to lack quality, but i just don’t have the time and patience to pick snares for hours (yet) …
This is some of what I’ve been making lately https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8QjCF31j3A
I love writing with another person. Normally I’ll do a creative phase, then a sit down planning phase.
I’ll try to go into a writing session with a few ideas; normally I’ll do this by coming up with one riff, then trying almost random ideas for parts that go with it. Normally something clicks so i work on that and record it all to my phone.
When i get to the rehearsal space, I’ll demo my work to people I play with. It will normally change a bit from what i wrote. The goal is to come up with a structure and see if any new parts come up while practicing.
Afterwards, you and whoever else sits in front of a computer, we normally do this as a separate session. Record scratch tracks in the general order of structure so you can listen back and decide what work it needs. Make sure to play this part to a click so you can use it to record later on.
