Sometimes songwriting is about going with the “feel”.
You can’t really teach someone how to write a complete song. You can teach the principles to songwriting, such as tonality, chord progressions, harmony, lyrical accents and metres, etc…but you can’t exactly teach someone how to write a complete song.
There is no formula to songwriting.
You can’t say “first you start with the C note, then you write an E, then an F”. Or you can’t say “every song needs to be in 4/4 timing” or “every song needs to go from C chord to Am to F to G”.
You just can’t.
That’s why I say songwriting to me, is sometimes about going with the “feel”.
I’m always asking myself the question “Where do I want to go from here?”
(As in, where do I want to take the song to. Do I want to change tonality, do I want to leap to a high note (climax), do I want to introduce an interesting chord, do I want to introduce a pause, etc.)
First I start with an idea…a little intro I like, or a melodic line or a lyrical line which I like.
Then I play it over and over and over in my head, until that moment whereby that gut feeling in me decides to add on to that bit. Then if I like that new bit, I’ll latch on to that, and I’ll continue the same process until the song gets more and more complete.
So it’s like building on bit by bit until you get the full song.
For instance, sometimes I’ve got the verse and chorus down, and I need a bridge.
I’ll keep playing the song through and through until I reach the (yet to be written) bridge part…and sometimes by sheer musical momentum, I’ll get that gut feel as to how to start my bridge, i.e. where to go next with regards to the chord progression.
I’ll say “Hmm…ok this feels like it needs to go to Am at the bridge”. And I’ll go to Am and try to latch on to the momentum from there.
So that’s how songwriting goes for me. Most of the time.
Going with the gut feel.
i agree with you, tho i have to sometimes go against my ‘gut feel’, cos if not i would be using the same ‘tricks’ and chord changes over and over again cos my ‘gut’ tells me its nice, haha..
Yup, it’s all in the feel. Whether emotionally, coz it usually reflects your feelings of that moment, or purely sensory, where the tone, pitch, rhythm, etc. creates the “feel” you want it to give.
I too start with something basic that catches my ear as I tool around. I then listen over and over waiting for my inner artist to speak up and enlighten me as to where the song goes next. Sometimes it never happens, which is why I end up with hundreds of unfinished musical pieces. ;-)
Firdaus: Yeah good point about that. Sometimes we tend to fall into the trap of writing within a preferred comfort zone, and as a result our songs tend to sound the same. Sometimes we nned to consciously force ourselves to break out of that mould so as to write more interesting and diverse songs (like what the Beatles did).
Lingfeng: Agree. It’s in the feel. Although sometimes I use “feel”, and other times my “brain” takes over and writes from an intellectual standpoint, haha!
Joe: Hello. Nice point about the “waiting for your inner artist to speak up”. I guess that’s what they call “chasing the muse” eh? That’s the beauty of songwriting. You’ve gotta constantly chase that elusive thing which gives you your inspiration. And once you capture it, it’s like magic! It’s a fascinating process.
just found your blog – but am enjoying the thoughts of a fellow songwriter.
i have to agree with firdaus as well. if i don’t push myself beyond my old tricks, all my songs will sound the same.
Hi there Mandy, nice of you to drop by and leave a comment. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and keep the passion for songwriting burning!
[...] April 25, 2008 by Jeremy (This post is reproduced from Jeremy’s blog.) [...]