5-minute song ideas

Freebird

Does anybody play this game? You press record, then try to come up with multiple parts in 5-minutes or less, typically rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass, keyboard, and melody line for a verse and chorus section! I've got some useful ideas in around 3 minutes, without the bass and keyboard parts.

I've found the creative spark doest last for very long, so you have to make the most of it!

Who's got some more idea generating tips?  

Funkfingers

I have had occasions when the majority of the ideas for a song have arrived in very short order BUT this tends to happen under circumstances when I was not actively trying to create riffs or songs. I can not tell you how many minutes this process takes because, when it does, I am too wrapped up in getting parts recorded to worry about the passage of time.

The five minute limit is an interesting intellectual exercise, if a little contrived. In the majority attempts, I would expect the resultant music to sound contrived.


My suggestion for computer music creation is to download trial versions of software synthesizers and loop replay "instruments". I just muck about without recourse to the manual. Sometimes, something unexpected but usable emerges.

A recent example of this is Output Arcade. In this, it is possible to layer up loops to arrive at a percussive backing track. Save the backing track as audio. Edit, cut and paste it in a DAW. Play something over it. Output Arcade is very good at what it does but it is not really my preferred modus operandi. I shall have to cancel before the free trial period ends.

Freebird

I get you point about being contrived, but these are just streams of consciousness, they need to be edited and rearranged later. 5 minutes is an arbitrary number, it's usually less than that, or it could be more. Output is a great company, I've been experimenting with Movement on guitar tracks. It works great with delay and reverb plugins.

Funkfingers

What does sometimes work out is when the initial part is contrived but the things that you add on top of it take the Project to a new place. Mute the underlying (and, possibly, contrived) part. What remains could prove to be interesting.

Freebird

It gets easier over time. I have a templates setup, the chord progressions are already in my head, and I am aware of the root and dominant note positions at all times, so I have full musical control. I forgot to mention that I use loop record for each section, so I can stray from the first take if I want to.

Furthermore, I leave it alone after its done, and return later to critique it. This way it's easier to declare a hit or a miss 

Yep, any guide tracks could and should be removed if they don't fit.

PolarityMan

I would struggle with this as I tend to want to quad track all the guitars, which means ill blow my entire 5 mins tracking like 4 bars

Freebird

PolarityMan said:

I would struggle with this as I tend to want to quad track all the guitars, which means ill blow my entire 5 mins tracking like 4 bars

Just increase the BPM a bit