Writing music

Blackjack

Hi I am hoping some of you might be able to give me some advice with regards to writing.

I currently suffering from severe anxiety and depression that I don't really have an outlet for. However I am finding that writing lyrics are actually quite helpful and therapeutic as well as enjoyable. I would like to be able to turn these lyrics into songs but have no idea how to go about writing the music. How do I find the inspiration? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

so sorry to sound like such a no-hoper !! 

Grunfeld

Hope you're getting some treatment for the anxiety and depression.  That is a suffering which can be alleviated.
Songs
It's not too difficult to produce a song -- you can be quite formulaic about it and it will be an okay song (probably not a great song but it will be okay).  All that's required is to understand the formula of the type of song you want to produce.
And, to be honest, that's  not a bad place to start.  Start with a formula because this doesn't need inspiration. 
Different genres have different formulae.

DulcetJones

I'm coming in on the opposite of the music, I don't sing or write lyrics, but I write songs.  But here is an observation that may help you, I'm in a band that has a guy that writes both the music and the words.  Sometimes when one of us plays a chord progression we wrote he will just start singing whatever comes into his head until he has at least one line that has a melody that works and then we all go to work turning it into a song.  We've sometimes pulled two reasonably good songs together in one session before.  If you can find even two chords that work together for you try this yourself.  I don't know how much you know about song structure but they can be as simple or as complicated as you want.

Blackjack

Grunfeld said:

Hope you're getting some treatment for the anxiety and depression.  That is a suffering which can be alleviated.
Songs
It's not too difficult to produce a song -- you can be quite formulaic about it and it will be an okay song (probably not a great song but it will be okay).  All that's required is to understand the formula of the type of song you want to produce.
And, to be honest, that's  not a bad place to start.  Start with a formula because this doesn't need inspiration. 
Different genres have different formulae.

Thanks for your reply.  I am getting treatment for the anxiety and depression but it's a long and bumpy road sadly. I will get there eventually. 

Thanks for for your help both of you, it's much appreciated. 

kin

https://autochords.com/

Hi @Blackjack, try the link above, choose a key and it will give you a few common progressions , press play and you can hear how those progressions sound. It might help as a starting point for writing your own.

thecolourbox

Having also had problems (still do occasionally but less so) with similar things to yourself, I can definitely recommend song writing or any other creative outlet that interests you as a way to help things for you. Sometimes it'll only help a bit, others a lot, others it'll frustrate you, but it'll definitely be worth it overall.

Some tips I might suggest for general song writing and composing may or may not work for you (and others who've heard my music might even be dubious whether they work for me!) but I think it all helps you setting your own creative scene, different ideas can provoke your own ideas and you can see what works or doesn't for you.

1. Definitely start simple, you can always make stuff more complicated afterwards or reuse lyrics or tunes or chord sequences again later on when you've improved in time. Restrictions are a good thing, don't see them as a reason for frustration. When you are restricted you work with what you have, which is much more creative and rewarding than eating every sweet in the shop half heartedly.

What style or styles of music do you want to write?

2. I found I was much better when I knew what I wanted to achieve from it - I needed to start doing it for my own catharsis, to create something I was proud of for myself,  almost to answer questions I was asking myself. That way I was trying to write music I liked, not as previously where I was trying to make music that was acceptable to people around me. As a result, now most people don't hear most of what I write, I can be selective and share what I feel happy sharing. This has been quite important I think that I have gained more control over it as well.

3. Music wise, as in chords and tunes, to an extent that's kind of down to you. As others have said there are certain song structure formulae you can use but generally it's down to what you like or don't like. But a blank piece of paper is the hardest to start painting on isn't it, so maybe find a song with a decent simple chord sequence you like, and play it in a different rhythm, keep trying different strumming patterns or whatever you like.

4. I do similar to the above with lyrics too - my most recent effort started off with me using the rhythm to a White Stripes song's lyrics but not the tune, I then found it a lot easier to put a different tune to it and it sounds very different. I knicked a Strokes chorus rhythm but again used different notes for the chorus.Here it is in fact:

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/95904/a-couple-of-new-recordings-from-me-may-i-ask-feedback-please#latest

5. Be honest with your lyrics. You'll be a lot prouder of the end result if you do.

6. Last one as I've gone on a bit. Some people will say you need to regularly finish off songs, as in don't leave things half finished. I'm not so certain you need to finish songs all the way through (and if your mind works like mine, often what's going through your head at the start of writing will change a million times before you get to the end!) but I would definitely encourage you to try and finish the verse/chorus/section all the way through as a) you never know where you might be able to splice that in later on, and b) it'll improve your phrasing of tunes a lot more as you'll be writing a whole tune that starts from point and goes to point B.

benmurray85

Mate take pride in the fact you can write lyrics. I dare say most of us could string a few chords together and eventually work them into a song of sorts. Not many people can write lyrics, I gave up long ago when I realised I was bloody rubbish at it!

If you struggle with the musical side of it why not work the lyrics into poems? Or team up with someone who can put a tune together and then that leaves you to concentrate on writing the lyrics, you could do this as online collaboration if the thought of working with someone is off putting?

Either way youre doing something creative, proactive and worthwhile to battle your problems so fucking good for you. If the mood ever takes you to chat to a stranger over the internet about anything that effecting you my inbox is always open (so to speak)

Roland

thecolourbox said:

.. Some people will say you need to regularly finish off songs, as in don't leave things half finished. I'm not so certain you need to finish songs all the way through.

Finishing what you start is a good principle for most things in life. It doesn't apply to song writing, or many forms of art. Songs are a voyage of discovery. You can draw a close to something, and then return to the theme again, sometimes years later.

Rox

Roland said:

thecolourbox said:

.. Some people will say you need to regularly finish off songs, as in don't leave things half finished. I'm not so certain you need to finish songs all the way through.

Finishing what you start is a good principle for most things in life. It doesn't apply to song writing, or many forms of art. Songs are a voyage of discovery. You can draw a close to something, and then return to the theme again, sometimes years later.

The first thing I ever wrote on a guitar (a melody on just the treble E string) has been swishing in my head for 26 years.  And it's only in the last month it's ended up in a composition...!

Grunfeld

Rox said:

The first thing I ever wrote on a guitar (a melody on just the treble E string) has been swishing in my head for 26 years.  And it's only in the last month it's ended up in a composition...!

You're not Axl Rose by any chance?

Rox

Not ginger, no...

BigLicks67

Try singing the lyrics acapella and then when you establish a melody you are happy with you can then apply the chords to fit the melody.
I've heard McCartney used this method a lot.

Blackjack

Hi there guys.  I just wanted to let those of you who so kindly commented on this old thread of mine know that you great input has not gone to waste. Shortly after I started this thread my dad passed away and I have not really done anything much since, music wise or other wise. However I am now trying to get myself back together and the writing is featuring in that so I will be making use of and trying out your great suggestions. 
I am still butting heads with anxiety and depression.  Some days it wins, other days I do, but I am still facing the battle. 
Thank you so much for all your suggestions, I am going to start using them! 

svejk

Sorry to hear that @Blackjack, but well done on your journey so far, and good luck. My top tip is to keep a notebook and write any scrap that comes into your head - it might be a lyric idea, or just an observation. I often find looking back through this is a good starting point for inspiration. Often lines take on a different meaning when you look back through them. Also, why not try writing prose? You can worry about finding a song in it later - maybe a phrase will stand out, or lead to something? But getting your thoughts down in any form might be a good start (and might also be helpful to you?). Maybe it will also help to write in character. The 'I' the song doesn't have to be you, although there might be a lot of you in it. It can free you up to explore things that aren't exactly you, but are inspired by things you feel or think. Oh, and personally I am very suspicious of rhyme. I do use it of course, but sparingly - I hate it when you hear a song and there's a word that sounds like it's only there because it rhymes with something else! Anyway, enjoy and good luck...