How do great artists write music?
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If it as simple as following a tried and tested method every one would be doing it.
Subjectively, you need to find your muse; something to inspire you. Grab a concept, and let the words flow to describe how you feel.
Of course, you may need to accept that you're simply not a creative-type and it's not for you.
Let's start with the obvious: why do you want to write it?
Subjectively, you need to find your muse; something to inspire you. Grab a concept, and let the words flow to describe how you feel.
Of course, you may need to accept that you're simply not a creative-type and it's not for you.
Let's start with the obvious: why do you want to write it?
Soldato
I can apprecaite and enjoy music, but I have no idea how to write it. I'm listening to some Led Zep at the moment wondering how on earth these people came up with their ideas?
Fairly well known story to this mate, nabbed from another site:-
". . . Robert described the 'automatic' nature of the lyric: 'I was just sitting there with Pagey in front of a fire at Headley Grange. Pagey had written the chords and played them for me. I was holding a paper and pencil, and for some reason, I was in a very bad mood. Then all of a sudden my hand was writing out words. 'There's a lady who's sure, all that glitters is gold, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.' I just sat there and looked at the words and then I almost leaped out of my seat.'" (Stephen Davis, Hammer of the Gods, p. 164)
"He [Robert Plant] often remarked that he could feel his pen being pushed by some higher authority." (Stephen Davis, Hammer of the Gods, p. 262)
Soldato
That's one word for it. Dodgey as springs to mind!
How weired! Post 666!
Anyway, on that theme, haven't read it all but interesting stuff all the same - clicky
How weired! Post 666!
Anyway, on that theme, haven't read it all but interesting stuff all the same - clicky
I can only write good songs during a moment of inspiration. It's strange, when I'm feeling a particularly strong emotion after something has happened, I just try and think of a melody and one appears in my head. I then have to record myself singing it, so I don't lose it (which I only started doing after having lost twenty plus good tunes 
). Sometimes I compose the whole piece in my head, pick up the guitar and play it, sometimes I just have a tune for a chorus or verse, and have to work out the harmony and attempt to write the other sections.
I have found though, if I have to create something from scratch, it's very difficult and rarely produces anything that's any good. All of my best tunes have been of the moment and have required very little effort to write.
). Sometimes I compose the whole piece in my head, pick up the guitar and play it, sometimes I just have a tune for a chorus or verse, and have to work out the harmony and attempt to write the other sections.I have found though, if I have to create something from scratch, it's very difficult and rarely produces anything that's any good. All of my best tunes have been of the moment and have required very little effort to write.
"Inspiration" is indeed the word. To 'inspire' is to breathe in, so with inspiring you are taking in the spiritual influence from someone or something and reproducing it in a cathartic context. Writing without inspiration is certainly doable but the results generally aren't as good. A lot of musicians need inspiration to produce decent material.
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Soldato
Usually doodle around on the guitar for a bit and eventually I'll come up with a chord progression I like. You do need to be in the right mood and feel inspired though.
But emotion is, in itself, a link to a higher or lower plain of existence. What you're doing is wording your spiritual connection in a way that can be understood on a causal level. This is why it ends up sounding good [generally] because it's a connection to something higher.
True, we've all come up with many throwaway chord progressions.
Well, given that I don't believe that there is anything higher, I wouldn't say that it's the case with me.
Soldato
Hahaha yeah I made that sound a bit simplistic. I guess the art of songwriting then goes on to - 'Well that's a good chord progression, is it a chorus, verse or bridge? OK, doesn't it work better if I arpeggiate that and play this in half-time'
I guess I think of it a bit like sculpture or building a dry-fit stone wall. You cut off the rough edges, and see which bits fit best and which bits you throw away. You then also need to be able to walk away and stop-tinkering, or risk things becoming overly complicated.