From here, you can take any approach you like. The amazing thing is you have so many options. I have tackled songs from many different directions, like lyrics before music, music before lyrics, a cool riff to work around, or an interesting chord progression to get the song jumpstarted. I’ve come to learn that the songs are fresh and different.

Most recently, I decided to try my hand at writing music based off of lyrics, which I’ve never done before. It was tough, but the end result was fabulous. I’ve never written chord sequences as ambitious as this one. The reason is that before I always wrote music first. In such an approach, I wrote music that was well-structured and for the most part a typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus pattern. But with these lyrics, I didn’t write them with a structure in mind. I was basically writing a story. That meant that I had to establish a musical structure that would accommodate the story in the lyrics. As a result, the way the song was moving around was unpredictable, taking all kinds of unexpected, unique paths, music-wise. Whatever was happening in the story, the music had to give the right feeling. Not only that, but the vocal melodies had to fit the vibe, spacing and timing of the lyrics correctly. Sure, I had to modify the words here and there, but I honestly didn’t make many changes. It makes for some interesting chords/hooks that I otherwise wouldn’t have come across.

Again, these posts are not about how to write songs, but about the process of how I write songs. They’re really preaching that there isn’t a correct way to write a song. You can come up with your own methods, but just make sure there is a solid foundation for you to work with, whether it be from your natural sense of music or knowledge you gain from practicing/studying. Then you simply write and get better with experience. For some, it won’t be pretty in the beginning, but you’ll surely surprise yourself if you keep at it. Yes, just keep at it!

To me, the key to lyrics is to not try too hard. Just let the mind flow and write. Write a lot. Try different ways to write. Rhymes. Short lines. Long lines. A narration. A conversation. Be realistic. Be over-the-top. Be explicit. Be vague. The point is to have a lot of variety. Over time, you will have a lot to work with. Some of it not so good, but some definitely with potential. You’ll also get better with time! I seem to find less throwaway material nowadays.

You want to make sure you can put something down wherever you are. I keep a book as well as a private WordPress post where I can write my thoughts and ideas down. Feeling creative at the office? Open up that Notepad! Have a crazy story pop up in your head while on the train? Save a text on your phone! Woken up by such a spectacular dream you need to make sure you remember it? Keep that pen and paper by your side(though this has never happened to me. Once I am sleeping, I am OUT. By the time I come to, I don’t remember any dreams too well)!

You will never know when inspiration comes. Always be ready. Write, write, write!

Well today, I can say with confidence that I’m able to write songs! And you can too! I’m not saying that there is a way to be as good as your favorite musical artist. Sure, you potentially can, but some people out there are just more gifted in the art than others. But really, anybody can write a song. I have a lot to improve on, but I am getting better by the day. So I’m going to share a little bit with you. Remember, this is certainly no expert’s guide to writing songs. This is just my personal experience and how I learned my ways.

I think first things first: you need to have at least a little bit of music theory knowledge to write music. And I don’t mean ‘proper’ theory, like what you learn from taking music lessons and reading textbooks. Sure, that can definitely help you get jump started. And I actually recommend it. Doesn’t mean you have to though. It’s tougher, but you can certainly learn on your own. I took that rough road by never having taken any guitar lessons before. I figured out basic chord patterns and seeing musical trends just by covering songs. I followed that with learning basic open major and minor chords like C and Am. I also memorized the A minor scale by heart. What used to be just a set of strings and a bunch of frets now looks like a partially complete diagram that continues to be filled in. All this adds up to a foundation good enough to write at least some music.

In my opinion, no matter how you go about learning an instrument, just as long as you spend time with it, you’re bound to learn some kind of ‘theory’. That means if studying proper musical theory is not your thing, no problem. Some of the talent out there never learned scales and are doing fine. They rely heavily on feeling and what they hear in their head for their music. These intuitions are built from listening and discovering what they love in music and then applying it. That to me is considered possessing music knowledge. A fine example is Omar Rodríguez-López of the Mars Volta. His sound has a such a weird, distinct vibe and that really is a testament to him not following the rules but just taking from what he digs in music. It also partly has to do with what’s going on inside his head, which can really give someone his own unique sound. Depends on how crazy the orchestra in your listening mind is.

Writing music should be somewhat random, but not completely random. You want it to be spontaneous because that makes it interesting, but you want it to be musical as well. That’s where knowledge comes into play. Think of it as a way to help bring out the music inside you.

So always listen, play, practice, study, etc. Knowledge is your window to the music writing world. The randomness is already within you.

Part 2 to come shortly.

This time around, I plan on just waking up in the morning and check out a few stores. See if there is anything left. If not, oh well. Or maybe I won’t even go to the stores. Maybe I’ll just check Amazon and I won’t even have to deal with the crowds.

Then afterward, I will play some good ol’ flag football! Yessss

I hope everyone has a happy happy Thanksgiving.

Discarded: Black Friday

Having one day off is strange. I really don’t know what to do with this single day because it’s so unusual. Most of my friends are working, so it’s most likely going to be a day to myself.

I remember last year I was sick and work was being done on the house. With all the noise, it was like a loud, relaxing day at home. The next day, I called in sick. But I didn’t stay home. Yes, I’m a rebel like that. There was a music workshop in Emeryville with guest speakers from all over the music industry. They gave attendees an insight on how to be successful in a really tough business. This was also a chance for bands to submit their music to be the opener for a well-known Christmas gig. We decided to turn in one of our older demos, but alas, it was not meant to be. We didn’t even make it through the first round. Still, I was glad to be there for the workshop itself.

Since Veterans Day was Tuesday last year, I went back to work on Thursday and Friday. It was like an extra weekend. I can’t complain. But no work-skipping this time around. I have no reason to. I’ll just enjoy this day off and be ready to work on Thursday. Random, but nice.

Discarded: Veterans Day

For that short moment, I really was.

Man, I love being American.

Discarded: Burgers

The title I made for this entry is not an attempt to be creative. I’ve just been a little obsessed with this new Muse song called Unnatural Selection. Upon first listen, I actually found it a bit generic and the song sounded like many recycled bits of older songs. I now realize, 2 months later, that that’s not true. This is in fact the Muse I love. Sure, they’re leaning toward more accessible-sounding songs, which I quite enjoy actually. At the same time, they still make songs like this where the composition can be quite off-the-wall. Initially, the song seemed to consist only of pedestrian parts that didn’t try to be unique or fresh. But I see there’s a lot more to it after learning how to play the song. For instance, I just don’t understand how someone can make a rather simple guitar riff sound so quirky and so right at the same time. I can’t even imagine coming up with something like that. I can get a sense that Mr. Bellamy sometimes takes a writing approach that is not so much theory and rules but more of going with the flow. This song has everything – A killer riff, a slow, mind-blowing bluesy section, some System of a Down-style background vocals, and a seriously mean METAL outro that Jack Black would enjoy bopping his head to. I guess I like my music bombastic and over-the-top. I admit, I actually thought Muse was starting to lose it with both their writing abilities and live act. But judging from this song and live videos of this song, I am starting to think I am way off. I cannot wait to see them again!

Ah, I was afraid I was going to ramble on about something. I could probably continue on but I won’t. I tend to do that. And when I do that, I think people could care less about reading through it all. I don’t blame you. Well, actually I do. Too bad!

So there you have it. My first entry. Look forward to more questionably interesting topics!

Discarded: Muse