Ok, so I've been scrolling through the different compositions in this forum, and I kept asking myself a question. How do you guys write your music?

I'm not asking this in the "teach me how to write" because I have my own method. I'm just trying to see what each person does.

For me, I usually do this:

1. Choose the different chords I will be working with.
2. Come up with a rhythm, tempo, and style I'll be playing those chords.
3. Come up with a bass-line to go with that style and rhythm.
4. Come up with other instrument parts for the song.
5. Write the melody.
6. Record everything onto my keyboard.
7. Record the sax part, if there is one with a mic.
8. Mix both tracks on the computer and adjust volumes and stuff.
9. Export it!

For me, step #3 is probably the most important to me, because I think the bass is like the sub-conscience of the song. I mean, when you listen to a song, you listen to the singer/melody. But if you really think about it, the bass is sub-consciencely driving the song and outlining the chords. It also sets the rhythm and mood. Listen for the bass of a song next time and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, what do you guys do?

I tend to start with a motif and a rough idea of the harmony and structure of the theme and work out the theme based on the motif while filling in the harmony. I used to start chords first, but decided that it would be a road-block in the future as it would prove quite restrictive in terms of emotional affects and character, which derive primarily from the melody rather than the chords (though the chords certainly play a rôle).

At this point in time...

come up with a melody/inspiration
ignore chords
write backup parts
hope it sounds right
go back - fix notes/rhythms
play it back
go back - fix notes/rhythms
play it back
go back - fix notes/rhythms
play it back
almost never finnish for lack of motivation and short attention span
go to different song
repeat

BUT I'm starting to figure things out more with chords and rhythms and stuff as such so my newer compositions (when/if I finnish for reason stated) should be more musically correct. Man, I wish I had room on my schedule for music theory!:lol:

If you want to learn about music theory, you've gotta check out this handbook. It tells you everything you need to know about the different types of chords, nomenclature, scales, soloing and improv.!

http://aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=JAZZ&Category_Code=_HANDBOOK

Jamey Aebersold also does a Summer Jazz Workshop that you might look into if you like that kinda stuff. But this music theory is for every type of music. Check it out.

Heh, I feel like such a newb. You guys have all of your fancy planning stages and steps for a song, where as I, well...

When I write a song, I basically just go onto whatever program I am using (Right now a demo of Fl Studio) and the write the song as I go, doing both the bass and treble parts at the same time, coming up with the melody and harmony as I go. I just wing it and make it up as I progress, but that is probably why my music isn't very succesful. XD

It varies. I'm writing a piece right now that just kind of came to me as I was screwing around on an organ. That rarely happens though.

Most of the time I start with an abstract musical idea. I pick a key I feel like writing in, and then just see what happens. I'll start adding layers as they come. My method isn't too exciting.

I have a similar method to ^... choose a key, then i think of different ideas and develop them and put them together, then cut bits out. Then i edit this draft later on when i've had a break.

btw.. off topic but the title of this thread sounds obscene.... *ahem*

1. Improvise for melody or some sort of chord progression
2. Work with it into a "song" or a "phrase"
3. Load up NoteWorthy Composer and start writing
4. Do many drafts in a little peroid of time
5. Save as MIDI --> Open with SONAR v. 4.0.0
6. Mix around track/instrument levels
7. Save as .WMA

I press a key on a keyboard, it makes a sound. I press a key after the last one, and it meshes sound.[/sarcasm]

Basically I come up with a chord progression that lasts 10-30 second, place a melody on top of it, followed with 3 or 4 different varations on that melody. My endings... Don't really exist, because they never turn out well. It might be because I don't have a set musical form (ABA, AABA, Sonata, exc).

1. Randomly sing and/or play on the piano
2. Either by inspiration or by random luck, stumble upon something that sounds interesting
3. Write ideas down on paper or on notation program (if it requires more than the piano staves) so that I don't forget
4. Sing and/or play my ideas on the piano for a while, letting it grow on me while I consider its possibilities
5. Plan out the general structure/outline of the piece (including the mood and choice of instruments) and where I want the piece to go (leaving room for modification along the way)
6. Start working on the piece, using a mixture of intuition, planning, inspiration, trial and error, always relying on my ear to tell me if it sounds good or bad
7. Repeatedly listen to what little I have from start to finish to see if it flows and connects
8. Make sure I follow the points on the outline I created earlier, and recording my notes on paper or on the computer (in the end, it all goes to Encore)
9. Perform it on the piano or record it on my keyboard's multiple tracks
10. Hook up my microphone and save it on my computer, then make editing changes on Acoustica and Goldwave

1. Randomly sing and/or play on the piano
2. Either by inspiration or by random luck, stumble upon something that sounds interesting
3. Write ideas down on paper or on notation program (if it requires more than the piano staves) so that I don't forget
4. Sing and/or play my ideas on the piano for a while, letting it grow on me while I consider its possibilities
5. Plan out the general structure/outline of the piece (including the mood and choice of instruments) and where I want the piece to go (leaving room for modification along the way)
6. Start working on the piece, using a mixture of intuition, planning, inspiration, trial and error, always relying on my ear to tell me if it sounds good or bad
7. Repeatedly listen to what little I have from start to finish to see if it flows and connects
8. Make sure I follow the points on the outline I created earlier, and recording my notes on paper or on the computer (in the end, it all goes to Encore)
9. Perform it on the piano or record it on my keyboard's multiple tracks
10. Hook up my microphone and save it on my computer, then make editing changes on Acoustica and Goldwave
Thats almost exactly what I do, except for the singing part ^_^;

Generally, just go with teh flo' ;), though there are some specifics I'll take depending on what style I'm writing in/what my goals are. Most of the time, I'll try to establish a mood with harmony or rhythms near the beginning of the piece, then build a melody from that. Occasionally, I build around a melody (in the rare cases that I devise one beforehand, or for arrangements), or motifs (I like to use motifs in many of my pieces as it's sort of a freestyle way of recapulating material) - this is especially true for my "minimalistic" pieces, where the motif serves as the driving force behind the melody, harmony, and rhythm all at the same time.

I also tend to compose in long spurts (ie, spend a whole afternoon or half-a-day to work on a piece, then not touch it for days, weeks, or even months if it's not done). Also, sometimes my pieces tend to sound a bit random because I create a neat part, but can't fit it in the context - so I shove it down some dozen meters and build something not necessarily related to bridge the gap; then again, I've been prone to delete minutes of stuff and start all over, regardless of the quality of the individual parts.

Now, after the piece is done being "composed", which in my case very rarely happens, I bounce all the tracks to seperate wave files, use Adobe Audition to mix them, tweaking EQ's and FX and such on a channel by channel basis. Then I mix it altogether, and touch up with some global effects/tweaks. Then, export to wave, and make an OGG or MP3 copy.

But since most of the audio stuff I've posted really isn't "finished" pieces per se, I tend to just render everything at once from the MIDI sequencer, and then maybe do a few tweaks globally, skipping the multi-track mixing/mastering altogether, and then I'm "done" :P.

Sit on the piano and play out a few random chord. String them together and add a melody. I never write them down because it is too troublesome which also mean I can't post any compositions here.

I mostly just go with the flow...I do everything as I'm going, though sometimes with a general goal in mind.

different methods all the time, mostly I start off by playing some silly thing on the guitar...