So, how does one go about writing a song?
I can only speak for myself, but this is my process -
I always think of a song as a poem (rhyming or not) set to music.
You can of course just have music without words,
which then just becomes "instrumental".
And of course, you can also just sing with no musical accompaniment.
The Words
So, I started out for a long time just writing a poem now and then
when I wanted to express some feeling at the time.
But, eventhough you can put feeling into the words when you say a poem,
it still remains basically a statement.
The Melody
Then when I wrote the poem "Shimmer",
(see my blog entry, Song - "Shimmer")
the feelings seemed to transcend up into another level
and a melody to support the words came into my head bit by bit
as I developed the verses,
so that it became a song.
The Musical Instrument
I've had musical instruments before, and I never really used them much,
they just sat in my room doing nothing.
But, when I bought my ukulele,
I also bought a book on how to play it,
and eventhough I've only glanced inside it,
getting this piece of information and that,
my understanding of how to play the instrument has really taken off.
So, if you do have a musical instrument or are thinking of buying one,
I advise you to buy a book on how to play it,
eventhough you don't have to learn everything in it.
Or, undertake a course in how to play it.
Playing around with an instrument
has stimulated the flow of songs from me.
From an instrument (depending on what sort), you can find -
- The Melody The sequence of individual notes that tell the story
- A Chord The group of notes that support and include
the individual melody note
- Bass An additional sequence of supportive notes,
played in a deeper (lower) tone (notes)
What comes first ?
I've only written 3 songs so far, but with -
"Shimmer" The words came first,
then the melody
"Tintagel Shipwreck" I started with a melody,
and the words followed
"Dreamscape" The bass came first,
and then the words and melody came second
So, anything goes !
What happens after that ?
So, when you start to have a better idea of what your song is,
you should write it down, or record it in a sound recorder.
In the days when pen, paper and sound recorders were not available
it was the bard's duty to memorise all poems, stories and songs.
I think this is a specialist skill which only some people possess,
so, thankfully for the rest of us, we can record them in some way
without the danger of forgetting those elusive words and melodies.
At a later stage, I'll do a blog entry called
"Writing a Song - Technical"
on how to write down a song
in some basic formats.
Happy tinkering :)
(c) Katherine Stuart 2015
