Songwriting

I never know where the initial source a song will stem from. It may be a line that hear. Maybe, something I read, or other music that  inspires me. I will usually start with writing an idea on the top of a page in my note book and start free writing.  I never know where it will lead me. I never try to even figure out what it’s about. After I have written enough dialogue I sift through it. There is usually a central theme that stands out and I circle it and then figure out what is the strongest for the chorus and what mirrors it for the verse. I will usually edit it down and then re-write it to amplify or accent the chorus or theme.

Next I will take my guitar and put together some riffs to use and some basic chord structures. I am a big fan of the classic 3 chord hooks.

The song needs to be strong on its own standing. The production alone can not determined how strong the song is.  I feel that  you should be able to play a song acoustically and have the same excitement as the “produced song”. 

The next process  is to record the acoustic rhythm guitar part to a click track. This will allow the song to have a center. This is followed by the bass line.

I love texture, I choose to use  loops to provide me with the rhythm texture and for percussive reasons. I feel rather than starting with a live drum and adding I will choose from a vast  number of loops to have the metric timing for the track. Then I will proceed with the live drums to be set with it.

Electric guitar can be tricky. I feel that the right part or line needs to be matched with the sound. This can be clean, distorted or even psychedelic depending on the feel of the song. In some songs I like the electric guitar to be upfront and others to stand back. The electric guitar can push a song into several different directions and I like to be sure it’s specific to the song, what I want, and what the song needs.

Recording the vocals is the fun part for me. I like to do a reference track early on in the sessions. I will take it home and listen to it a number of times and break it down and see what sounds right and what needs work. Sometimes I will eliminate whole sections of songs and rewrite them melodically or even lyrically. On a couple of occasions the scratch track has been  the lead vocal. I think that sometimes you get the rawest performance earliest on in the session and I never erase the scratch track for that reason. Sometimes if a song is too rehearsed it will lack personality. I’d rather have some slight flaws in a song that to have a completely pristine vocal.

After I cut the lead vocal I cut all the background vocals.

Then it comes time to mix the song. I am there for 99% of it. Everything is scrutinized and picked over. Sometimes I will add parts  and a lot of times I will have parts taken out. I will run whole takes on to masters with 2 or 3 parts against the leads. I usually  throw down  3-4 different versions with different vocal levels. The mixing can be the most excruciating part of the process. It ends when it ends and no song is ever really done. It stops when I feel it has peaked.

My psychology of songs is like children. No matter how much direction you may give them they are destined to be who they are. They have they’re own life and there is a certain amount of manipulation that you can give them but ultimately they will tell you who they are. They have different needs and accomplish different things. From writing to production some will be easy and others may be a little challenging. I feel the best songs are the ones that just come. Its like waking up and having a gift on your doorstep.