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Author Topic: What Inspires You to Write a Song?  (Read 8419 times)

DudeReadThis

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What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« on: 01 Aug 2012, 20:34 »

I've been playing my electric guitar lately, and been coming up with some....meh, ok tunes.

What inspires you when you composing music? For me, I just play around on the fret board, picking some random cords until I start stringing some together that sound decent. My problem is that I start falling back to the basic power cords, which sounds ok as kind of a filler, but for real "hooks", I try and mix in some true cords.

Tips?

Also, I feel like I need to state my setup, how minor it is. I have a Fender Stratacaster with light blue body, Line6 Spider IV15 amp, and I use a Line6 Backtrack+mic for recording.
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IDMG

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #1 on: 01 Aug 2012, 21:11 »

Insomnia, usually.
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Bearer

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #2 on: 02 Aug 2012, 00:47 »

that, and usually whenever my bassist friend comes over.  Usually just fucking around on the fretboard with someone else is enough to launch a 3 hour writing intensive jam session.
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idontunderstand

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #3 on: 02 Aug 2012, 02:18 »

For me it's less about inspiration and more about just sitting down and doing it. I don't see what your setup has to do with it, but I'd advice you to try to realize your ideas, no matter how stupid or weird or just plain normal they may seem, as far as possible. Like, if you hear drums than try to figure out a way to realize it.
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Lummer

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #4 on: 02 Aug 2012, 03:53 »

Getting angry.
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Melodic

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #5 on: 02 Aug 2012, 13:05 »

As silly as it may sound, I pull a lot of inspiration from particular sounds I'm able to achieve experimenting with my guitar. For example, this song basically wrote itself after I discovered a really unforgiving roomy reverb sound in one of my pedals. Then it's just a matter of letting my guitar do the talking.
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And if you played too hard it'd flop out and dangle around by the wire and that is just super ugly

Kwaping

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #6 on: 02 Aug 2012, 14:49 »

As a gear-head, I can definitely relate to the equipment-based inspiration model!

I haven't really written anything, but I think I've come up with a few neat hooks while just noodling around. Boring response is boring.
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DudeReadThis

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #7 on: 02 Aug 2012, 15:12 »

I was more of an audio tech years ago, before I started playing music seriously, so not bored here. :lol:
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Melodic

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #8 on: 02 Aug 2012, 18:15 »

Hey, thanks tuathal! If you take a look at the album on Bandcamp, all of the equipment I've used is listed there. For the most part it's just a TC HOF Reverb on Room mode, and a Roland RE-20 echo unit. Tuning is FFDfCf.
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And if you played too hard it'd flop out and dangle around by the wire and that is just super ugly

Kwaping

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #9 on: 03 Aug 2012, 12:18 »

I just traded for a TC Electronics Flashback, and it is very inspiring. I was mini-Edge for an hour after plugging it in. :D  Perfect example of gear-based inspiration!
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Patrick

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #10 on: 08 Aug 2012, 09:45 »

Girls.
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Kwaping

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #11 on: 08 Aug 2012, 16:08 »

I was just listening to a best-of ZZ Top album. It's amazing how horny those guys are/were.
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VonKleist

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Patrick

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #13 on: 20 Aug 2012, 11:53 »

I very much like your chord changes. You do the whole thing yourself?
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VonKleist

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #14 on: 20 Aug 2012, 12:43 »

Thanks. I came up with the chords changes and rhythmguitar, but it was more of a country-ish/rolling stones affair and changed in the process. Bassist came up with the answer/response-thing.
Oh, I also play the harmonica!"

I was listening to "Dead Flowers" a lot at the time and that has a C-G-F sort of chord change but I like it better with G minor.

I wish a had a newer recording because I think the chorus-part sounds much better now with a sort of decent-ish thing with the singing.

It´s hard to explain :psyduck:
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Zingoleb

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #15 on: 24 Aug 2012, 22:57 »

I just get random inspirations and write them down as they come when I get the chance. A lot of times I'll lift things directly from things I'm watching or reading and change it around (and I mean fuck it - DyDlan does this, Lennon did this, I'm in good company).

Then later on when I'm trying to writ, I'll go through pages of random lines and ideas and pull things out and try and work out what fits together. Sometime it ends up working well in an almost disjointed way, bu flows nicely, and that's usually the best.

It'll be great fi I ever get to a poin where people are trying to figure out what I mean and I'm just ripping off random Terry Pratchett nobels.

As for music, I just noodle and noodle and noodle and every once in awhile I make some good fucking pasta.

With botticelli sauce. I'm not sure bittoicelli was even an chef.

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VonKleist

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #16 on: 21 Sep 2012, 02:37 »

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-bob-dylan-tempest-plagiarism-critics-rolling-stone-20120913,0,7293630.story

Dylan's Robert on plagiarism concerning "Modern Times".

Quote
“In folk and jazz, quotation is a rich and enriching tradition,” Dylan said. “That certainly is true.”

Then he quickly ups the ante.

“It's true for everybody, but me. There are different rules for me. And as far as Henry Timrod is concerned, have you even heard of him? Who's been reading him lately? And who's pushed him to the forefront? Who's been making you read him? And ask his descendants what they think of the hoopla. And if you think it's so easy to quote him and it can help your work, do it yourself and see how far you can get.
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Thrillho

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Re: What Inspires You to Write a Song?
« Reply #17 on: 20 Oct 2012, 04:48 »

Either being fucking miserable or having a collaborator to compete with.
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