Songwriting - How does your band do it?

Malice

I'm just curious how the rest of you that are in bands handle the writing of songs. Do you have one member who plays the Billy Corgan-style dictator defining everything about all of the songs or do you take a more democratic approach?

In the last band I was in that wrote a bunch of songs together we took a totally democratic approach to writing things. There were three of us so any disagreements were settled by a vote . It's funny when I look back at songs that I came up with and what they turned into once the rest of the band got a hold of them.

My method of writing revolves around the computer. I'll generally start out noodling on the bass or the guitar and if I stumble across a riff that sounds interesting I'll throw it into a tab editor and flesh it out a bit over a few bars.

Before any smart arse points it out, I'm well aware there is a Songwriting forum . I think this thread is better off here because I specifically want input from users who are in bands and I don't think we're going to be offering feedback on songs or anything like that.

MC707

In our band we had 4 songwriters out of 5 members.

We came up with some decent stuff. Our best song was something the singer came up with the basic chords for and lyrics. Then rhythm guitar and drums were added which turned it into a rock song. Then bass and lead guitar were added a few months later which made it even better. Sounded like a spontaneous collaboration even though it was far from it.

On the other hand some great songs were written all by one person. For example our guitarist could play some drums so would give a demo with all the instruments on it already, all it needed was everyone to add little bits here and there.

From my own experience, IF everyone is willing to put effort into everyone elses songs and have a little foresight, then collaborations can be great. However, i find that certain band members have egos and this can stand in the way of a very good idea becoming great cos god forbid it would be better than theirs!

Furious-Red

With my current band , Usually the guitarist will come up with a riff in the rehearsal studio then we start just jamming it out for a bit. Then the singer will come up with lyrics . We will mess around with it for a good while trying to get the song to flow.

Everyone has their own input in the song . We did have a guitarist who came into the band and had some great songs but he only wanted each song to be played his way and wouldnt really let people have their input and then in turn he wouldnt learn our songs , all he wanted to do was his own song.......lets just say we quickly parted ways with him :p

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Esy

I'm a big fan of the saying "A camel is a horse designed by committee." I'm not really a big fan of giving everyone input into every song unless it's for something I have no ideas for or don't really care too much about, such as the lyrics. If I've written a song and the drums and bass are a certain way in my head, then that's how I will expect the finished article to sound. I'll listen to ideas alright and incorporate any I think are good but generally the song has to sound the way it is in my head.

Exmnk

Yea I'm afraid collaboration isn't all it's cracked up to be, my songs are my songs! Ok if people are spontaneously coming out with ideas, but if you have to encourage someone, forget it.

flameboy87

Songwriting all depends on the individuals involved. Some people can work with others, then there are a few who can only work alone, whether its because of ego or being close minded to the ideas of others. The latter is something people should grow out of if they want to be in a band, otherwise they should just go solo.

As esy says

If I've written a song and the drums and bass are a certain way in my head, then that's how I will expect the finished article to sound. I'll listen to ideas alright and incorporate any I think are good but generally the song has to sound the way it is in my head.

This is the type of attitude of someone who should work alone on there own songs. Otherwise they will find themselves switching bands time and time again because band members will get fed up with 1) being told what to play the whole time and 2) not being allowed to offer their own input.

I know this because i used to have a slight attitude like this. Recently I have found myself in a band that I am really enjoying, simply because we all get our input, everyone can offer their own opinions and most of all, I am allowing the other band members the chance to mess around with any songs I have written. It makes the songs have different influences by each of the band members which can add to the variety of the band rather than be a one trick pony.

I'm not saying what we write is better than anyone else, but I have learned that if you want to write successfully and enjoy being with a band then you have to let go of being close minded.

Malice

I play the guitar and bass to a reasonable standard. I tend to do my writing with the guitar but I've tended to play bass in most bands and jams I've had over the last couple of years. As a result I'll usually have a good idea of what I'd like a song to sound like on those two instruments. If someone can improve on what I've put together then that's fine but rather than telling someone what they've done is crap or something I think it pays to be a bit diplomatic.

Certainly there's no harm in sticking to your guns with the direction of a song but in a band situation unless everyone's happy with one person calling the shots it will doubtless eventually lead to tension.

flameboy87

Yes I agree, tension will quickly rise. If you have a dictator in a band like that then it ain't really a band in my opinion. Its more like a musician and his/her session players.

I understand that maybe you might have a direction that you might want the song to go but a rule we have in our band is that if someone has an idea we'll try it. No matter the idea. If it works then all well and good, and if not then we disregard it.

It means that songs that I intended to go one way have changed because there is an open minded approach to the songs. For me, I think that's the key element to songwriting.

Then again, maybe I'm wrong :P

shefellover93

In our band usually we just bring in lyrics and a few of the guys might be messing around with riffs and stuff, then we just bring it together at practice and see what works with what. I never think of drum riff's, they're always just made up on the spot really :P