READ: What Are Songwriting Drills?

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Scott
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READ: What Are Songwriting Drills?

Post by Scott » Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:16 pm

This is an experiment that I think is going to be really cool if we implement it right with enough participation. So here's a few example:

Someone posts a poem or a song that's not normally an acoustic song. They can include a basic tab or a chord chart or a "lead sheet" type of thing for guidance. Then each person can post their own version of the song and we can see all the ideas we come up with.

For example, record a song based off the following poem, choose whatever you want for a verse, bridge and chorus, but use the chords given.

Example

Code: Select all

A Girl by Ezra Pound

The tree has entered my hands, 
The sap has ascended my arms, 
The tree has grown in my breast- 
Downward, 
The branches grow out of me, like arms. 

Tree you are, 
Moss you are, 
You are violets with wind above them. 
A child - so high - you are, 
And all this is folly to the world.

Verse - Use only G C and D chords. (in any order)
Bridge / Prechorus - Em, G (in order)
Chorus - Any chords in the key of G.
Of course, they do not have to be that restrictive. You could have said "Play this poem inside a Say Anything song," and so they would have to sing those words over "Woe" or any other song if their chosing. You could even just post an unknown song and say play this song in an "upbeat" way or in a "Say Anything" style. There's a ton of possibilities.

You can post a tab of a riff you made, and just put it up and have people play it without ever hearing it and without any notes (or with) about how to play it, and see what people come up with from your riff playing the same thing, but how different it may be.

You could even mash up songs together and play them and then see how other people may mash up the same songs. For example singing "Alive with the Glory of Love" overtop of "Baby Girl" by just using the words to Alive but the melodies to Baby Girl.

Feel free to even just post you doing a melody and the chords and asking others to do their own versions and improvise and embellish the melody/part.

Finally the coolest part is when we write songs together in this forum. That is what I hope this eventually evolves to.

I really would love you guys to take control of this and be creative. You have done a great job with tabbing Say Anything, and I think we should move in new directions in our musical endeavors as a community.
Self-inflicted or not, I find myself on the farthest star, foreign to everything like I woke up with a German tongue.

Mackdaddy
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Re: READ: What Are Songwriting Drills?

Post by Mackdaddy » Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:50 pm

This sounds really interesting. Though this site seems a little dead. :(

Hopefully it'll pick up though. :D

Already have a good idea for this poem.

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Scott
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Re: READ: What Are Songwriting Drills?

Post by Scott » Sat Feb 27, 2010 8:49 pm

post it in a thread! and yes this section definitely is not going as well as I'd hoped.
Self-inflicted or not, I find myself on the farthest star, foreign to everything like I woke up with a German tongue.

DhamaBum
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Re: READ: What Are Songwriting Drills?

Post by DhamaBum » Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:37 pm

Indeed, id like to get into this more and bounce idea's off people and that good sstuff but there's not a lot of imput

I few weeks ago I typed up a whole thing on the C-A-G-E-D guitar scale method, but something messed up and I lost it and didnt have the will to do it all again but I'm thinking of doing to soon, it's an awesome method for figuring your way around the fretboard and definitely was the 'missing link' for me in terms of putting everything together on the guitar...

geetar_grl
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Re: READ: What Are Songwriting Drills?

Post by geetar_grl » Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:59 am

This sounds likw a REALLY cool idea! Sadly, I don't think I have the (non-existint) balls for this, since I can't sing. XD Hmm, mabye I can give it a go soon, though.

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Re: READ: What Are Songwriting Drills?

Post by drugshavemymind » Mon Oct 11, 2010 7:03 am

DhamaBum wrote:Indeed, id like to get into this more and bounce idea's off people and that good sstuff but there's not a lot of input
Yeah, I reckon like someone posting up like lyrics or a tab or even a recording or some parts to something they're writing and getting thoughts/help would be cool. Though I guess we're all scared of it getting plagiarised.
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Scott
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Re: READ: What Are Songwriting Drills?

Post by Scott » Mon Oct 11, 2010 9:13 am

drugshavemymind wrote:
DhamaBum wrote:Indeed, id like to get into this more and bounce idea's off people and that good sstuff but there's not a lot of input
Yeah, I reckon like someone posting up like lyrics or a tab or even a recording or some parts to something they're writing and getting thoughts/help would be cool. Though I guess we're all scared of it getting plagiarised.
You don't have to post original stuff though, you can just make one out of songs that are out there for us to just play with.
Self-inflicted or not, I find myself on the farthest star, foreign to everything like I woke up with a German tongue.

OneHeartAtATime
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Re: READ: What Are Songwriting Drills?

Post by OneHeartAtATime » Mon Oct 18, 2010 6:55 pm

Also, hop in the shower, that's always when you think of something genius and are wet and too far from a pen. Ha. Works like a charm!

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