Do you write music? If so, do you have a checklist? You know, things to do and in what order to do them in? No? Well, maybe having one might just make your job a little easier. Or maybe not. I’m going to weigh in on the composer’s checklist with my own opinion. See if you feel the same way.
We all know that every once in a while you’ll see down at the keyboard or in front of the computer with Finale or whatever composition program you use and nothing comes to you. I mean you’re mind is as blank as a high school chalkboard in summer.
So what do you do?
Well, you could go to Woofie’s and pick up a ham sandwich and some chips. Or you could get out the composer’s checklist and try to walk your way through it.
And just what is this composer’s checklist you ask?
Well, that’s the first problem…identifying it.
See, not everybody has a set way of doing things. And if you asked them to write down a list of things that they did when normally composing a song, each person would come up with a different list.
For example, some people like to start with a good lyric. They feel that the words will dictate the feel of the song itself. There is something to be said for that approach.
I mean, think about it. If you did it in reverse and came up with a snappy pop tune in a major key, would you then write lyrics about how your dog just died? Okay, well, you might if you wanted to do some kind of comedy record. But for the most part, the music is going to dictate, to some degree, what kind of lyric you’re going to write. Well, the opposite is definitely true. The kind of lyric you write will pretty much dictate what kind of music you’re going to put to it, more or less. Yes, you still have some wiggle room. But sad lyrics eliminate snappy pop tunes.
But, just as some people start off with a lyric, others can’t do that. The reason is because the rhythm of the lyrics locks them into a specific rhythm for the music and sometimes that gets awkward when they want the melody to go a certain way and it can’t because one of your words is two syllables too long. I hate when that happens. And that’s why I seldom write the lyrics first. It’s much easier for me to fit words to music than to fit music to words. That’s why it’s so hard for me to work with a lyricist and why I’ve never been successful doing so.
Yeah, songwriting isn’t easy. But back to our checklist.
So right off the bat, we can’t even agree on whether we write the lyric or music first. Of course, if we’re writing an instrumental, which a lot of royalty free music is, then we don’t have this problem. But we have other problems.
Like what you ask?
For starters, again, we’re staring at a blank canvas. We have no idea what to write. Now, with royalty free music, you are looking at writing for just about any genre imaginable. How do we decide on which one to write for? Some base it on how many tracks of that genre they already have on their site. They write for the ones that have the least material so they can build up that section of the site.
Here is the problem with that strategy.
I don’t know about you, but the reason those genres have the fewest tracks on my site are because they are the ones I am least comfortable writing for. If I wasn’t uncomfortable writing for them there would be more of them. Make sense?
So if I’m going to go that route, I’m actually saying that I am now going to write a song and make it harder for myself than it has to be. Now naturally, if you need to write that genre (you have a custom job to do) then you have to bite the bullet and do it. But if you don’t have to, why knock yourself out?
Other people will literally toss a coin to decide what they’re going to write. I have a whole random generator system that I can use to determine all sorts of things about the song I’m going to write, including the instrumentation. Yeah, that’s one crazy way to go about writing something. Now, if only I can remember where I put it. I know it was in a spreadsheet somewhere but I have no idea where. Why? Because it’s been a long time since I couldn’t think of something to write. See, I’ve trained myself to be able to come up with a tune almost on command. It takes time, but if you practice a lot, you can do it. Especially when you want to crank out a lot of tracks in a short period of time.
Finally, after you’ve decided on what kind of song you’re going to write, then there’s all the little things like tempo, key, instrumentation and so on. What do we decide on first? Do we first pick a tempo? Do we first pick a key? Do we maybe decide what instrument(s) are going to play this tune? There are so many ways to go about the process itself.
So, as you can see, making a songwriting checklist, while maybe helpful to some in some cases, can be a daunting task in itself. And then what happens if one day we wake up and realize that our checklist is actually holding us back or that we no longer like doing things in that way? Do we make new checklist? More often than not, when you’re about to compose a song, you won’t do it the same way each time. I know I don’t. So why would I want a checklist to confine me to a certain way of doing things? Doesn’t that stifle creativity?
What are your feelings about the composer’s checklist? Good, bad or indifferent?
Inquiring minds want to know.
For The Love Of Music,
Steven “Wags” Wagenheim