Great video! Thanks. I’m going to apply some of these ideas to my creative processes. I want to spend January making some music and posting it every day, a riff, a melody, something every day. “Jamuary” I suppose, then “Finish February” where I hope to finish a few songs based on the ideas generated in Jamuary.
Love the tip: *'Come up with lots of bad ideas.'* When I teach people guitar, I tell them "Start off by making 1,000 mistakes." Success in any area is built on a foundation of the mistakes you've made and the lessons you've learned from them. Part of figuring out what works is knowing what doesn't work - and why. *Side Note:* I'm working on 'Take My Life' from the 50+ Song bonus material in your Home Studio Mixing course right now. I've had that repeating guitar riff running through my head randomly over the last three days. Repetition has that stuck in my head like glue. Lol !!
Joe I absolutely love your singing and you always give practical advice in your videos. Number 3 of singing gibberish, chants and adlibs is something I have always done since I started writing songs in the 70s. I never thought of it as nonsense, only a way to hash out ideas for melodies for my grooves which is something I’ve always been good at. I think doing that really sparks your creativity. Not every gibberish adlib/idea works but sometimes I will come up with a chant, line or word phrase that’s so vibey that it would almost force me to keep it to complete a lyric or melody whether it’s for the lead or background vocals. Sometimes a string of actual words will spring out of these chants and become the basis for the topic/subject of the song… 🎶🎶🎶
I totally support that 4th tip. I bought a series of 30 day challenge books a few years ago and one of them was to write 15 songs in 30 days, essentially you had to be strict with the deadline and finish one every 2 days regardless of whether or not you thought it was any good. The idea was that stops you procrastinating or spending too much time trying to write nothing but perfect songs. Looking back at them today 5 of them I still think are really good songs and probably another 5 have the potential to be when I get around to re-writing them.
great exercise. i have so many ideas. there they sit. if you wrote 5 good songs in 30 days, that is massively productive to me. Throw away or use for spare parts all the other songs, and just use that method for your material. if you started performing the good songs live, your rep would improve even faster. pro in no time. i know i know AI is coming. So what? It just means UBI for everyone. And all of us people who like to listen to good material, your stuff will still be interesting. Especially if you are doing it live. It is difficult to know if people will actually turn out to hear a live band of bots. I doubt it.
Pareto distribution never fails. I use that same idea for all portions of writing. Most rhythms, leads, beats, bass lines, etc aren’t the end result but they put you on the track. Not that I’m great at it, but it’s usually better than the beginning ideas
Excellent advice as per usual Joe. I do the nonsense lyrics too. Sometimes thay are quite sureal. "Weld me to a tree, Lettuce farming in Brazil, ankle socks with enormous trousers. " Keep up the good work. 🙂
I love that from Josh so simple. I lived in Miami for a bit, that Latin groove became a favorite style of music that I love because you can add so much with short melody instrument or vocal. I lived in Miami for a while back in the 80s and it just became a style I love yo listen to. With today's technology you can do so much with it studio one has really enhance the process with which you can work with to create more out of it.
Another great video of yours, thank you! Your channel is one of my go-to’s for knowledge in music production, and even if we’re into different genres, your advice is almost always applicable. 🙏
God bless! Honestly, that's what exactly I was expecting from this channel, since before start improving my mixing skills I need to find out how to write music itself. It's not that really intuitive, as some new musicians could wish, there's a whole music theory. It's like a science 🤔 To make something great we all need to be like Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff. It's a serious thing
STRATEGIES 1. 0:55 - Repetition is your friend: 1. 2:47 - Take the melody up at the chorus: 3. 5:25 - Allow for some silliness in your songwriting sessions: 4. 7:18 - Come up with lots of bad ideas:
Some great tips there! I especially like the idea of creating multiple melodies (for the same chord progression? - I usually write the chord progression first). For the concept of repetition, you didn't mention the A,A,B,A melody structure or A,B,A,B, or A,B,B,A structure common in many hymns for sure, but other (memorable) songs too. This concept is especially helpful if you're writing songs you want others to sing along to, or sing together (like in church). Related to that is "predictability." Melodies that are too "creative" are not as memorable, and much harder to sing along with (if that's a goal). On the other hand too predictable is boring. Balance, right?
I would like to add an asterisk to the first tip. I completely agree that repetition is king. Let me repeat that, repetition is king. Let me repeat that, repetition is king. Let me repeat that, repetition is king. However, TOO MUCH repetition can ruin the repetition. So, use repetition, but use it judiciously. If your verse has eight lines and you repeat one melody for every line, it will get old by the third line. Break up your repetition, so it doesn't become like a bug flying around your ear. Bonus tip #5: This relates to repetition. Don't overuse parts. Just because YOU love a particular riff or melody doesn't mean your audience wants to hear it a million times. I'm in an original band and one of our guitarists is extremely guilty of this. We'll have a guitar riff that he loves to play and so he wants to repeat it WAY TOO MANY times. Sometimes, you need to hold back and let the song breathe. Save some of your tricks for later and don't reveal everything too early. If you lose the element of surprise or wonder, you've lost the listener. If the listener wants to hear the riff again, they can replay the song which is ultimately what you, as the artist, should want.
Hello Joe, I wish you and your family a happy new year. Unfortunately, your employer has decided to no longer offer Studio one as a purchasable version, but only for rent - so the customer will never own the software again. What is your attitude to this decision and how do you see it as an employee (there are other companies that don't do this to their customers) and how do you see it privately, as you are advertising on your private channel for a company that is bleeding musicians financially - instead of selling software they are now renting it out. We, i.e. most customers, have been leaving you negative comments for a long time, how long will you continue to work for this company?
First of all, they are not my employer. Secondly, you can buy it and own it that has never changed. You don’t get unlimited updates, but that’s been true for most software since the dawn of software you could buy a version seven today, and continue using version seven for the rest of your life.
▶︎▶︎ Join VIP Here: www.homestudiocorner.com/vip
Great video! Thanks. I’m going to apply some of these ideas to my creative processes. I want to spend January making some music and posting it every day, a riff, a melody, something every day. “Jamuary” I suppose, then “Finish February” where I hope to finish a few songs based on the ideas generated in Jamuary.
Love the tip: *'Come up with lots of bad ideas.'* When I teach people guitar, I tell them "Start off by making 1,000 mistakes." Success in any area is built on a foundation of the mistakes you've made and the lessons you've learned from them. Part of figuring out what works is knowing what doesn't work - and why.
*Side Note:* I'm working on 'Take My Life' from the 50+ Song bonus material in your Home Studio Mixing course right now. I've had that repeating guitar riff running through my head randomly over the last three days.
Repetition has that stuck in my head like glue. Lol !!
Joe I absolutely love your singing and you always give practical advice in your videos.
Number 3 of singing gibberish, chants and adlibs is something I have always done since I started writing songs in the 70s. I never thought of it as nonsense, only a way to hash out ideas for melodies for my grooves which is something I’ve always been good at. I think doing that really sparks your creativity.
Not every gibberish adlib/idea works but sometimes I will come up with a chant, line or word phrase that’s so vibey that it would almost force me to keep it to complete a lyric or melody whether it’s for the lead or background vocals. Sometimes a string of actual words will spring out of these chants and become the basis for the topic/subject of the song… 🎶🎶🎶
I had a lot of take away's from this. Thank you!
I think your a good teacher.its the way you describe it
Good stuff! The best rule I ever came up with was this: write. Hemingway said it, writers write. if you write you will get better.
I totally support that 4th tip.
I bought a series of 30 day challenge books a few years ago and one of them was to write 15 songs in 30 days, essentially you had to be strict with the deadline and finish one every 2 days regardless of whether or not you thought it was any good. The idea was that stops you procrastinating or spending too much time trying to write nothing but perfect songs.
Looking back at them today 5 of them I still think are really good songs and probably another 5 have the potential to be when I get around to re-writing them.
great exercise. i have so many ideas. there they sit. if you wrote 5 good songs in 30 days, that is massively productive to me. Throw away or use for spare parts all the other songs, and just use that method for your material. if you started performing the good songs live, your rep would improve even faster. pro in no time. i know i know AI is coming. So what? It just means UBI for everyone. And all of us people who like to listen to good material, your stuff will still be interesting. Especially if you are doing it live. It is difficult to know if people will actually turn out to hear a live band of bots. I doubt it.
Happy New Year to you
And looking forward for all the good information that you share with us .🎉
Thank you I'm adde
Pareto distribution never fails. I use that same idea for all portions of writing. Most rhythms, leads, beats, bass lines, etc aren’t the end result but they put you on the track. Not that I’m great at it, but it’s usually better than the beginning ideas
Excellent advice as per usual Joe. I do the nonsense lyrics too. Sometimes thay are quite sureal. "Weld me to a tree, Lettuce farming in Brazil, ankle socks with enormous trousers. " Keep up the good work. 🙂
Great voice Joe
I love that from Josh so simple. I lived in Miami for a bit, that Latin groove became a favorite style of music that I love because you can add so much with short melody instrument or vocal. I lived in Miami for a while back in the 80s and it just became a style I love yo listen to. With today's technology you can do so much with it studio one has really enhance the process with which you can work with to create more out of it.
Lovely voice, Joe ... and brilliant teaching as always 😊 happy new year, you all. Greetings from Germany 😊
If you start with the lyrics, the rhythm and natural intonation of the phrases can point you in the direction of a melody.
Another great video of yours, thank you! Your channel is one of my go-to’s for knowledge in music production, and even if we’re into different genres, your advice is almost always applicable. 🙏
Great advice.
God bless! Honestly, that's what exactly I was expecting from this channel, since before start improving my mixing skills I need to find out how to write music itself. It's not that really intuitive, as some new musicians could wish, there's a whole music theory. It's like a science 🤔
To make something great we all need to be like Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff. It's a serious thing
STRATEGIES
1. 0:55 - Repetition is your friend:
1. 2:47 - Take the melody up at the chorus:
3. 5:25 - Allow for some silliness in your songwriting sessions:
4. 7:18 - Come up with lots of bad ideas:
Happy New Year everyone!
Some great tips there! I especially like the idea of creating multiple melodies (for the same chord progression? - I usually write the chord progression first).
For the concept of repetition, you didn't mention the A,A,B,A melody structure or A,B,A,B, or A,B,B,A structure common in many hymns for sure, but other (memorable) songs too. This concept is especially helpful if you're writing songs you want others to sing along to, or sing together (like in church).
Related to that is "predictability." Melodies that are too "creative" are not as memorable, and much harder to sing along with (if that's a goal). On the other hand too predictable is boring. Balance, right?
I would like to add an asterisk to the first tip. I completely agree that repetition is king. Let me repeat that, repetition is king. Let me repeat that, repetition is king. Let me repeat that, repetition is king. However, TOO MUCH repetition can ruin the repetition. So, use repetition, but use it judiciously. If your verse has eight lines and you repeat one melody for every line, it will get old by the third line. Break up your repetition, so it doesn't become like a bug flying around your ear.
Bonus tip #5: This relates to repetition. Don't overuse parts. Just because YOU love a particular riff or melody doesn't mean your audience wants to hear it a million times. I'm in an original band and one of our guitarists is extremely guilty of this. We'll have a guitar riff that he loves to play and so he wants to repeat it WAY TOO MANY times. Sometimes, you need to hold back and let the song breathe. Save some of your tricks for later and don't reveal everything too early. If you lose the element of surprise or wonder, you've lost the listener. If the listener wants to hear the riff again, they can replay the song which is ultimately what you, as the artist, should want.
A 20% chance. 1 in 5 according to your 80/20 principle
Hello Joe, I wish you and your family a happy new year. Unfortunately, your employer has decided to no longer offer Studio one as a purchasable version, but only for rent - so the customer will never own the software again. What is your attitude to this decision and how do you see it as an employee (there are other companies that don't do this to their customers) and how do you see it privately, as you are advertising on your private channel for a company that is bleeding musicians financially - instead of selling software they are now renting it out. We, i.e. most customers, have been leaving you negative comments for a long time, how long will you continue to work for this company?
First of all, they are not my employer. Secondly, you can buy it and own it that has never changed. You don’t get unlimited updates, but that’s been true for most software since the dawn of software you could buy a version seven today, and continue using version seven for the rest of your life.
haha you sounded a lot like Ed Sheeran there
I usually have about 5 pages of lyrical nonsense til it starts coming together