Song Writing (from brainwaves to a recording)

So you have a tune rolling around in your head and you want to get it out for others to enjoy?
This is my approach to making that tune come alive.
It is not the only way to do this, but for those who want to try this for themselves, I've outlined my own approach to writing a song.

First off you must have an idea of a song rolling around in your mind, or perhaps you came up with a riff from playing around on the guitar? Now it beacons to you to come to fruition!

Step one: Record!

Simple first, Hum the tune and snap your fingers or bang some pots.
It does not matter if you are out of tune as you hum, and its ok if you are not perfect in your timing.
You just want to get the first step out of the way and this is it.

Step two: Beat!

Over your finger snapping or pot-banging, you definitely have a tempo worked out.
I approach the song with a simple Kick+Snare. If I get into my DAW, I’ll use a simple drum program:
Put a Kick on 1
Put a Snare on 3
Hi-hat on 1, 2, 3, and 4

In some cases you might want to get a bit more interesting. But for the sake of simplicity I look at it as a throw-away beat to be replaced later.

Step three: Basic Chords or Bass

Using the melody you humm’ed out, if you are using a DAW with pitch adjusting capabilities, it’s a nice feature to use to correct your pitch, this will make it easier to get the correct Chords or Bass-line figured out.
Which you use (do first) is entirely up to you. Some people are better at picking out Bass notes than chords.
Always start simple, all of these “takes” will be thrown away and replaced, unless you are really good at getting it down.

Step four: Refine Melody

Melody is taken up by the Vocals, Guitar or both. Sometimes its keyboards or even the Bass. Whatever you are using (or using a combination) start working on it.

This should get you started on the base of your song.

Step five: Replace with new refined recordings.

My approach from here on is to get a good Drum-beat worked out and solid.
Then Build the Bass-line now that you have the Melody and the drums to bounce off of.
Once that is done, Rhythm Guitars are then composed over the chord structure, using the Drums and the Bass to work against.
Now is when I usually record the vocals. This will allow the voice to take on the melody and work with the beat of the song.
Lead/Main Guitars are then used to fill, drive, accent and build. Try not to clutter over the vocals... less is more.


Mixing the entire song is another topic, but for now, just getting the song out of your head into something someone else can hear is our goal.

Try different variations of my suggestions, everyone is different in how they write.
For me (and Rock songs that I write with Guitars, Bass, Drums, Keyboards and Vocals) This seems to work best for me and has given me the best results at constructing a song. This gets me to my goal, getting the sound in my head, out to everyone else.