hi guys, how do you write songs,riffs or whatever?
for example i have 2 ways

1) its the rarely happening one,and its like i get a sound in my mind,wich grows and grows until i have to compulsively play it,it used to happen when i was a kiddo but now past the 25 to now 33 it happens rarely

2) i keep noodling and noodling and noooooooooooooooodling until something wich capture my attention happens and i try to elaborate it,usually it ends with nothing more than a good riff.

do you have any ritual or tips wich helps you stimulate your creativity? once you get a good riff how you use to elaborate it into a full tune?
lets discuss if you like

I try to find a song I REALLY like that no one has ever heard, and I plagiarize it.

Kidding aside (and great question by the way), my creative process varies in some ways, but certain things stay the same.

Melody is vitally important to me, but so are chords. Typically I start with a chord change I like and let the melody be born out of it. I'm a bit of a 'thinker' in that regard, so when I have a chord progression I like, I typically am aware of the countless other songs that use the same progression. This doesn't bother me, as it shouldn't. But I will often try to find one thing I can change or voice differently to make it my own.

I also often have a model of a song I like I may be patterning after; but genre is not important. For instance, I love the work of producers Mutt Lange and Dr. Luke, and while my little instrumental ditties will never have the marketability of their work, I strive to be as concise in my parts as they are.

Some songs I build the entire rhythm track from scratch with only a rough sketch of what might go on melodically. However, my current song I am working on (which is taking forever!) I am working on all parts simultaneously. I'm hoping because of this when I do finally start recording, it will go quicker.

Some musician friends scoff at building a track without knowing the melody, but not only are many hit songs written that way, I do have a sense of the 'straight line' I want to achieve from start to finish.

Since I record all the parts myself, I do countless run-throughs so I can get it as live as possible. It is my goal to record the parts as if they were played live from start to finish, not punching in sections. I try to limit the number of takes to 3 or 4, but it's usually 5 or 6 (and has been up to 25!).

Then I edit together one good take, do crossfades if necessary, and yes I may even quantize.

But to be more concise for me, it's usually:

1) find chord change I like
2) determine a 'feel'
3) find basic drum loop that fits
4) put together structure, for me usually typically pop song structure
5) MELODY!
6) add drum changes and fills
7) practice parts
8) record parts
9) mix
10) not listen to the song for a year since by this time I'm sick of it!

i "hear" the song in my head. as i jam to the music, i start singing along with it and i let the melody kinda write itself. once i get the timing of the words (how many syllables per line), then i start actually writing the words down.

next i try to find a hook for the chorus. without a hook, the song is basically lost. in my formula writing opinion; the listener should be almost singing the chorus by the second chorus. it should be somewhat familiar, like an old song that they just can't place. so yeah, it's basically subconscious plagiarizing. lol. like Bruce Lee said....."i teach you all of this so that you will forget it and just flow".

fun thread. sorry for such a long post.

I really stink at melodies, hooks and riffs. Huge mental block. I have to create everything around it and them pluck these things out of the air. I have many songs in various stages of completion. One needs patience enough to let a song fester until an idea comes along that will complete it.

OK, so I almost always start with lyrics. I write about almost everything and anything. Sometimes while writing the lyrics, a song or two will pop into my head and kind of give me a temporary melody. If not, no biggie. I'm never rigid with my lyrics when I go to create the song because I never know what the song is going to leave me with. (too fast, too slow, phrase doesn't work anymore, etc)

Next up is either guitar or drums. I cannot explain why I choose drums when I do or choose to play guitar when I do. Sometimes I find that beat & sound I want in EZDrummer and that becomes the musical base. I then put together a song skeleton. Almost no fills, very little intro at this point and maybe an outro if the drums style dictates it. I create my verses, choruses, bridge, pre-choruses,, etc, and save the MIDI off and record one stereo track of basic drums for now. I have recently introduced my energy changes into this phase as it's easier than going back.

With the basic beat going, I play a bunch of guitar rhythm, until I find a few things that I think I like. Somewhere in there I decide on the bass-line and record first pass at that. Most guitar done before bass is really part of the song-writing phase more than song creation and recording phase.

After the bass is played (sometimes MIDI into bass VI) and recorded, I re-visit my guitar ideas and re-play needed.

At this point, I've got beat in the form of basic drums and the bass going and some rhythm guitar all going along well. First pass vocals time.

My first pass vocals is me singing, very poorly, my lyrics. It's an exercise in finding out what will work and what will not work. I let the vocals fester as I attack the rest of the song.

Next up are any fills, leads and solos that fit with what I have for vocals so far. If a nice melody has come along, I might exploit it a bit. I'll also go back into the drums and add fills, better define and normally finish intros and outros and fix any levels issues with cymbals or anything.

Some sings I use a pad. I don't do it automatically. sometimes it near the end that I decide to use one. Maybe it's just in some spots or maybe the whole song. If it's MIDI based VIs using some sort of strings or synth patch, I'll often create it for the entire song or even do a few varieties. If I've waited this long, though, it's done with a purpose in mind and I stop when I've got it.

I do a mix-down now. Yes, before my final draft vocals. My voice is big and thick. I've yet to have to re-mix a song because I changed vocals. I know I have to dig a big ditch to plow my horrid vocals through. I do my bounce, show a few people for notes and employ what I like form the notes, ideas I've had along the way and sing and re-sing my newest version of the vocals.

That's about it. I will let it sit still for a month or two and give a listen with fresh ears. Sometimes I make some changes and let it sit another good little while.

So, that's my song creation process. It fits. I'm dealing with a surgical head injury & Migraine situation, so I am often limited on what I can do at any one time due to noise levels and thought capacity. I normally have a song I'm finishing up, well in to and several that I'm just starting. I've got at least 60-70 songs that I've identified as ready for the studio and another 50 or so written to various degrees.

Oh, in a new and odd twist for me, I was noodling out back for the puppies on my beater acoustic and came up with an intro chord progression that could also work as an early verse and jumping off point for the rest of a song. it looks like I'll be making one starting with guitar idea rather than lyrics, some other song or drum software.

Back in the day, when I used to compose, I almost always started with a chord progression followed by a rough structural arrangement. Scratch lyrics were usually used while I composed the melody.

As this progressed I would start arranging the instrumentation. Parts were being recorded throughout the process which may or may not be kept for the final version.

When the lyrics and melody were finalized I'd record them and continue to tweak the arrangement. Sometimes a new structure, or at least some changes, would be called for but often enough the song would be written to the structure I initially laid out and that's the way it would stay.

It seems that since I've become a graphic artist - around 15 years ago - that's where my creativity went, and I've hardly composed or written anything since. But I still love to play and continue to do so for much of my income.