Another bump

Last bump

usually start with a cord progression
add melody in the same key
smoke pot
forget what i had
listen to pink floyd
repeat

>>60376893

Hard to answer this question without writing a wall of text.

All of the above. The more angles I approach music at the more I come up with ideas I wouldn't have come up with if I only had one method of writing.

Sometimes I can come up with an idea rather quickly, sometimes my writing is a bit more labored. I can go on and on but...I'll keep this post succinct.

>>60376893
i start by fooling around with an instrument
working out chords
melody comes afterward

usually just playing around till I find chords I like and then start singing random lines.

once I have a few lines I'll find a verse/chorus progression and then I'll sit down and actually sit down and think of lyrics, usually based off the random lines from beginning

>>60376893
I do either of what you've mentioned, and others. Was going to write a wall of text, then realized thread needs bumping.

I typically come up with the melody first, or at least a cool motif I could try to make into a melody, or a neat scale I could use for a melody (the pentatonic scale is when I want an easy little melody quickly and cheaply. I don't know how Dvorak makes them so compelling, though).

Sometimes I think of an unusual chromatic chord progression to set a melody to, but to be honest this tends to be the least productive method for me, at least for coming up with a melody I like.

After that I approach it from various angles. How would a different instrument play/sing it differently? How enjoyable would it be to listen to, and to perform? What accompaniments or countermelodies does this melody suggest?

It usually comes to me in the shower or when I'm walking or when tuning out in some public setting. I'll think of the vox and chords at the same time. Then I'll sit down and try to make the chords I hear in my head and sing lyricless hums and they'll eventually start to take shape into actual words. Then it becomes like a full idea and I either know where it's going right there or maybe I have to sit on it for a while and think about it. I might also have other ideas I've already come up with and realize two ideas go together, but that's rare because I'm usually pretty brutal about it and will admit it doesn't sound natural even if tonally and musically it fits. I'm sure this is how most people write music.

bump, until the next composition thread this is all I have at the moment,