Why Do You Write Your Own Music?

[nickture]

I think i'm one of the 'strangers' here on this one between the many electronic producers.

My style of working is rather old school music with instruments. Even were i for instance use hydrogen for drums i still fall back on that old school drumming and the sound i want to get.

I'm with you on that sentiment. I usually only use virtual instruments out of necessity (my wife probably wouldn't be terribly thrilled with me buying a drum set when I don't really know how to play it very well ) or if the style of music I'm writing suits it.

[nickture]

I never was able to do covers. Very early I played some well-known guitar licks and friends would go "aaaahhh" then I'd say quite shortly well, that's all I know. And I never digged deeper in 'perfectioning' playing other people's tunes, nevermind learning them.

Very early I created stuff. In other words, the pleasure and fun I had was to do stuff out of nothing. Maybe because I was not able to do covers ? If I would have went the cover path, would I still be creating as much ? Don't know.

Cheers.

I enjoy doing the occasional cover here and there. I've also started experimenting with what I call "character pieces". This is by no means a new thing at all in terms of songwriting; what I mean by "character piece" is that I think of a setting and create characters with specific roles in that setting. I'm basically telling a fictional story that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with my personal experiences. This is a new tool for me in my evolution as a song writer and I'm finding that it's really opening up a lot more possibilities for me than just writing songs about my experiences, thoughts, feelings, etc. etc.

For example, I just started working on a project I can only describe as "scenes from winter in the countryside". It's going to follow two significant others (bf and gf, husband and wife, something along those lines) doing mundane everyday things against the backdrop of their love for one another. Stuff like driving home after being away from one another for a while, going for a hike together, etc., all enhanced by their deep connection to each other. It's probably a pretty played-out style but it's one I'd like to try my hand at

[Michael Willis]

I ask myself this same question, sometimes when I feel like a fraud that can't compete with "real" musicians. I had a moment recently when I remembered a twelve-year-old me that dreamed of making music in an amateur home studio. The technology for home recording has become really affordable over the years, and now I'm at a stage in my life that I have been able to cobble together such a studio. I owe it to that naive twelve-year-old to live that dream. Who cares if I can compete with "real" musicians anyway? That's not the point, the point is that I'm living my dream.

[jonetsu]

Quite often music tells a story, even if it's not explicit, especially with instrumentals. Not all instrumental music does, although as soon as there's some kind of progression, of instruments in and out, of chords and tonalities, there's a story somewhat being woven. There's motion. After improvising for instance, listening to what was done, if one focuses of what the story could have been, then it's possible to accentuate it further and refine the music so that it becomes more defined for the listeners... even though we might not even know what the story is about !

[GMaq]

Hi,

Great topic, loving the variety of answers and experiences,

I write original material and also unabashedly play covers (covers have bought a lot of gear )

Like many others I can't explain why the urge to write is there, it's just an urge that won't go away until the song is produced like an itch that needs scratching. I think many would say it feels like somewhat of an external phenomenon without a tangible explanation..

I also think it is sort of an extension of the rationale for playing covers, often covers are selected and learned out of an admiration and appreciation for the talents of the original artists it also follows that original material comes out of a want to take something that has inspired you and take it further or add new facets to it or just generally make more of a particular sound or genre you authentically enjoy..

I also believe there is a huge difference between playing a cover by simply parroting what the original artist did or playing a cover by re-interpreting the original artist's work in a way that is genuinely you, sometimes interpreting covers is a great stepping stone to getting to a new plateau of writing your own material.

[nickture]

I also think it is sort of an extension of the rationale for playing covers, often covers are selected and learned out of an admiration and appreciation for the talents of the original artists it also follows that original material comes out of a want to take something that has inspired you and take it further or add new facets to it or just generally make more of a particular sound or genre you authentically enjoy..

I also believe there is a huge difference between playing a cover by simply parroting what the original artist did or playing a cover by re-interpreting the original artist's work in a way that is genuinely you, sometimes interpreting covers is a great stepping stone to getting to a new plateau of writing your own material.

+1 on this, I feel exactly the same way about covers. I've only done a couple, and there are some others that I'd like to do in the near future. Honestly, doing covers has helped me in multiple ways ranging from learning better tracking and mixing techniques in my DAW (Ardour) to learning how to write more coherent song structures.

I agree that there's a huge difference in just emulating note-for-note and tick-for-tack another musician's original material, but for me personally sometimes it's nice to be able to focus on DAW techniques (and even some musicianship!) when a song is already laid out for you (in terms of structure, lyrics, instrumentation, etc. etc.). When I first started pretending to be an audio engineer I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed and scatterbrained trying to learn how to hone my workflow and DAW skills at the same time as I was trying to write music that wasn't totally confusing and crappy.

I hope to (one day...) be able to take a cover and be confident enough to make it my own and interpret it my own way. I think that's a sign of maturing musicianship there (Nirvana's "Man Who Sold The World", Joe Cocker's "With a Little Help From My Friends", and the list goes on and on and on...).

Again thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts, it's been great reading for me!

[jazzbassoon]

Why do you write/create your own music ?

Because no-one else will.

Best,

dp

This somewhat describes it for me, although my perspective may be somewhat unique. I'm an electric bassoonist, and let me know how much music you have found for that! There are a couple pieces, but most of the things that people are doing with it are their own creations. The genre is very new and it just isn't out there (yet). To be able to play the music I'm finding I'm going to have to create it or pay someone to create it, or steal from other instruments. Sometimes what you're looking for just hasn't been created yet!

[Dominique]

- Because I was never interested to play like someone else
- Because it's fun
- I learn a lot doing so

Even with covers, I begin by listening all the different versions I can find and I end by doing my own arrangement. As example, for the Alabama Song, I started by reading the original Kurtweil piano score and figured out the chords and rhythmic for a single guitar accompaniment. The chorus was the easy part but some of the resulting chords in the verse have completely silly names. I finally get something with is really funny to play, very different from other interpretations, and easily recognizable.

[Digital Larry]

I feel a bit like a fraud musically, even though I probably shouldn't. I am not a virtuoso at anything but can play several instruments fairly well. I pretty much stick to folk/rock/blues stuff but sometimes I come up with riffs that wind up being in weird time signatures, and loving Zappa, I like to try to piece some of that together.

I could (and do) sit around and just play for the enjoyment of playing. But I want there to be some permanent record of it, which is why I record. Recently I had a bit of an epiphany which was to "go simpler". Can I write a tune that has only 4 chords that is still fun to listen to but doesn't directly reference anything (at least, that I'm aware of)? And the answer is "yes".

Writing music is just one of the outlets for my creative energy. It might seem strange, but at times, writing software has also been a target of creative energy, although the goal is to make something that DOES a particular thing, rather than just to be listened to. I'm not real outgoing about making people listen to my stuff, because I think it makes them uncomfortable since they think they need to say "yeah, that's great (cough), well look at the time, gotta run..."

[thumbknuckle]

I'm trying to bring something beautiful in to the world. For my personal and evolving definition of 'beautiful'.

The world needs beautiful things, I believe I have something to offer, and no one else is going to do it for me.

Just trying to pull my own weight when it comes to humanity and our shared culture.

[merlyn]

I think all creative work is taking what's inside your head and bringing it into existence outside your head.

It was the cover of Tago Mago by Can that gave me this idea.



What's inside the figure's head is coming out as speech. Things that can't be put into words come out in other ways.

But why? Well, maybe I'm curious about what's inside my head.

[tavasti]

Wrong answer would be 'because I can'. I can't really

Real answer is 'beacause I want to try'.

[nickture]

I'm trying to bring something beautiful in to the world. For my personal and evolving definition of 'beautiful'.

The world needs beautiful things, I believe I have something to offer, and no one else is going to do it for me.

Just trying to pull my own weight when it comes to humanity and our shared culture.

I totally understand what you mean! For me, I'm not quite so good at describing my emotional states with words so I generally like to stick to just plain old storytelling. I get a lot of enjoyment building a little world in my head and seeing it "come to life" when I illustrate it with music.

[StonyCat]

I tried to copy what i Heard inside my dreams, with synths or a digital keyboard... Hearing those not réal compositions after was relaxing like no other music i've Heard before i thought... Could become my new playlist... And so it that's not often i have music in my dreams but i wouldn't miss to have it on a disk after. That's why... Listening once again to few notes i Heard when sleeping is relaxing me lot.. Even sounds from my nightmares... That makes me smile cuz i know i'm not asleep anymore... This shouldn't be in the air.... If you want to take the time to write another "not réal compo'" at morning and want to check how you do remember the "sound" from your very Last dream... Why not ! You May too i mean. And that's why too... You're not me...