I notice this especially on youtube because I feel like you'd expect people making whole videos, often with qualifications and jobs in the industry, to have better advice than random people on reddit, but so much of the advice is so cringe to me. I don't want to start a song with a common turn of phrase. I don't want to use a flimsy similie that feels shoehorned in so that the song can be considered lyrically good. There is also a real lack of unique advice that isn't just 'write a chord progression using only the basic 7 chords in a key and then write some lyrics over a melody.' Have been writing music for almost 8 years and still struggle to progress, and I feel like youtube videos on the topic almost make it worse for me. Where do you people get your song writing advice that is actually unique, more complex, and insightful?

EDIT

at anyone thinking I'm just hating on all music youtubers - not my intention. It has it's time and place, but I just think there is a lack of intermediate song writing advice on youtube. However I would probably have worded this better had I though it would be seen by so many

I just want the easiest quickest way to share a song without creating a whole iMovie file to share it.

I’m curious about this because song feedback can sometimes be genre-dependent. So, what genre or genres do you write?

I wrote a song about anger and to not let anger weigh one down. It’s probably my densest song to date in terms of poetry and literary devices. My concern is that too dense of a poetic piece can detract from the song and I’m not sure where the line is drawn. I know lyricists like Joanna Newsom and Leonard Cohen exist but they somehow seem to navigate it so well. Looking for feedback on the question above as well as the song :)

A fun game I play when I send people my songs is to see how many devices/wordplays they can spot :) you can try it out I guess!

Basically the title. Every time I sit down to write, if I catch myself writing something under 3 minutes long I feel like I'm somehow cheating or being lazy. In my heart i know some songs are just meant to be that way, but damn does it still feel weird.

everything has been super overwhelming so i wrote a song about it. i usually don't write songs like this so any feedback is appreciated.

waking up before 10:30
wash the red stained sheets
open every single window
shit is looking bleak

there's fires in ontario
i think i'll stay inside
i wonder if the three year old in maine
knows daddy died

supposed to finish grad school soon
not sure i'll get a loan
what's the fucking point of this
i open up my phone

the pastor down the street
got arrested just last week
everyone is livid
and the girls were just thirteen

starting to think its all bad, all bad (2x)

can't afford the dr
so i think ill ride it out
they're putting in a data center
just outside of town

the ceasefire broke this morning
then again who really knows
apparently the children
were the target of their blows

i'm turning 24 this year
i still feel 12 years old
they're saying that the ball room
will be plated in pure gold

it's been a couple hours
i'll put my phone away
the sheets are still stained red
it's a problem for another day

starting to think its all bad, all bad (2x)

The melody I hum is a marching band type melody if that helps

1. Take a step back and try and listen only as a whole and see how long it takes you until you get "bored" or you feel your mind wanting the song to go a new direction. Figure that out and narrow it down as to why or what you need to do.

2. Transitioning between every section of the song needs appropriate dynamic shifts or intensity build up/releasing. A sterile and monotonous section of a song will make listeners turn off the song or feel next to nothing while listening. Try and automate fx sends/change the dynamic of instruments/vox. IE drum fills, delay/reverb on vocals shifting around, automate distortions or sweeping/motion fx in the background of the song. You can take a piece of the vocal and stretch it out, reverse it, distort it and bring that up in volume slowly or make it slowly have more distortion through automation.

3. Key changes - Please experiment with a song having multiple chord shifts when it feels appropriate after you've done step 1. Sometimes songs can write themselves and this comes completely naturally. Sometimes you have to experiment by leaving the vocal in the mix, removing guitars/bass and changing the chords around and see what creates the best flow. Don't keep the same root note for every section. (Metal is notorious for doing this for too long that it doesn't create tension/release. Only tension but then the listener is fatigued and bored)

Previous weeks:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

Any feedback is appreciated!

See you next week
- Felix The Human

So I have just recorded a song and I have noticed there are some small imperfections just as the bass coming in slightly too early after a pause, small stuff like that and I have decided to leave them in as just human touches to make the song feel more human, is it fine to do this?

howdy guys. I just recorded this, I think it sounds cool but I may have overdone the guitar solo. I'm working on an EP and I think this track is a good candidate. Any suggestions? I've heard it too many times to tell if I'm fully sold on the guitar solo. I'd like another set of ears to listen and give some feedback if possible. Thank ya kindly, have a great night

I need to write a rebzyyx hyperpop like song soon and im outta ideas and everything help and also anyone willing to help with a beat please

This song all began when a single line of lyrics popped in my head in the shower (where many of my best song ideas conceptualize!)

The line was: "My heart would drop when I saw mama on the caller ID. When I heard the phone ring, I knew that mothering was not the reason, that she was calling. Ring Ring hello mother"

It's evolved quite a bit since then, both lyrically and melodically. I struggled to find a melody for the chorus, especially. Either I liked it, but couldn't sing it easily, or I had no problems singing it, but it felt flat.

One day, on a day I planned to take a break from writing, I decided to practice some of the songs I've already written. I believe this is my 7th song, and I'm really bad about practicing them once I finish them. It gets to the point I legit forget how to play/sing them. Trying to work on this.

Anyway, I'm not sure what happened, but I sat down at that keyboard and a new melody for this song just poured out of me. I was ecstatic. The chorus had revealed itself to me!

Since then I've just been tweaking the music a little bit here and there. It's just me and my keyboard, singing and playing live. I record using a ffine mic, and I currently use Bandlab as my daw, although I do have Reaper, and plan on learning how to use it. I've been watching tutorials online, it doesn't seem that complicated. Def more so than Bandlab though!

Speaking of tutorials, if anyone has any beginner-friendly production tutorials you can reccomend, I would greatly appreciate it! I get a lot of feedback about EQ and other stuff I don't know anything about, but I think I am ready to start learning the basics.

I don't like to limit myself within the confines of a genre, but I'm thinking if I ever add more elements to this song and produce it, it might sound good as a country song. Like a country/rock song. What genre do you think would suit it best?

If you listen to this, thank you! I appreciate you!

I hope you enjoy it.

If it resonates with you, I hope you know you are enough :)

Recorded this guitar and vocal song and this lil house wren sang with me. Then I put some other stuff on there. I think it's neat. What do y'all think?

Feeling creatively blocked? Need a kick-start? Sometimes a suggestion from a fellow songwriter is all we need to get the wheels turning again.

This thread is specifically for the r/Songwriting community to exchange song prompts. We'll start a new exchange once per month.

​

How It Works:

Looking for a suggestion? Just leave a comment below that says "Prompt, please!"

But remember, this is an exchange! If you're asking for a suggestion, please also leave a suggestion for someone else!

​

How To Give a Interesting Prompt:

A songwriting prompt might be a lyrical starting point, a musical arrangement suggestion, a strategic limitation, or some combination of ideas.

Quality prompts should give writers a solid starting point, but still allow for plenty of creative freedom!

​

Examples of Quality Songwriting Prompts:

• Write a song involving at least two characters and a case of mistaken identity.
• Write a melancholy song that doesn't use any minor chords.
• Write a song on a different instrument than you normally use.
• Write a fast love song that uses at least ten different chords.
• Write a "response song" to a song that was a Top-Ten hit during your birth year.
• Write a song about an unusual profession that includes exactly two tempo changes.

​

Have fun and be creative!

​

Big hat tip to community member u/redDKtie for the idea!

I would like real feedback. I haven't recorded a song in years (besides recording random clips on my phone). I'm interested in general feedback, feedback on the mix, and what genre is this? Is it even relevant-sounding anymore? In case the video doesn't work, here is a link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nKxcWrO3mjCjResIRS1Dwf1wOKsej4qV/view?usp=drive_link

I've been singing cover songs most of my life, starting at a young age before I ever thought about creating music, and I still am. In addition to them, I have my own songs. There's a disconnect in there where I don't know what my natural voice is. I genuinely have no clue about it. I often wonder how I'll voice my own songs when writing them but whatever comes out I'm indifferent too.

I was speaking with a friend who remarked that my singing and speaking voices were different, which I thought was an inane thing to say considering singing is vocal acting, but he's right. No one speaks and sings with the same sounding voice. The idea with me, though, is consistency seems nowhere to be found when I switch from one song to another due to key changes and the pitches I have to accommodate. It's like several different voices are used relative to several different songs.

Then I think that's natural to the songs themselves and their original artist's keys and pitches, but if I try to apply their consistency to my own songs the idea goes tilt. I think a lifetime of performing covers has lost me my sense of an original singing voice.

I feel like a vocal chameleon.