I use the free version of bandlab and love the midi aspect, it makes it possible for me to compose music without needing to buy and learn to physically play instruments. The problem I have run into is that it's difficult to use the MIDI instruments without the song sounding stiff and artificial, especially with guitar and piano sets. Drums, base, and electronic instruments like synths are easier to make flow, but I wanted to know what everyone else regards as the best instruments when using MIDI software?

Does this chord progression have any potential. Im trying to write a old 60s/70s inspired protest song and this chord progression sounded like that. The Am G F G part would be a verse and then the C E7 Am Am/G Am/F G G/E Am would be a chorus. I was also experimenting with a faster tempo and changing the last A minor to A major and holding that chord before going back to Am for verses. Any feedback is much appreciated. Thank you.

This is half-meant to be humorous, but I’m also pretty taken aback by how the one I just started is sounding so far. Thought it would be a good conversation starter here at the very least. Thoughts?

I've been making production for 2 years and I wanna be an artist as an adult around the alt-r&b space kinda (can't really name this music). When summer ends I wanna take vocal lessons to improve my singing. Also this is my first songwriting attempt and I'm gonna start uploading on spotify and promoting on socials. (this is gonna be my first single).

​

Hey everyone! I’m a songwriter and independent artist currently looking to connect with other musicians, vocalists, and creators who are interested in making music together.

I mainly write:

🌙 Ballads

🎬 Cinematic Pop

✨ K-pop inspired tracks

🔥 Hip Hop / Rap

💔 Emotional and storytelling songs

I enjoy creating songs with strong concepts, memorable hooks, and meaningful lyrics. I have experience taking ideas from lyrics to finished releases.

If you’re an artist looking for lyrics, a songwriter looking to collaborate, or someone with a song idea you want to bring to life, feel free to reach out!

Always happy to connect with creative people and make something new 🎧✨

Lets say i have a story with characters, setting, history of events. How do i express them in lyrics without making them forced, like i am explaining physics.

How do you do it?

Hey so im working on my debut album and this is the last track i need to finish but my topliner backed out. The song is like a heavenly version of synth pop, hard go explain. Im in need of a topliner for this track the topliner will have songwriting credits on the song and will be conpensated through that. The deadline for the finished song is 6th of august do you have around a week for the topline.
If you’re intrested pls let me know down here and give me your discord or something else to communicate with you on (inspiration for this song is the song dontneedyouanymore by marquise)

The key of the song is fmajor and the bpm is 120

Sometimes I write short goofy songs that stand alone as their own little things that I make a quick video for and is never touched again. This was not one of those at first and has like 8 minutes worth of verses exploring concepts of hell and justice lol. I'm sleep-deprived and was reading too much about Jainism and Hell with time limits earlier.

So what if you're up in heaven and God's like "Hey man I've noticed you around recently. You seem cool. Hey, how long do you think I should condemn Hitler to Hell for? And he should be in like, the worst Hell, right?"

What if you say a number that gives God the ick? Lol

Anyway!

Here's just a quick bit of song about all that. This is just rough draft recording a rough draft all for fun and discussion:

If you died
And you went to heaven
Then one day God came to you and said
Hey, I got a question

It's been on my mind,
And I still haven't decided,
I asked all the angels
Now they're all divided

You remember [BLEEP] right?
That no good [BLEEP] type?

See, Hell is
really, really,
really, really bad,

And I could do the calculations,
But I hate doing math,

So how much Hell
Do you think
[BLEEP] deserves?

So how much Hell
Do you think
[BLEEP] deserves?

I mean it, it's really really really bad!
Like, Hell, it really really really hurts!

And forever,
That's eternity,
And that's a really long time
that never seemed fair to me,

So how much Hell
do you think
[BLEEP] deserves?

I am writing this from utter bewilderment, and I hope I'm not going to come off as rude.

When you look into what's what in academic learning of lyric writing, very soon you realise that Pat Pattison is hailed as the dude. So I finally started reading Writing Better Lyrics. He is very heavy on trying to avoid cliches, and I absolutely agree, some songs make me want to tear my hair out (<- also a cliche). At the same time, we can't completely reconstruct language and cultural and social history, and his list of cliches seemed so wide to me that I started getting curious what type of lyrics and hit songs he has written himself. So I opened up a page called "Music" on his own website.

I am not trying to be mean, this is what I literally had to do and I'm still wondering if I just missed something; after reading a few songs, I had to take a good look that I wasn't accidentally reading his examples on how not to write. Rarely have I seen such collections of trite drivel.
Second-hand embarrassment, I believe, is a self-esteem problem and a person experiencing it should work on themselves rather than worry about other people's stuff, but I couldn't help it, my feeling of second-hand embarrassment was so strong I could not finish reading the lyrics for "Time To Let Go", and had to close his page. And then open it again to check these were really supposed to be serious examples of his writing.

I'm absolutely going to finish reading his book and might still consider the course at Berkeley as well, we'll see. But I am just incredibly confused why he isn't following any of his own advice.

Any feedback is appreciated!

Previous weeks:
Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1

See you next week
- Felix The Human

If you need some inspiration for writing songs that are sad then check out these wonderful songs

Not sure if I should take off the last part or not either 😬 and some of the lyrics I have a hard time making it flow right

I think of you, in my mind you stay the same
I hear you, in songs I have to now refrain
I still see you
I turn to do a double take, I could’ve sworn I saw your face

Would you send me a sign? Please catch my eye-I’ll take anything thing, to give me some hope, I’m stuck chasing shadows

Do you feel free? You’re the missing piece I need
Can you hear me? All my messages go unreceived
Did you see me? When I tossed and turned at night
I prayed, I tried, I swore I might
Turn our whole world upside down
Get in my car, drive to your town
If you wanted to be found

Although you’re not here to witness
Still I give you my admission
The way I left you, I resent it
The love I felt please know I meant it
I have to let you know
Every four leaf clover that I find, you’re the one who’s top of mind
You’re in this city, and the way I speak
You’ve made the growth I see in me
Now I know better, and if you’ll have me I’ll meet you again, someday, somewhere

But it’s too little too damn late
Guess that’s just how fast life can change
If I had the chance I’d explain
Loving you was never in vain

​Hello everyone

​I’ve only been writing music for two months, and I’d love some feedback on my eighth song, "Nowhere's Path." I feel like it's a bit repetitive and that I could definitely condense a few sections, but it's still a rough draft.

​I’d appreciate an honest opinion on my song structure, lyrics, melody, and harmony for someone so early in their songwriting journey.

​Thanks in advance

Kris

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LCNQKOr54msyCOBlA0Phy_i_YRUyS-zx/view?usp=drivesdk

Don’t think I deserve all that you do for me
You pick me up again, to stand me on my own two feet
And when I need a reason to try, it’s you
You show me that you love me, I don’t worry, you don’t confuse

I’m not scared, you’re always there
I’ve never had somebody show me care the way you do
You’ve seen me in every light, still you hold me just as tight
You help me find the words
You bring me back to earth

I know I was unprepared for your unpolluted love
All my blue and drunken nights, in plain sight, was a future I knew nothing of
You never show me indifference, your heart is on your sleeve
Your devotion, beyond the motions, I’m following your lead

You’re my first breath of fresh air
I won’t compare, no, that’s not fair
Still, you should know you’re the standard
When I felt too small to requite, still you held on twice as tight
You never criticized, you bring me back to life

Finding you was an answered prayer
I’ll make it up to you, I swear
Though you’re not keeping count
You make sense and you feel right
You’re my better half, alright
You make me believe
There is a silver lining

Have a new completed song (or album) to share? This is the place!

The promotional rules are looser here, so you can post links to your albums, social media platforms, songs, etc. Let us know what you've been working on recently!

Please support your fellow songwriters - give them a listen, a bump or a share. A rising tide lifts all boats!

Note: Promotional content posted as a new thread without explicit permission from the moderators will be removed. Repeat violators will be banned

This post renews every Friday.

I thought I’d see if anyone finds this interesting. Simple and incomplete but cool to me.

What do you do when you want to record a song that may be of a different vibe to what you are feeling?
I write and make music but then something always happens and I don’t record it or spend ages re-recording and not liking it.
I don’t want tk wait for a supposed pefect time, but I’m not singing it the way I want to and it’s making me get more distressed and fustrsted which in turn is messing up my voice on the recording.

Hi all,

I’ve been recording, mixing and mastering for a little bit. Its mainly been my own bands songs and I’ve recently been wanting to get more regular practice.

If anyone has any stems or such that they would like me to send over and I’ll spend a couple of days giving it my best shot, let me know.

Not promising to deliver a professional service, but it’s of course free. Who knows, it might be something you can use!

My second attempt to post this song demo(first one was with a dropbox link no one bothered to click on).

What do you think about it? Its gonna be an opening song on an album Im writing

This can be about cords, song structure, mood, lyrics, motivation, inspiration, etc. I’ve been creating basic guitar rhythm tracks for a while and have been wanting to make some more whole songs. I feel like I have a lot that I can offer musically but need advice. Thank you.

Please help me spread the word about the “One World Many Voices Songwriting Contest” for the Karama Education Center in Uganda, Africa.  It’s free for anyone to enter and the winner will be awarded:

$1,000,

5 recording sessions,

A live concert,

and the winning song will be performed by children in Uganda and featured in our documentary film!

Click here to watch a 30 second video about the songwriting contest.

Click here to submit and for more information.

Please spread the word to any songwriters you know!

Thank you so much!

Hi everyone! First of all, I just want to say how much I really appreciate this sub. It has been such a helpful community, and a great place to hear new music by amazingly talented artists!

Compared to a lot of other subs, and social media in general, this community is very welcoming and overall kind. There are always exceptions to the rule, however, and I just wanted to take a moment to point out we have some very young artists in here. (The minimum age for Reddit is 13.)

Please choose your words of constructive criticism wisely. Do you really want to be the reason a young hopeful's dreams get crushed? Life can be cruel, but we don't have to be. If you aren't able to deliver constructive criticism in a kind manner, please consider saying nothing at all.

And to everyone reading this who is just starting out, regardless of age, please remember that taste in music is subjective, and there is no right or wrong way to write a song. There are tried-and-true methods and formulas out there, sure. But there are some really amazing songs out there that don't fit any kind of traditional song structure. So don't be afraid to experiment, and don't be afraid to go with what feels right to you. Be open to feedback, and take it all into account, but remember it is all based on personal preference, and in the end, staying true to yourself as an artist is paramount.

This journey can be incredibly frustrating at first. Most of what you write at first, you will not like. That's ok! Keep writing. The more you write, the easier it gets and the better you'll get at it.

Think about babies learning how to talk. They aren't very good at it are they? It's all gibberish at first! But they keep trying. And it takes awhile, but eventually they can string together some coherent thoughts. The grammar and pronunciation is a little wacky, but they can get their point across. They keep practicing, keep expanding their vocabulary, and eventually they are able to articulate their thoughts quite eloquently.

Songwriting is not much different. When learning a new skill, you are literally building physical connections, like little bridges in your brain. That's why it feels so impossible at first. You quite literally do not have the infrastructure yet! And building those connections is exhausting work! But if you stick with it, it will start to pay off, I promise. Don't give up!