[Ramshackles]

I was just thinking that many people on this forum have developed their own specific style which is very singular to them...perhaps (like many artists) they have gone through changes in style in the past and/or where they are at today has been a result of gradually working towards it song by song...

So I was wondering what of your own recordings have greatly influenced your current style? Seems a strange thing to ask about, so I'll use my own example to explain more
So...the style of our band now is folky/female-sung/lots of harmonies/organic. I'm getting towards the kind of music I've always wanted to write and we made concious decisions (such as ditching vst instruments etc) to get things where we want to go. This song, from about 1½ years ago is pretty much the start:
http://soundcloud.com/ramshackles/love-on-a-whim

It was the first time our singer had ever sung in front of a microphone or recorded her voice (I think you can tell if you compare her to now). It was pretty much the first song I did without loading up VST basses, strings etc etc (there is a small amount of percussion to the end) - I'd sold most of them the month before and bought a good preamp and a good interface, the first time we really layered up harmonies and first experiments with a reverb unit...

All those elements have been pretty much built upon on every song since (always trying to do new things of course )

So....dig up your old work that has informed a lot of your recent work! It's great to see how people have improved and built up their style

[The Corsair]

When I was first writing I listened to bands like Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco (I still do of course ) and my lyrics were very pop-punk and generic. I can actually pin down which bands I started listening to influenced certain parts of my writing. But that's irrelevant I guess.

The one that really raised the bar for me isn't saved on this computer but basically I was so pissed off with all the 'love is a battlefield' crap I ended up coming up with the opening line 'If love is a battlefield then someone always has to lose the fight'. the song is basically about a couple who basically have to 'admit defeat' despite what they may still feel as they simply discover in the end they don't have it in them to keep fighting. The whole thing is built within the metaphor of a battlefield, which links back to the opening line.

From there I changed my approach entirely and instead of coming up with a title and writing to that (my old method that produced pop-punk crap) I would just wait for the inspiration. My writing improved a lot from that alone.

The biggest step after that was the song 'Chess' which was my first foray into more obscure metaphors and into less standard stanza structures (say that 10 times fast...)

After that I also made more of an effort to write songs with a decent message or theme behind them and that's where I developed my personal style of writing a message into a song. It's not always super obvious and should take a couple of listens to crack but it isn't so obscure that the listener has to figure it out one line at a time. I treat songs like novels in some ways now, often having a 'twist' at the end that may change the way the story is viewed or reveals the message in some way.

The last addition has really been what the message deals with. I used to struggle with the whole 'write what you know' thing that constantly gets fed to us over here by the industry (and undoubtedly it's the same in other places) because frankly I know (or knew) fuck all. I always found i was best of creating a scenario that I may never even experience as a platform for my message.

As far as genre style goes, that's still in progress . Right now I'm applying the big sounds of metal with the loud/quiet/loud theory of grunge and seeing where that takes me.

So, a summary of my lyric writing (I've only been writing riffs for a few months)

[Schavuitje]

Hmmm good question. Although very difficult to answer  
I listen to a lot of music from all genre's but there are of course certain bands and favourites that have influenced what I like about music.

XTC, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jen Olive and so on... Having said that I always try to write something different. I don't like to restrict

myself to one style of music. I write ballads, psycheldelic stuff which is mostly guitar, bass, drums and vocals, I also write on my keyboard

and come up with some experimental type stuff, as well as those I also write instrumental music that could I suppose be suitable for t.v.?

I try not to let my previous efforts influence my next piece. If you listen to bands like XTC, they are impossible to categorize. They go through

blues, psychedelic, rock, rock-pop, pop, alternative, experimental, folk, latin and many more. THAT is what I like to do. Change all the time. Move into different styles

and genre's but keep your sound.

So I honestly don't think I let any of my past work influence whatever new piece I am writing. All my songs sound different. "This Christmas" is very different to "Magic Carpet" in every

concievable way.

There are some things that are almost constant though and that is that usually I will have lots of vocals. Harmonies and unusual melodies.

So from my own work I don't think I allow myself to be pushed into a corner. I don't just stick to rock or pop, or folk, or blues... I like to play with them all and keep it

interesting


Modifying because I thought of something else. There are people on these forums who's work has inspired me. Not to copy or pinch bits, but I have enjoyed the music

that much because it suits my tastes that it has put me right in the mood for writing. Although I really like a lot of the work on these forums, the stuff Nooms creates is

a particular source of inspiration.

I could name others but I don't want to make peoples heads bigger 

[Sonic-r]

I can't say I've yet reached a style that is 'me.' Part of this is because I have an urge to write mature contemporary songs that have a robust story to them and shift and mix different elements from dance to rock, and yet another part of me just wants to make an unholy racket! It's like eating something sweet and then having a craving for something savoury.

Last year I wrote a song for an Egyptian singer that had a trance-like three part structure, but wasn't trance, with lyrics based on the number four, but not your usual verse-chorus structure. Whilst I wasn't 100% satisfied with how it turned out it opened my eyes to an 'anything is possible' way of composing.

The stuff that came after this was stronger, more confident and assertive and less clumsy in the arrangement department. But I'm still not sure which way I'm heading.

[Ramshackles]

Hmmm good question. Although very difficult to answer  
I listen to a lot of music from all genre's but there are of course certain bands and favourites that have influenced what I like about music.

XTC, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jen Olive and so on... Having said that I always try to write something different. I don't like to restrict

myself to one style of music. I write ballads, psycheldelic stuff which is mostly guitar, bass, drums and vocals, I also write on my keyboard

and come up with some experimental type stuff, as well as those I also write instrumental music that could I suppose be suitable for t.v.?

I try not to let my previous efforts influence my next piece. If you listen to bands like XTC, they are impossible to categorize. They go through

blues, psychedelic, rock, rock-pop, pop, alternative, experimental, folk, latin and many more. THAT is what I like to do. Change all the time. Move into different styles

and genre's but keep your sound.

So I honestly don't think I let any of my past work influence whatever new piece I am writing. All my songs sound different. "This Christmas" is very different to "Magic Carpet" in every

concievable way.

There are some things that are almost constant though and that is that usually I will have lots of vocals. Harmonies and unusual melodies.

So from my own work I don't think I allow myself to be pushed into a corner. I don't just stick to rock or pop, or folk, or blues... I like to play with them all and keep it

interesting


Modifying because I thought of something else. There are people on these forums who's work has inspired me. Not to copy or pinch bits, but I have enjoyed the music

that much because it suits my tastes that it has put me right in the mood for writing. Although I really like a lot of the work on these forums, the stuff Nooms creates is

a particular source of inspiration.

I could name others but I don't want to make peoples heads bigger 

Oh yes totally for not pigenoholig yourself, but I think you missed a little. For example, the Beatles were constantly doing something new (from about help or hard days night onwards) and not at all pigeonholing themselves, yet they still retained that identifiable 'beatles' sound throughout. I think the trick is being able to straddle genres and still have an identifiable sound....almost like creating your own personal genre

[hofnerite]

There are plenty of ways to "sound" unique, even if the music you are making is not. The falsetto BeeGee vocals and harmonies instantly identify their unique sound but change the vocalist for a female, slow down the songs and makbe take them down a key and you wouldn't instantly identify some as a BeeGees song. Same with the Beatles. People say the Beatles have an instantly identifyable sound but that's all to do with their vocals and production. there have been a million beatles covers by various artists which don't instrictively sound like Beatles songs. We only know they are because we know the originals.

Therefore I feel the only way to create your own 'brand' of music is to be consistent with the production and to a lesser degree the style of writing. I have to say that personally, I don't set out to sound a particular way or create my own style of music. I don't really understand why people set out to do that. I just write songs, some are better than others but I enjoy the process.

I do feel increasingly out of place on this forum actually. I think the majority on here are songwriters because they love the 'art' whereas I am writing songs to make a living and because I enjoy the process. I was thinking just yesterday that if 100 popular/famous songs were posted in a raw format in the reviews section and no-one had previously heard them, how many writers would be told they need to improve parts of the song/lyrics? I'd say about 99%.

Sorry for going off topic here but it has been bugging me!

[Mr.Chainsaw]

I do feel increasingly out of place on this forum actually. I think the majority on here are songwriters because they love the 'art' whereas I am writing songs to make a living and because I enjoy the process. I was thinking just yesterday that if 100 popular/famous songs were posted in a raw format in the reviews section and no-one had previously heard them, how many writers would be told they need to improve parts of the song/lyrics? I'd say about 99%.

Mate, I'm sorry if you feel that way

I'm sure no one here is intentionally trying to be snobbish. It's just where you're coming from (to put food on the table) is a unique angle as opposed to 99% of everyone else (as a hobby/passion).

R.e. the topic; I have absolutely no loyalty other than to the finished song. Where it ends up, in what style...I don't conciously direct it. It just is what it is when its done.

Seeing as mist of the time I'm playing to myself my songs all end up really different, if only to keep ME interested!

Peter

[Paul]

Hi Hofnerite,

Don't feel out of place.  You should write whatever you want.  Whether you write to please yourself or are writing a specific kind of song in an attempt to gain greater exposure or financial success is fine.  Not everyone can write to order and I believe that it takes a certain amount of ability to do so. I admire your determination and wouldn't bet against you one day achieving your musical goals!   

Best wishes

Paul