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Calling all songwriters: if you want better recordings, this video is for you.

Most of us have a dominant instrument that we do the bulk of our writing with. For you it might be piano or guitar.

Whatever the core instrument, we usually get stuck trying to build out the rest of the song and know what to record and where.

Today I want to give you simple framework and method you can use to record your songs with more power, depth, and musicality.

If you incorporate the elements in this guide your songs will turn out as good as they possibly can!

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By: wildsPosted on Categories : Categories : UncategorizedTags:

41 Replies to “The Songwriter's Guide To Recording – RecordingRevolution.com”

  3. Great video can i ask do you set the drum pattern first then play acoustic to that? I having trouble having acoustic guitar tracks/vocal songs that were never written with drums in mind. Whats the best way of adding drums without having a drummer? thank you love your channel

  7. I used to play trombone in trad jazz groups and arrange on piano but I’ve moved to bass and strumming guitar. I still find it easier to compose on keyboard although the cord progressions end up more complex.

  12. So many negative comments here… Listen people… This is just one of many thousands of ways to write and arrange music. It is a beautiful piece written in D and I have overlayed a nice piano melody over it…
    Done right this could be a great song in my opinion…. Very nice and relaxing, could be done with the right vocalist or piano melody as an instrumental… Love what you've done with the bass line and guitar and drums.

  14. I'm brand spanking new to recording. Your videos have helped me tremendously! I recorded my first simple instrumental earlier and have 100s of ideas for new songs. I've always been a poet/writer, but now am putting my lyrics to music. Loving it! Keep up with your awesome videos. They are a great tool for all of us.

  24. As usual very good video on tips, well laid out, and interesting to hear the sonic layers for the song.

    I would consider this more of a Producer's steps than a songwriting step, as the song structure and vocal melodies would have been considered the songwriting IMO, but the layers that add the mojo is really where good production comes in. When I write/produce if I write and record the basic tracks, I typically will wait a day or two, even a week or so before coming back with fresh ears and ideas to do the production level.

    BTW the song melody was very catchy. Great job!!

  25. Song needs 6 elements

    1. lead – vox, solo(inst.)
    = main melody
    it contains rhythm

    2. drum and bass
    =fundamental
    it makes main rhythm
    (not indispensible in some music)

    3. pad – guitar, choirs, synth and so on
    = harmony
    commonly it contains rhythm

    4. rhythm – all instruments
    = support main rhythm
    it may contain harmony or melody

    5. counter melody
    – back vocal, instrumental lines
    = it supports main melody
    it contains rhythm

    6. fx

  33. I think this is my favorite vid from you yet, Grahame ?

    Also a guitarist songwriter, I use a diametrically opposed method to develop the voices for a song – for me, as an INTP "architect," the song tends to tell me what it needs, and I find this usually works to my satisfaction.

    But the approach you lay out so clearly here, of specifically addressing a set of baseline songwriting needs, is extremely interesting to me because it's such a different way of thinking …

    Like a song you can't get out of your head, I'll never forget the essentials of this "baseline" approach, and new ways of thinking about song composition should, I think, always be welcomed and absorbed by composers – it enriches our knowledge base and just might make all the difference when one might otherwise "hit the wall" with a piece.

    Thank you so much for this, and rock on! ????

  34. I'm sorry, but I'm not a fan of this method. You'll put yourself in the corner right from the start and the result is a mediocre song at best.
    You'll find yourself singing over chords, instead of chords that aid a great melody.
    To create something more fresh, you should focus on the vocal melody right from the start. To do this:
    – Play as few chords and rhythm parts as possible, to give enough room for the melody to develop.
    – Start with a very basic rhythm so that it doesn't dictate your vocal rhythm.
    – After a great melody is established, find the right chords and arrangement around it. (here you can apply all the advice in this video)
    – Adjust (or rather expand) the rhythm to fit the lyrics.
    Also: When working on the melody make sure that the amount of syllables match in each line of each verse… even if half the lyrics are still jibberish. And please pay attention to (close) rhymes.

    Songwriting is not an art, but a craft. First you create a set of rules for your song… than become as creative as possible within these restrictions.
    Turn off you phone and all notifications… dive deep, meditate, invite the muse… Good luck!

  36. I would love to see a video dedicated toward the importance of pre amps.
    I think this is perhaps the most important tool in recording.
    Maybe an in the box chain VS. a hybrid recording chain. (Outboard Pre Amp – with ITB EQ/COMPRESSION/Effects.
    Please consider making a video on this soon, and not in the upcoming months.
    Thank You Graham. ?

  37. Good info G. I work in a way that's similar to this. And consider myself a music producer, who handles my own arrangements, for songs. I like to look at these processes and positions as totally separate. I usually work with singer/songwriters in r&b and electronic music. As where they need an arrangement for their songs. When I work with singer/songwriters in pop/rock or contemporary r&b, they come to me with complete songs. Either vocal and piano or guitar and vocal. I usually take a composition and create my own version with full instrumentation of what they want. I call this going into production. It's the first part of production. Figuring out what the instruments are and what they will be playing. It's a copy process from the composition. After that's completed. And everything is in the computer, now it's time to produce, by mixing the whole song they way I see fit. I've worked like this for years. A songwriter can do his thing before hitting the DAW. When it's time to arrange, (in this day in time). That's when it hits the DAW. I've been these three positions without knowing it for years also. Arranger, Producer and Engineer. But since arranging is something included in the production process, I don't call myself an arranger. But a Music Producer and Engineer.

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