When it comes to writing a song and producing a song, there are very distinct differences between the two art forms. Of course, every producer will have different styles and ways of interpreting a song they are producing. A particular producer’s unique “sound” is what a songwriter listens for to determine who they want to hire to produce their music. Then there are artists who sing, record or perform songs but do not write or produce their own music themselves. Someone else writes and produces the songs for them.
I am a songwriter, producer and an artist. I have written and produced all of my songs on every album I’ve released and have also been hired as a producer and/or co-writer for other artists in the past.
As a songwriter:
When I write a song, I usually am not thinking of how it will be produced. Although there are exceptions to this rule. But what I focus the most on is first determining the melody of the song note-for-note all the way through. The melody dictates the chord progression as well as the mood of the song. Often times I record my songwriting sessions on a tape recorder in addition to using a pen and paper. The main thing I want to establish is a title, melody and the main idea/emotion of the song before I begin writing the lyrics to apply to the pre-determined melody. The chorus is almost always written first before the verses. The materials I use to write a song are a guitar or keyboard, pen/pencil, paper and an analog tape recorder. I use no computer programs whatsoever to aid in writing the song. Once the song has the main elements (melody, chord structure, verse/chorus and lyrics) then I record a simple one-track demo with either guitar and vocal or keyboard and vocal to save for when I’m ready to produce it. Typically the arrangement of the song is done in the writing phase to determine if there is an intro or outro, an instrumental lead solo or where the choruses and verses should be placed.
As a producer:
The main goal of a producer for a songwriter is to pick the best songs that have been written and/or make them sound good on record. This includes deciding what instruments should be used (acoustic or electric drums, flute, string section, full harmonies, various percussion instruments, acoustic or electric guitar, etc) and how the instruments should be recorded (stereo separation, volume of each instrument and what should be louder/softer than other instruments, fade out the end of the song, etc).
As a producer for my own music I separate myself from the songwriter aspect and view the song objectively as if I were producing someone else’s song. When I am doing a full-band sound, I like to have a lot of balance on both stereo sides. If I have an acoustic guitar panned to the right side of the mix I typically will put either another acoustic guitar on the left side or another instrument such as a piano to balance it out. I don’t like any one side of the mix to be “heavier” than the other side. The bass and drums are almost always mixed in mono but there are many times I record the drums (either real drumset or programmed) in stereo.
The instrumental tracks are always recorded first before any vocals are recorded. The entire song is fully mixed and recorded to a stereo 2-track master CD for adding vocals later.
As an artist:
The artist side of me is the final stage that happens with my music. After the song(s) have been written and the production methods have been determined, I then play the instruments and sing the vocals using an emotional intuition that I feel from the song itself. This is a different feeling than either the writer or the producer mentalities. The words cannot simply be sung, they need to be felt. It is extremely important for an artist to emote while singing. The same goes for playing the instruments. Every note played should be played for a reason and with an appropriate emotional intensity that the song is trying to deliver. If the artist believes what they are singing or playing, so will the audience.
Additional thoughts:
The actual writing of the song is the easiest part of the entire process. Melodies and chord structures come very naturally to me. I always make a point to write every day in my studio. A typical songwriting session will last between three and twelve hours depending on my energy level and if I have a performance to go to that night. Recording sessions last approximately the same length of time.
The hardest part of the process for me is writing the lyrics. I am always very satisfied with the lyrics I write once they are finished. But it takes much longer for me to write words than it does to write music. Some songwriters are wordsmiths who write the words first and then write the music. Others only write lyrics and someone else writes the music for them. This has never been my method as it doesn’t come naturally to me in that way. While I may write the entire body of the song with all the chords, melodies and arrangement in 20 minutes, it usually takes several days or even weeks to finish the lyrics. Of course there are exceptions to this rule. But not often.
I hope you all enjoyed reading about how I work on my music. Please feel free to add any comments you wish!
Love to everyone,
Dropjaw
