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Songwriting
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Joined: Mar 2025
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Hi all!
This post is about the joy of making a ‘mistake’ while songwriting and finding you have stumbled onto a small miracle in the process. This doesn’t happen very often to me but when it does, it feels like rain after a drought or finding $50 in an old coat pocket. I wonder if this happens to most of us and if you’d be willing to share your gem?
A couple from me … I was recording a bass part and, to save time, recorded a verse phrase and copied and pasted to all other verses in my DAW, forgetting that verse 4 had a slightly varied chord progression to try and mix it up a bit. If I had been aware, I would have varied the bass part accordingly, but because I copied and pasted, I ended up with a really nice combination on verse 4 that added a touch of gold dust to that final verse. Unplanned.
Second … I was writing a melody over a chord progression using BIAB, and usually apply a bit of theory I.e. feature notes of the chord but with passing notes etc. When I went to sing it accompanied by guitar in order to ‘humanise’ what I had done in BIAB, I sang and held a second (interval) over the chord rather than a 3rd or root, thinking I was singing what I had written, only to find when singing against BIAB that I was ‘off’, but the 2nd was so compelling, I had to keep it and vary the song accordingly.
Andrew D
Last edited by Andrew Dee; 04/05/25 01:57 PM.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Nov 2008
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Cool topic, I could fill a page. My favorite is keeping a loud, emphatic, "hoo-AH!" throat clearing at the beginning of a vocal take. The song was more than a little bit off the rails as was the (properly) recorded vocal, so it fit right in. Magic indeed!
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
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Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Songwriting
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Joined: Jul 2022
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Songwriting rule #47: mistakes are just “creative decisions” in disguise. Sounds like you nailed it twice!
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Songwriting
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I can't think of anything specific right now but yes. I totally agree. Wrong notes, timing mistakes, can all be very interesting points that give a song that special juice.
I love it when that happens.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Songwriting
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Don't know if this counts as what you're lookin' for but . . .
I have been working on a song I thought could turn out pretty good but was struggling to find the hook / bridge / chorus to finish it off. Went to work on it a couple nights ago and accidentally opened up the document for another song I had started and abandoned a while back with a similar name. Seems I had a clever idea for a chorus but could never get a song out of it at that time. Long story short - put the two together and wound up with a fairly decent tune . . .
Don't ever try and be like anybody else and don't be afraid to take risks. -Waylon Jennings
PC-Win 10 Pro-Intel i9 9900 3.6 GHz-32 gig ram-SSD (X3)-AMD RX 550
AUDIO INTERFACE-Presonus FP10/Firepods
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Songwriting
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Joined: Mar 2025
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OP
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Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 945 |
My favorite is keeping a loud, emphatic, "hoo-AH!" throat clearing at the beginning of a vocal take. The song was more than a little bit off the rails as was the (properly) recorded vocal, so it fit right in. Magic indeed! Thanks Ron - could you name the song and is it accessible? I'd like to listen. Andrew D
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Songwriting
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Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 945
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Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 945 |
Songwriting rule #47: mistakes are just “creative decisions” in disguise. Sounds like you nailed it twice! Hi Mike - yes I was chuffed by them. I sometimes wonder if it's my subconscious having its hand in the creative process. Andrew D
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Songwriting
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Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 945
Expert
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OP
Expert
Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 945 |
I have been working on a song I thought could turn out pretty good but was struggling to find the hook / bridge / chorus to finish it off. Went to work on it a couple nights ago and accidentally opened up the document for another song I had started and abandoned a while back with a similar name. Seems I had a clever idea for a chorus but could never get a song out of it at that time. Long story short - put the two together and wound up with a fairly decent tune . . . Thanks Russell! Sounds like you reunited two long lost brothers! I haven't had such luck myself, but earlier this year I started a process of listing all my unfinished song parts (e.g. verse but no chorus, chorus but no verse, lyrics with no music and vice versa) to see if I could pair any to make a whole. I haven't gotten far yet, but hoping something pops out of this. Andrew D
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Songwriting
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Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 945
Expert
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OP
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Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 945 |
I can't think of anything specific right now but yes. I totally agree. Wrong notes, timing mistakes, can all be very interesting points that give a song that special juice. I love it when that happens. Thanks Herb! Yes, it can be a real dopamine release when it happens. Andrew D
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