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Today reminded me why I write songs.
I was on the bus heading out to the farm when a mother and her young son sat across from me. We started talking, and when I mentioned I was a songwriter, she said her son loves music. I decided to play Let’s Drink Up for them — my whimsical little tune about ducks...
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I wrote this track, called "Evolving", a couple of weeks ago, and I thought its romantic melody could fit a movie like one of my favorites, "In the Mood for Love". I edited my track using a clip from that masterpiece, and this is the result. What do you think?
Very dramatic and cinematic. Love the sweeping strings!
Lee Barbour I understand you!
By my side, I try to be as accurate as I can with dynamics and tempo (accel., rall., rit.) when I write them, so that when I export the MIDI file, I have to adjust it with...
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Libby Wright I'm very happy you like it...!
Very nice. Fits the scenes on the short clips perfectly well.
Emmanuel Obiejemba many thanks!
I’ve watched a few YouTube videos where songwriters talk about the writing process like it’s rocket science — chord progressions, rhyming schemes, and all the rules you “should” follow. That works for them, and I respect it.
But I’ll be honest — I have zero desire to learn the “proper” songwriting...
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Remember, @Wyman-- there's no "wrong way" to make music. It's been around long before any rules, and it will last past them. At least to me, it's the most pure form of expression.
Libby Wright, you are right. Still, I wonder if some will think my song Didgeridoo Dementia is the wrong way to make music.
I’ve noticed something interesting in my own songwriting — how much the choice to use names (or not use them) changes the entire feel of a song.
Take “Southern Gothic” for example. I grounded it in specific characters: Mister Jones, Bobby Hollander, Sheriff Thompson, Judge Ellerbee. That concreteness...
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One of the most interesting habits of modern singer/songwriters picking random titles is Dave Matthews. Like Samuri Cop- it's a song about birth and early childhood. The name could either throw you off or make the song memorable.
Libby Wright, I will have to look for that song. Actually, in my songs, I give no thought as I write them. Southern Gothic came out with specific characters because that is where the words wanted to g...
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Yesterday was one of those rare days where the songs just kept flowing. By the end of the day, I had written 12 new songs.
What stuns me is not just the number, but the range and quality. Five of them formed a cohesive Southern rock suite that feels like it could have been pressed onto vinyl in the...
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I used to grab my guitar and keyboards a lot more in the past - good to see you still have your muse at the ready
Randall Scott White, you are an actual musician which is really cool. I have written around 300 songs, but the vocals and music are a.i. generated. I actually only started on this journey in April of...
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“Sometimes it’s the very last line that makes a song timeless.
In You Move Backwards, I almost didn’t add the closing line: ‘And I am moving backwards.’
But that one simple phrase tied everything together — the love, the loss, the memory — and ended the song exactly where it needed to.
It reminded me t...
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Wyman Brent Beautiful!
I feel your words very well Wyman, it's very pretty.
Kat Spencer, thank you. I created five different versions of You Move Backwards. The first sounds like it could have been sung by Spandau Ballet. Here is a link to the version done as a ballad with fe...
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Koby Nguyen, thanks a lot. Here is the link to the original version I created.
https://wymanbrent.bandcamp.com/track/you-move-backwards...
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I created my BandCamp Wayman account. Thank you for introducing me to your music. I subscribed to you and maybe I will post my music on this application too.
Back in April, I didn’t even know I had this ability in me. Then came What the Mack? — the playful little song that opened the door to an entire creative world. Since then, I’ve been writing every single day, and the songs just keep flowing.
At first, most of them leaned into humor and quirkiness (...
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Today was one of those days where the songs just arrived.
Dancing Through My Mind came from a single phrase that popped into my head while walking through a parking lot. It turned into a heartfelt love song with zero revisions — it simply poured out.
Judge Mental was sparked by nothing more than a Yo...
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It's both for me, Wyman Brent. Sometimes my best work comes from inspiration I can trace, and sometimes the ideas appear without explanation.
Not everything has to make sense to be beautiful.
Some of my favorite songs I’ve written are built on made-up words blended with real ones — Yopa Topa, Wassa Wassa Way, Yalla Yalla Ho. They don’t follow a dictionary. They follow the music.
There’s a real beauty in letting sound and rhythm carry the fe...
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I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a songwriter.
Some writers specialize — pop, country, blues, folk. They carve out one lane and stay there. I’ve never been able to work that way.
For me, songs just arrive. Sometimes it’s protest and conscience (If I Had a Dollar), sometimes it’s tender nos...
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Kerry Kennard, thank you so much. I have an incurable lung disease though I never smoked. I do not worry about it much. Still having fun in life.
Wyman Brent I definitely don't stay in one lane....But I don't have quite the variety you do. No boxes for me either. Let the words or music flow as it desires....
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Hello Wyman,
I also shared recently how music affects me and how it inspires my work. I wanted to share with you a note I wrote here on Stage32.
I’m deep...
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Kat Spencer, I am happy to hear that. No limits.
What kind of music do I write? The honest answer? Almost everything.
My catalog covers a spectrum so wide that no box, no matter how huge, can contain it...
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Koby Nguyen, thank you very much. I believe that kindness is so much better than hatred. Kindness is so much better than indifference. I would much rather spread joy than darkness. May the best also c...
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I am curious what is your process regarding songwriting. Where do you find inspiration? Do you follow all or any of the so-called songwriting rules? When is a song complete? Do you run it past others first for critique before releasing your tune into the wild?
For me, it tends to be 50/50 inspiration and perspiration. Usually I get a lyric first, then a melody appears. I don't tend to follow rules-- it's about the flow for me.
Libby Wright, I live with what I can only describe as creative synesthesia. For me, inspiration doesn’t arrive after hours of searching or tinkering. It comes from everywhere — a shop sign, a statue,...
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Wow Wyman Brent what a gift! I love that you give your songs room to be whatever they are!
Libby Wright, you are right. I do not try to shape the songs. They already know what they need to be. I only started in April of this year. Three hundred songs in that time is not too bad....
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I’ll admit, I do tweak some lines as I write — every songwriter does. But even then, my songs are finished in five minutes or less.
I have zero time for stressing out over whether I “got it right” or not. For me, songwriting isn’t about perfection — it’s about capturing the spark.
The song shows up,...
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I agree. Self-editing is usually where my creativity dies.
Libby Wright, I do not edit for the most part. I may change a word or two quickly and the song is still written in less than five minutes. Then I send it out into the wild....
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Free range songs! Love it!
You are so gifted Wyman Brent! Love Ain't Gotta Worry- perfect for a sunny Louisiana summer day!
Libby Wright, thank you so very much. You might also like Gonna Feel Fine. Please let me know if you get a chance to listen.
https://wymanbrent.bandcamp.com/track/gonna-feel-fine...
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