What's your song writting process?

My song writing structure has changed but usually it starts out with a riff in my head, or like, a picture.. atmosphere. I once thought, how would a storm sound on a guitar.. and tried to map out a riff in that idea. It’s funny cause that same picture never really became a storm, but became other riffs for other songs since everytime I tried, I came up with something that wasn’t what I wanted, but was something I could work with in another way. But yeah, if I can create a good enough picture I can create a base riff off that picture and go from there. Sounds kinda complicated and over doing it I guess but this is how I started out.
Then some songs were just random things I made up on the spot. Most these days are made up with a simple melody and riff that repeats but in different ways in songs. I guess it all starts off with a small note or riff, and progresses into something greater. The caged system song I uploaded is a good example of that. It’s literally based off the one melody. I’m also a perfectionist so I’ll change a spot over and over, and sometimes rewrite a song if I’m not happy with how it turned out. Scratched a lot of good ones back in the day, that i’ve actually revisited and worked on to make into something bigger.
Solos are the hardest part to write because they have to basically be the high peak of the song at times. Usually the entire song will progress to the solo, and then the finale. Sometimes the solo IS the finale. But usually, the first thing I write isn’t what I like for the solo, but it gives me a base idea of what I think I was trying to go for. And then I go from there. And try to expand from the general sound I was aiming for. Sometimes I wait til the idea hits my head and I go for it, sometimes I get impatient and improvise.. but since its not my forte I tend to wait. It’s usually worth the wait honestly. Cause the idea hits me and yeah.

I have written songs based on a chord progression and based on a riff both, you want that part to either be in the start of the song or in the chorus of the song because that is what is gonna atract people and then what i do is write more parts loosely based on the idea i had and slowly and kinda structure the song as you want or you can add parts and making sure those connect so that way the song feels flowing but making sure here and there you add the chord progression or the riff like a reminisce or a chorus, a place where the song can come backt to so it doesnt lose like the point of the song(but always giving it some kind of structure).
Then after i have the skeleton of the song i add the other instruments and the solo and after all that is said and done i start with the vocal melody and the lyrics, some songs the vocals come naturally and in other songs i have to search for melodies.
Because im a guitar player my main ideas come from the guitar ,but ideas can come from lyrics, from a bassline, a drum part, its just to build from the idea.
And its also a good idea to record yourself playing the song because a song sometimes takes months or more to write and you need to have a way to structure it and so you dont forget, and theres also the counterpart where you write a song in a weekend hahahaha.
For example… this is the only song of mine(have written like 6) that i have performed or recorded for people to see, the first 30 seconds of the song (only the chord progression) was the idea, it was a tightly structured song (intro-verse-prechorus-chorus-again-bridge-chorus) and it was one of, if not the fastest to write (kinda like 2 weeks or more to have like a full ”demo” version to show to the band)

What I usually do is come up with a riff either from my head or noodling. When I have that riff I kinda start thinking about key changes and what theoretically makes sense to me to do. Sometimes it takes a while for me to come up with something to continue that’s to my liking and sometimes it just kinda happens on a whim and I have a song that i’m okay with in like an hour. Another thing that works great for me is to write with other people. If I can’t come up with the next part they might actually do know how to continue on. Also usually I figure put from the start whether I want to write a bluesy kinda song, be a bit more progressive or what I want to go for in general.



It really depends on what I’m going for really.

im lames turns I guess I’d simply it like this.
opening (melody or main riff)
V1 (sometimes with a prechorus. This is usually the “base riff” you got out of the main riff. As Id’s pointed out, its usually theory related)
chorus (usually the explosion of the main opening line)
V2 (usually a repeat of the first, or sometimes you can change it up .. maybe play it an octave higher?)
Chorus again
Bridge (the biggest build up in the entire song that leads into the solo. Since the song at this point has built to the chorus, it builds even higher into the peak of the song which is the solo)
Finale (Usually the chorus again repeats, sometimes not. But the finale is just what it is.. sometimes you can repeat the opening riff and finish with it. Sometimes you dont need one since the solo becomes it.)

Riff
Riff in drop d on the E and A strings.(When everything else comes in) with the original played
Arpeggiate chords for the chorus
Riff
Chords with licks for the second chorus
Bridge
Bluesy pentatonic solo-(I don’t have time right now to learn stuff with school)
Blast the riff as hard as you can, Attack it with every fibre left in your body.