Composing

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.

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 go. My song You Move Backwards did not require specific names. All of my songs are written in five minutes or less. I just start typing and whatever comes out comes out. I give the finished words a quick look over and then decide how it should sound.

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 this year. I accidentally discovered that I am on the extreme spectrum of creative synesthesia. Since April, hundreds of songs, four TV series plotted out, also four films, and a stage musical.

Yes, 12 songs in one day is a lot. Howevever, there was one day where I wrote 18. I literally get inspiration from almost everything. I was out walking a few days ago and had four fully developed songs in my head after a short time. Or, I can misread a word, or just an image triggers something. One of my very best songs titled You Move Backwards was inspired by a YouTube video of a woman dancing backwards beautifully. A few seconds of that and I wrote a song of heartbreak. Below is the link if you care to listen. I would appreciate feedback from an actual musician.

https://wymanbrent.bandcamp.com/track/you-move-backwards

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 female vocals. Not sure if I already sent it to you. I just woke up. Anyway, here it is.

https://wymanbrent.bandcamp.com/track/you-move-backwards-ballad

Koby Nguyen, thanks a lot. Here is the link to the original version I created.

https://wymanbrent.bandcamp.com/track/you-move-backwards

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.

It's both for me, Wyman Brent. Sometimes my best work comes from inspiration I can trace, and sometimes the ideas appear without explanation.

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.

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.

https://www.stage32.com/lounge/anything_goes/Nene

I’m deeply touched by the news about your illness. I remember the kind messages you once wrote to me in private, and I carry them with gratitude. I wish you strength, light, and the best that life can still offer. And please know, you are being read, you are being heard, here.

May the best still come to you.

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 all.:

Techno gospel and spiritual electronica (yes, that’s a thing)

Banjo EDM (because why not?)

Heartbreak ballads that cut deep

Social commentary songs that pull no punches

And total unhinged insanity like Didgeridoo Dementia

For me, songwriting is play, exploration, and expression all rolled into one. Some songs make people laugh, others make them think, and others just make them hit repeat because they can’t quite believe what they heard.

That’s the beauty of it: no matter the style, it’s all me.

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 come to you.

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, a police car, even a stranger walking by. Ordinary details trigger rhythm, melody, and lyric all at once.

The strange part? When a song comes, it usually arrives fully formed. Not a scrap of an idea to be built later, but the whole thing — verses, chorus, rhythm — complete. All of my songs are written in five minutes or less. I don’t force it, I don’t edit it into shape. It’s like they already exist and I’m just the one holding the pen when they show up.

That’s why I can write across such a wide range — protest songs, absurd comedy tracks, tender love ballads, even EDM with bagpipes or banjo. The songs don’t care what genre they’re “supposed” to be. They simply flow through, and my job is to catch them before they disappear.

It’s not something I can turn off, and I wouldn’t want to. Every day brings new songs, new surprises, and new laughter. For me, songwriting isn’t a craft I practice — it’s the language my mind speaks. Around 300 songs so far.

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.

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.

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

Not being able to attend events in la, ny, nashville, or atlanta is limiting. networking still needs to be done whatever city your in. If you are not already a member of SCL join even if you don't have full voting eligibility (thescl.org)

I think it's about connections. Meeting people and getting your work out there. Once my daughter was cast in a TV series and the title was so intriguing I wrote lyrics and bumped it to my sons who tend to "finish" the work. They bought it and it became the theme song-- all from rural Lousiana because I spoke up.

Kat Spencer, Great question. For me, songs don’t usually start with melody, mood, or scene in the traditional sense. I’m on the extreme spectrum of creative synesthesia, so ideas come to me in a flood — sometimes sparked by a word, an image, even something as random as an old comic book panel or a train ticket stub.

When it hits, I don’t sit and wrestle with it — I just write as fast as I can. All of my songs are finished in five minutes or less because they arrive almost fully formed. I’ve learned not to second-guess it. My job is simply to catch the song before it slips away.

That’s how I can go from writing a wild joyride like Yay Yay Yo to something raw and emotional like I Got My Memories on the same day. Different styles, different moods — all arriving quickly, all sparked from different sources.

So my “first spark” isn’t always the same, but the process is: grab it fast, before it fades.

Here is a song I wrote today. I should point out I write every lyric for my more than 250 songs. However, the voices and music are a.i. generated.

https://wymanbrent.bandcamp.com/track/aint-gotta-worry

It depends on the scene - smiles!

For this one competition w / short video,

Scary scene - I started with the scary sounds and built the rest around those scene places.

Yes, I tend to get lyrics first, then music, so it's often related to a theme or scene.