Ilkker

#1 for Rapid Composer from Music Developments. It was insanely difficult to get into a couple of years ago when I had the demo, and I gave up, but more recently one guy on his own made close to twenty Youtube videos of how it works and now it's insanely easy. Basically what it does is generate phrases that you can keep randomly trying for until you get one you like, like say for a piano, or guitar picking. It also is a VST if you want to work with it inside your DAW. I believe the MIDI is exportable too if you want to edit it further. But for a songwriting tool it's one of the best I've known about and the developer is quick with updates and he listens to his customers. The phrases development is increasing in leaps and bounds too. Really nice tool.

Sometimes the problem, for me anyway, with coming up with the chorus first is the consideration that if this chorus and hook are as good as I think then I still have to make the verses nearly as good and that can be no easy task. But if I can come up with an attention grabbing verse or two then that could propel me to write a really good chorus. So I like to leave open the possibility that what I thought was a chorus might end up being the verse. I think there was something said about Hank Williams, or he may have said it himself, where he never wrote a line that wasn't a hook. But it seems that with every song I start to write I go at it in different ways, no set formula. The inspiration may be guitar riff, or a piano pattern, or something I realized I was singing to myself all day. Where it fits in the end may be quite different from what I was thinking at the beginning.

I remember hearing that a lot of Springsteen's songs were actually bits from many songs that he'd piece together into one song. Sometimes it's like a jigsaw puzzle where I look over old lyrics and take a line from here and a line from there and somehow finally find some idea that starts to take shape, and then that actually motivates me to keep it going to writing the next part. I'd say if you like what you have so far, even if it's just the melody or the chord pattern. then never throw it away, keep at it and see what comes from it. Many successful tunes were written in the studio too where they just kept the tape rolling, and even a catchy guitar riff was the catalyst for the song, and they just kept at it until they had a song.

1. Do you sing, play an instrument or instruments? Yes What instruments? Drums, guitar, vibes, little bit of keyboard When did you start playing? Drums at 14 Did you teach yourself? Yes and watching local drummers 2. Are you in a band or bands? Yes What is the name of the band? Bayou Boys, Lehti Brothers Band What do you play? Drums What other instruments are in the band? 2 guitars and bass Do you have a band website? No 3. Do you write songs? yes Do you write lyrics, music or both? Both Do you have a writing partner? Not fulltime but I have collaborated 4. Do you record your music? Yes Do you use a home studio? If so what gear do you use? Yes. PC i7, MOTU Traveler, Yamaha Keyboard, Burns Strat, AT 4040 mic, Cubase, various 3rd party plugins. Do you use a recording studio? No Do you have music available on the web? if so where? www.ilehti.com 5. What other roles do you perform in the music business? Management? Label owner? Publishing? Promotion? Other? Do some mixing and mastering for clients. 6. Are you a tech head? Not really but I keep up to date on my computer programs 7. What country do you live in? Canada 8. What are your ambitions? To write better songs and learn the craft of recording better. 9. Do you draw/paint/write stories/computer art/dance or other creative pursuit? No What are your pastimes? Reading, visiting with my cat 10. What would you like to get out of Songstuff? Different ideas and approaches to songwriting, perhaps motivational, just to keep an open mind about it.