Andy235

What are your greatest influences? Do you prefer harmony vocals through most of a song or just in certain key parts? How do you come up with a good harmony line, and how do you know where to use it?

Usually, at least when making recordings solo, have recorded myself with vocals and acoustic guitar running through the basic song.

Try doing this with double tracking vocals.

For example, do you tend to write songs at the piano or do you prefer to use a guitar, for example?

Sometimes a good collaborator is someone who sees eye to eye with you. Sometimes it is someone who is very different, like Lennon and McCartney (also, their collaboration was often more of a competition---many Lennon/McCartney songs were primarily written by one or the other or with only some collaboration in order to finish the song off---but they often were driven to produce better material when one of them came in with a top notch song idea). Sometimes it is when you have a dedicated lyricist and a dedicated music writer, other times it is good when the lines are blurred. I think it comes down to chemistry, patience and talent to collaborate. But many great collaborations had radically different chemistry.

It really was good advice.

Very good advice.

Thank you for your advice. It is the hardest part for me. (Well, that and coming up with a good change for the bridge). Part of my problem is that I often get stuck on subject matter and putting it into song form. Or I come up with a few good lines but can't expand enough. The weird thing is, that I am a fairly good writer, but not of poetry and lyrics.

One of my biggest problems in writing a song is writing a good set of lyrics.