People Who Don't Play Instruments

[Joeyy]

I'm new to the whole songwriting thing, but i would really like to get like backing tracks for the songs i've written, so i was wondering how i would do that.. i dont play any instruments and although music production interests me i have no software that will do it, and no money to buy any! lol... any idea

(sorry this is probably posted in the wrong section but i didnt really know where to put it)

[Nightwolf]

The best way to do that would be to find a collaborator who Writes Music that clicks with your Lyrics. When you post a Song for review and the fact that you are looking for a collaborator for the song to the intro.

There are free software programs, but without years of trial and error you can imagine what the end product is likely to be

[Joeyy]

oh cool thanks, ive just seen the collaboration section so ill leave a post in there, cheers. i quite want a free software thing though just for the fun of it, do you know of a good one?

[Carnival]

a good free softaware is 'Audacity'. Download at:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/

[roxhythe]

Y'know, I'd be tempted to do both.

If you write lyrics only, then (in my opinion) you do need a composer (somebody who writes music). Shop around, try lots of people. Plenty of folks willing to help.

I don't really recommend the computer music generators as a way to produce music for your songs; even the good ones come across pretty obviously as machine-driven. What working with the software may give you that I think is real healthy is a sense of, well, not exactly rhythm, but how your words come across when they're sung.

One problem I've seen with a lot of lyricists who don't have musical experience is their words come out more like poetry. That's not to diss poetry, and some of it is very good poetry--but it's hard to set to music because it doesn't flow right. If your words can come across as something *oral*, rather than *read*, you've made the composer's job a lot easier.

This help?

Oh, and Audacity is free--but a lot of the more sophisticated programs are pretty cheap. Have fun.

Joe

[Nigel]

Try looking on Ebay for Band in a Box, a cheaper way of obtaining it rather than buy it new. It is very good for getting your lyrics into music, I´m suprised more people don´t use it.

I can play the guitar which is what I use to write with but I now put my composition through Band in a Box to give it a more professionally arranged feel to it.

I think its brilliant, although it can take a while to master how to use it to its best ability, but hey its only time.

[Lazz]

Try looking on Ebay for Band in a Box, ... I´m suprised more people don´t use it.... I think its brilliant...

Good call, Nigel.

Band-in-a-Box is dynamite and I too am amzed that people here seem generally so unaware and unfamiliar with it.

Originally a powerful practice aid for players, it is also an invaluable tool for songriters.

It will augment or even completely replace the standard play-along series from Jamie Aebersold or Ramon Ricker's music-minus-one discs that enable you to work-out regularly on a repertoire when you can't call on friends to jam with. B-in-a-B, however, offers loads more. It lets you input the chord sequences and band-feels of your own choosing for the same purpose and so allows you to practice on much much more than the library of shared jazz tunes and songs from the Great American Songbook offered by Aebersold and Ricker et al.

That was the original intention, anyway.

It was desgned by a guy right here in town - brother of a great local jazz guitarist friend who gave lots of essential input into its development.

And it is now very widely used by students and loads of great pro players as a practice tool.

But - because you can just spell-in the chords and changes you want, and you can get a whole band made of instrumentation of your choice to play it back at you, and you can choose and vary and experiment with feels and textures - it is now absolutely perfect for songwriters.

It contains rock and country vocabularies as well as basic jazzoid stuff now.

Maybe unfortunately for Joeyy, however, who says he doesn't play anything, its profitable use does benefit from the knowledge of theory and harmony that you can bring to it.

Highly recommended.

Edited April 3, 2008 by Lazz

[Nightwolf]

WoW Lazz, that comes as a shocker to me for you to endorse something like this. I'll have to take a peek then

ROCK ON

[Lazz]

comes as a shocker to me

Why's that then, geezer?

I am curious to know.

for you to endorse something like this.

There is nothing else like this

I'll have to take a peek then

Great !

You'll love it.

[Retrosaurus Rex]

There is nothing else like this

Actually there is...

http://www.ntonyx.com/jmt_orch.htm

http://www.ntonyx.com/onyx.htm

I got a "lite" version of the JMT Orchestrator with my copy of Sonar. I like it, even with the limitations of the demo version. I didn't find that it had any unacceptable quirks or conflicts with my system. I think the Onyx Arranger is more directly competitive with Band in a Box and seems like a good deal at half the price of BnaB. I not put off by the strong Russian accent in the ad copy on the website. However, I know that BnaB is mature software and is highly recommended my many astute and knowledgeable people. So, I was wondering if anybody had knowledge and/or experience with both of these programs and could point out anything else one should consider....

[Lazz]

Actually there is... .... more directly competitive with Band in a Box and seems like a good deal at half the price of BnaB.

Thanks - hadn't heard about that lot at all.

Wonder how they compare.

[AnneC]

I came across a program called "Band Minus One". Anyone know anything about it? For my needs, BIAB would be rather more than I'd need and I couldn't justify the price so I've been looking at alternatives. I may check into Andrew's suggestions too. Thanks!