Writing songs

[Nessness]

Hey, I have a simple and sort of embarrassing question to ask. I know most other groups regularly compose new pieces all the time. Brown Taiko does not compose many pieces; most of our songs are pretty set, solid and inherited that we sometimes modify in small ways. We play pretty traditional things... kihonote, hachijo, yatai bayashi. Stuff people know and we adapt... our style is more to learn a few pieces really realy well. The founding members that have recently graduated never really delved into songwriting.

So straight up writing a song is a skill we never really developed. I don't even know where to start, and it's something that Brown Taiko needs at this point, now that we have a solid contingent of actual performing members. So my question is, how do you go about writing a song? Do you figure out all the rhythms and movements, more or less, before presenting it to your group? Where do you find interesting and fun rhythms and movements? How do you figure it out as an ensemble? I guess I just don't know where to start.

Thanks.

[taikowebtech]

Haha yeah. Song writing can be pretty dang intimidating for collegiate players. I wrote a song myself, but the lessons I learned were not so much from that piece, but the countless others I tried to start before I actually got to that one. I am sure that EVERY taiko player who has written a song has their own ideas and methods to composition, but I guess here is my take.

1) Find an idea.

Take the time to try and figure out what your song wants to embody. It can be a feeling, a symbol, a declaration to honor something, a gift, anything. Think of something you are passionate about expressing through taiko and roll with it.


2) Understand what has been done in the area.

Do your research. There is nothing more awkward then finding out after you have struggled to write a song that it has already been done and copyrighted by another group. Nothing wrong with talking to the composers of songs you like that are similar to get ideas and see what their inspiration is. Just make sure to keep in the tradition of knowing the history of what you are involving yourself in. If you are remixing a traditional piece, for example, I would suggest researching why the piece was made, learning the actual piece itself and then seeing where to go from there. Same applies to new songs. See what has been done, maybe take the time to learn some of the pieces out there, talk to the composers, etc. That way, people know you are not just copying or pulling something out randomly, but rather that you have done your background research and are paying the deserved respect to the people and songs that have come before.

I feel this is an important step that a lot of college groups overlook because of our "crunched" time period, but I feel that if you are passionate about something, you will find the time. If you respect the art, you will find the time. =]


3) Work out the basic outline of the song.

Whether its an essay, a book, a play, etc, it always helps to have a general outline. I figure, plan out a set of notes about what you want in your song like a storyboard and see where parts fit etc.


4) Write the song and the movements

One thing I have noticed, is that the movements and the rhythms need to flow together and be written together. Writing the song first without keeping movements in regard often leads to unneeded movements that are put there for no other reason than "oh I needed movements". The same holds true the other way.

Now saying that, is no easy task, but a lot of times, just jamming out on a drum helps, or playing around with a drum pad. Let the ideas roll out!


5) Don't forget the shime / percussions!

A lot of us like to focus on the chus since that is often the most prominent part. Don't feel like it has to be, and even if it is, don't neglect the other parts! The shime, odaiko, kane, hiroshiki, etc, all have integral parts in a song and you may even find you want them to be the star of the song!


6) Don't be afraid to start over, or to innovate!

The most important part! Don't be afraid to create something new and if that new thing dead ends, don't be afraid to start over! Chances are that you won't get it right the first time, or the second, or the third! It could take yourself days, or years to write a song that you can look at and be proud of. Every song is different and giving yourself grief isn't going to get you anywhere.


7) Have fun =]



As I said, these are just my thoughts on the process. I hope this helps!

Scott
Ex-Yukai Daiko @ UCLA

[attackwithdecay]

I'll throw in my two cents:

1) Don't throw everything in one piece. Choose an idea or two you are excited about, explore them, and then wrap it up. Shorter pieces leave your audience excited for more. Longer pieces sometimes don't.

2) Write to the level of your group. Simple songs can be very interesting when done well, and with thought. Complicated songs played poorly are painful for all involved. On the other hand, don't be afraid to try to PUSH the level of your group. You can write "focused" songs that help improve chops, improvisation, movement, ki, etc.

3) The more you have finished before practice, the better. It can be frustrating for the performers when a composer is not clear what they want everybody to play. Respect the limited time everybody has together, and make sure you aren't just writing one line ahead of what they are learning.

4) On the other hand, don't be so stiff that you are unable to cut out or change things that aren't working. In my opinion, this is the hardest aspect of composing -- writing the song is much easier than learning to properly teach a song that doesn't yet exist. Your performers will have detailed questions you never thought of, and you will need to roll with them and decide which are important to stop and spend time on, and which can be shelved. Again, this is about learning to use practice time effectively.

5) There are no real rules. Everything I wrote above is not an absolute, just some optional guidelines for a beginning composer. If you are having trouble taking the plunge, try some interim steps like writing small "transition" or "mini" pieces that your group can play between your more established songs. Or maybe try writing in a small group setting with a couple of other members.

6) OK, I lied -- there is one real rule: no plagiarism. If you are "inspired" by a piece, you should say as much in the liner notes. If you are knowingly using a riff or melody or distinctive movement from another taiko song you saw, you should probably get permission from the composer, and give them credit when you perform it (this is a little relative, but let's be honest -- do you really want to be the taiko MC Hammer ripping off the taiko Rick James?). If you straight up want to play a song that another person composed, you absolutely need their permission, and they should absolutely get credit when you play it.

dls