Pedals vs Songwriting

[MEC]

are we talking about just coming up with riffs or like writing words?
for words I like to go get a coffee and put some whiskey in it and then go for walks and write stuff on my phone

For me, I'm talking about writing actual songs - words and music.
I can't speak for everyone else.

This makes a BIG difference.
I don't/can't sing so I rarely write music with lyrics in mind.
That being said, the dude that sings in the band never seems to have trouble finding room in my songs for words.

Also, "actual songs" can be written without words.
Just ask any dude with a powdered wig and a piano.
You could also ask Dylan Carlson.

[GardenoftheDead]

lyrics are for people who can sing/know someone who can sing that isn't a douche filled with lighter fluid.

[AngryGoldfish]

I write lyrics and although I love to sing, can't do it very well.

[coldbrightsunlight]

I write lyrics and although I love to sing, can't do it very well.

Yeah this is me as well. It would be nice if I was in a band where I could just sing backing or not at all, but since I'm not I feel like I've got to sing my own stuff.

[AngryGoldfish]

Like everyone I really wish I could sing. For me it would make my life as a musician a hell of a lot easier. I can sing and play at the same time, I can write music, I can play guitar and can put my mind and talents to other instruments, I can perform, etc. etc. But I can't sing. First world problems.

[MaxMaps]

For me, without pedals I would have possibly stopped playing a while ago. If find that personally with so many textures to mess around with it makes you want to pick up and play more. Even if its goofing off its time invested in music rather than doing something else.

Good is only a matter of perception

[goroth]

Just get lessons. Seriously. It's expensive but awesome. You don't need that many to give you a springboard that you can develop yourself. Then just have a crack
I started singing about 10 years ago and now my singing is a lot stronger than my guitar skills, which was for me unthinkable when I started singing.

Pedals are a part of my musical identity and inseparable from songwriting. Writing a tune on an acoustic is the same for me as a composer writing a symphony - I'm writing with one medium but thinking for sounds in another medium. Instead of strings and timpani and stuff it's fuzz and filters and flangers.

No-one would suggest a good symphony should be able to be performed on one piano, I extend the same logic to pedals. And now that I think of it, all music.

Wow. Revelation.

[dubkitty]

given the number of people out there vocalizing who have awful voices, you might as well go for it. as long as you stay relatively on-pitch you can't possibly be worse than John Cale or Krist Novoselic.

[rfurtkamp]

I can be worse than either. So I rarely do it!

But I don't really write music that needs it.

Don't "need" pedals either, but I like where they take me.

[coldbrightsunlight]

given the number of people out there vocalizing who have awful voices, you might as well go for it. as long as you stay relatively on-pitch you can't possibly be worse than John Cale or Krist Novoselic.

Yeah, listening to bands I like with bad singers makes me feel better about it.

[Glenouille]

The thing is the idea for a new tune could come from anywhere.

If I'm messing around (or playing, or purposely trying to come up with a tune) with instruments in an acoustic/unplugged fashion. I might add some additional layers/voicings at a later stage. I generally think of the combination instrument + effect as another instrument in its own right (quite close to what Goroth was describing).

If I'm messing around with pedals, I might stumble across a sound, a sonic cocktail, a winning combination of several effects that inspires me to elaborate further and build upon it.

Sometimes, pedals are not necessary, bold and simple also works; I have a traditional music background and often less is more in this genre.
I don't feel pressured to add tracks full of effects or compelled to press footswitches because I have pedals all over the room floor and in every drawer. A few subtle things can also go a long way by giving some extra depth, colour, air, space... it can help to emphasize the mood, the theme, etc.

[AngryGoldfish]

Just get lessons. Seriously. It's expensive but awesome. You don't need that many to give you a springboard that you can develop yourself. Then just have a crack
I started singing about 10 years ago and now my singing is a lot stronger than my guitar skills, which was for me unthinkable when I started singing.

Pedals are a part of my musical identity and inseparable from songwriting. Writing a tune on an acoustic is the same for me as a composer writing a symphony - I'm writing with one medium but thinking for sounds in another medium. Instead of strings and timpani and stuff it's fuzz and filters and flangers.

No-one would suggest a good symphony should be able to be performed on one piano, I extend the same logic to pedals. And now that I think of it, all music.

Wow. Revelation.

I dig your comment on writing with pedals.

And as far as singing lessons, I could consider it, yeah. I don't have a terrible voice as it stands. It's just not enough to gig or record with.

[goroth]

Go for it AG. Another thing that helped was grabbing some CDs and heading down to the rehearsal room and singing through them. Had a couple of favourites I sang at least once a week for a couple of years. It's a lot easier to develop when you can sing as loud or softly as you want, with whatever technique you want with no one else able to hear.

</hijack>

[Genghis Kanye]

And as far as singing lessons, I could consider it, yeah. I don't have a terrible voice as it stands. It's just not enough to gig or record with.

If it's not terrible then it is good enough to gig with. For real. How many good bands have you seen with a mediocre singer? Just thrash it out, you'll get better.

[npfrs]

And as far as singing lessons, I could consider it, yeah. I don't have a terrible voice as it stands. It's just not enough to gig or record with.

If it's not terrible then it is good enough to gig with. For real. How many good bands have you seen with a mediocre singer? Just thrash it out, you'll get better.

I'll attest to that!