How do you write songs on piano?

[pianomanca10]

hi all, I'm trying to be a songwriter, but all my heroes are rock guitar players. People like Dave Matthews, Wilco, Robbie Robertson who have that percussive rock element that is hard to get sometimes as piano players, you know?

think of all the famous rock musicians who play guitars -- thousands right?
now think of all the piano rock musicians -- not as many -- its so HARD!

for example 3 chords on guitar sounds pretty cool and Rockin'. But on piano, it's not so convincing. Billy Joel and Elton have commented on this difference in interviews.

Elton is a hero of mine, so I'm curious how do you write songs on your piano? any tricks /tips you can share? how do you approach it?
thank you!

 

[Rayblewit]

now think of all the piano rock musicians -- not as many -- its so HARD!

Are you serious?

List of pop and rock pianists - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[pianomanca10]

very serious. show me Bon Jovi on the piano.
are you kidding with this list?
burt bacharach a rock piano player?
never seen bono on piano.
I dont know who most of these people are - who's ben mills? never heard of him

so yes, I'm serious. thank you for the first snarky response I've gotten on this forum. you're the first baby!

 

[Rayblewit]

It wasn't' snarky! You must be very sensitive to respond in such a manner.
You asked, so I answered . . Simple!
I think you need a reality check.
Furthermore, you are asking us how to write songs!
You either have the talent or not. . . Simple!
Ray

 

[pianomanca10]

It wasn't' snarky! You must be very sensitive to respond in such a manner.
You asked, so I answered . . Simple!
I think you need a reality check.
Furthermore, you are asking us how to write songs!
You either have the talent or not. . . Simple!
Ray

just go away. thank you!

 

[happyrat1]

If'n y'all can whistle, y'all can write country music.

If you're looking for the secret sauce, you've gotta WORK for it.

Gary

 

[pianomanca10]

well I was hoping to find other people on here who were empathetic and had advice, groups, websites, tricks that work for them and help them. I was looking for insight from others.

ps. you'll notice the girl in the video is playing... a guitar.

this is actually very helpful. I like the chord generator site. and her approach and process. thanks!

 

[happyrat1]

And of course , (NOBODY} writes songs on keyboards.

George and Ira Gershwin, and the Cohen Brothers, and Liberace, and Victor Borge, and Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock, and Rick Wakeman, and Keith Emerson, and Jordan Rudess, and Elton John, and Alan Parsons, and Weather Report and Passport a nd Eumir Deodato are all just figments of our imagination.

But of course, ONLY YOU, know what constitutes "GOOD" music

Grow up.

 

[happyrat1]

how to write a hit song - Google Search

 

[Rayblewit]

just go away. thank you!

I don't think so!

I think you need some guidance. I am here to assist you.
You want to write rock songs on keyboard. Have a listen to Deep Purple and The Doors just for starters. Their songs were mostly written by the keyboardist. . Jon Lord and Ray Manzarek respectively.

Checkout their chord progressions and their style of play. They would be perfect mentors for you. Just for starters.
The list I sent you on Wikipedia has hundreds of piano players. Sift through it to pick out some particular style which appeals to you . . maybe Lady Gaga or Ray Davies or John Lennon.

Listen and learn from them.

Try out your own riffs! Put pen to paper and experiment with various sounds.

Peace man! Be nice!

 

[Biggles]

Just switched on the Ignore feature

I certainly do not need to see Trolls posts on this forum.

 

[Rayblewit]

I don't think he is a troll Col.
I just think he is naive and undercooked.
Afterall, he posted already another thread on CLAV sound. He showed a snippet of intelligence with that.
I was prepared to offer him advice on this thread (second chance perhaps).
If he responds belligerently or anti social, then the mods will step in.
Your call @pianomanca10
Ray

 

[JimBeta]

hi all, I'm trying to be a songwriter, but all my heroes are rock guitar players. People like Dave Matthews, Wilco, Robbie Robertson who have that percussive rock element that is hard to get sometimes as piano players, you know?

think of all the famous rock musicians who play guitars -- thousands right?
now think of all the piano rock musicians -- not as many -- its so HARD!

for example 3 chords on guitar sounds pretty cool and Rockin'. But on piano, it's not so convincing. Billy Joel and Elton have commented on this difference in interviews.

Elton is a hero of mine, so I'm curious how do you write songs on your piano? any tricks /tips you can share? how do you approach it?
thank you!

Just go crazy. Make a lot of mistakes. Make it overcomplicated while the chords are very simple.
Then simplify it a bit.
Then just enjoy and have fun.

I dont know. Just have fun?

 

[pianomanca10]

Just go crazy. Make a lot of mistakes. Make it overcomplicated while the chords are very simple.
Then simplify it a bit.
Then just enjoy and have fun.

I dont know. Just have fun?

gee. why didn't I think of that?

 

[JimBeta]

gee. why didn't I think of that?

I dont know you asked? You asked how to write a song?
Well thats how I do it.
No problem, do whatever you want, but do not overcomplicate things, believe me, it does not sound well at the end of things.

 

[jmemcse]

Listening to Chuck Leavell play on The Allman Brothers Brothers and Sisters Album is what got me started playing rock piano. The song Southbound in particular. I would play along with that album and copy everything he did. I was also influenced by Billy Powell of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Those were my two original keyboard hero's.

I have one songwriting tip. Don't write songs for other people to listen to. You're putting expectations on yourself. Kinda limits creativity. Write them for yourself. Just jam around. Get a beat going. Experiment with how chords go with each other Play with it. Make it sound cool to yourself. Record 30 minutes of it. The next day listen back, pull the best parts out, link them together and make a song out of it. Hum along with it. Sing jiberish along with it and find a melody. You can write words later, or adapt the poem you wrote in 9th grade. Don't be restricted to verse chorus verse stuff, but that's good too. Most important - make yourself happy and it will show.