New to Taxi - Helpful Advice Needed

[DashAdams]

You're the sh!t Len, thanks for the links! Definitely going to play around with those over the weekend. I tend to start out with the melody already in my head, then I freestyle the lyrics playing with the cadance and notes until the rhyme scheme comes together. Wish I could put up a screen shot to show you an example but I have no clue how to do that lol.

[Len911]

Dash, after posting, I decided to change my workflow a little,lol! I used to have Masterwriter for lyrics on my studio computer, until I lost the main hard drive, and I couldn't recover it, I still had the email with the s/n but it wouldn't reauthenticate. I switched my internet computer to linux,lol, and decided to get rosegarden, a free linux sequencer with a notation editor with lyric editor, and will just use an internet rhyme tool. My problem is, is that I need to write lyrics,lol, and I hate to use the daw computer for that.

So you already have the melody, in your head or written down as well?

[DashAdams]

Yea Len I pretty much walk around all day constantly freestyling to melodies in my head lol. Main reason I have so much material, I'm always writing. My morning routine goes a little like this......5am jog to clear my head listening to top 40 (genre varies), then I take like an hour to write down whatever ideas sparked up from the run and spend the rest of the day revisiting them until the kids are asleep, and I can spend more time with the ideas and finish writing the songs. There's alot of noise in my head that becomes music when I fitter it all out. Wife calls me a mad scientist lol

[DashAdams]

Spent some time thinking about my Uncle who passed a few years ago. He's always been a huge influence for me, like my second home growing up and one of the few people in my family that encouraged me to pursue music. These were inspired by him.

[DashAdams]

"Presence" - Uptempo Hip Hop, bangin on the lunch table in the cafeteria flow, feel good vibes, deep bass guitar melodies, light piano throughout, live drums, male rapper

VERSE ::come in late::
...Still remember like it was yesterday
Close my eyes pretendin like it was just today
Wishin I could talk to u maybe or just embrace
Trynna flow my thoughts thru u ease up don't rush the pace
Follow the stream current, never the current stream
Currently collect currency for reoccurrin dreams
It's cause of u my life's become a reoccurrin theme
Get what I give and give my all until I'm buried deep...deep ::faint echo trailoff::

::breakdown into prechorus::

PRECHORUS
Know ur presence is felt, with every step now.......
::let it breath::
Know ur presence is felt, with every breath now.....
::breakdown and build tension::

CHORUS
::live band killing it::

VERSE ::come in early::
Beauty in the solitude, quiet ur mind let the silence soothe
They wrinkle ur vibe, let the iron loose
Just blowin off steam ain't got shit to try to prove
Dialogue with dummies can leave u with a fryin fuse


@DashAdamsMusic

[DashAdams]

"Amongst The Ruble" - midtempo Indie/Rock, mellow acoustic tension-release, soft male or female vocal

VERSE
Was it just a dreeaam, lastnight I seeen uur face......
...U told me it would beee oookay
Sometimes life can seeem sooo strange
Woke up trying to breeaathe uur naaaaame....
::BREAKDOWN-PAUSE::

PRECHORUS
::COME BACK IN-TENSION BUILDUP::
U told me u've been watchin......I'm never forgotten
Told me keep livin and quittin's never an option
When things crumble u'll stumble but never drop and
Stand amongst the ruble u'll always know where ur ROC is......myyyyyyyy

CHORUS
......guiding light will forever shine up in the skyyyyy
......illuminate so a darkened path u'll never riiiiiiide
......I'm by ur side through all ur troubleeeeeees
Just stand tall amongst the rubleeeee.......stand tall amongst the ruble


@DashAdamsMusic

[DashAdams]

Just giving you all an idea of how I typically write and structure my songs. TAXI is awesome!

[Len911]

Hip Hop

I'm not so sure notation, would be the way to go. Rhythm not accurate enough. Maybe for the pulse rhythm?

For hip hop vocals maybe use a marimba or a pitched percussion of some sort?

Dash, a sequencer with a piano roll style of note entry, and a few virtual instruments is probably the best way to go.

[DashAdams]

You'd be surprised Len, when I go back thru any of my notes I instantly hear what I originally had playing in head when I wrote it down. Spent my high school and college years going through the rap battle scene and freestyling in different competitions and all that fun stuff. On the spot improv with lyrics and being able to pull "filler lines" out of memory was always key to out-rhyming the competition. As far as wrtiting now, as Iong as I can catch the vibe, it's pretty easy for me to pick up where I leave off on most projects. I've been blessed with an insane OCD type of memory. Lol I love hearing feedback from you all, it's very much appreciated!

[Len911]

Dash, if you can vocalize the parts, then just record your vocals in a multi track daw. You can always insert drum samples and other instrument samples for the vocals.

Here's sort of an example using hitpoints.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isdQUU3Xgd0

The hitpoints will locate the transients in your vocal, so basically if you have the rhythm of the part, you can insert samples of drums or other instruments at the same rhythm as your vocal. Now you might have to pitch the rhythms. Rhythm + pitch = melody. That might be the best way or at least one way for the way you work??