[quote="Marekenshin"]Here's another one from me. I actually worked with an old IMer (lmd2131) to write out the chord progression and then wrote the vocals/lyrics. He chose the title, is half joke is half I don't feel like giving this a proper title right now.
https://soundcloud.com/midnight-down/la ... s-de-tagle

P.S. Carnval, you'll notice a cadence utilizing that IV->iv on this one~[/quote]

Intetesting chord progressions in this one. Imd213's use of tension chords is pretty impressive as they are quite hard to pull off when trying to do melodies with them. Good stuff from him! I also dig the power chords you used for a section. And yes I liked that IV-iv cadance very much!! I also liked the positive theme of the lyrics for a person to be down because summer isn't here, but you try to cheer him up in the chorus by staying optimistic. I believe I wrote a song in 50/90 in a similar theme to yours regarding feelings toward summer though unlike yours mine was more negative as the person in my lyrics isn't enjoying a great summer. You are good lyricist, you seem to the have the knack to come up with good lines in your lyrics!

Now time to credit me as the third writer to your song (haha, just kidding!), For what I'm going to say about it.
More like whatcouldvebeens for the chord progressions that I thought would have sounded better. For Dsus2-A-Dsus2-E in the prechorus, I think it would have been better if it was Dsus2-A-B7-E or Dsus2-A-B7-D-E. I think that B7 would it have made that part more dramatic and still have tension as that Dsus2 chord. E and D are used to resolve from the B7. I also think that whenever you play the B7, you should emphasize one word of the lyrics to bring even more soul and drama to the melody!

Now for the chorus chords. Instead of using A-E-AM7-D-Dm, I think you should've went with A-E-C#7-D-Dm instead. It seems it would fit with the melody better especially for the chorus which seems to have some drama happening in the melody. As for the end of the chorus Instead of ending the chorus on the IV, I think you should've ended on the I after the IV-vi cadence like you did at the end of the Outro. Can't really explain much in this one, just something that would resolved that cadence better.

As for the outro, I think you went a bit too long in this one. Try to make it a bit shorter​ next time.

Anyways I hope these suggestions come in handy for your next song. I'm definitely seeing improvement​ in your songwriting and I think on working with a collaborator was good call on your part. Nice job on the collaboration, and I hope to see you two collaborate again in the future!

I'm glad you liked it! It's funny, I actually dislike summer a lot because of how hot it gets every day, but I guess I associate summer with ideas of youth, happiness, freedom, etc...so the summer here is more figurative than literal.

I did choir for so long that vocal melodies of many sorts come to me quite easily. Like, depending on how the chords themselves are played I basically hear/feel differenr melody suggestions without having to think too much about it. I'm awful at the technical, theory-based breakdown, but I have a bit of pride in my melodies.

Will once again leave this one as is for now, but play around with those various chord progressions you mentioned to see how I like them.

Even though I tend to be pretty stubborn about just disregarding any advice I don't agree with, I really dig that you write an entirely different music than I do and can make suggestions that I may not have thought of/stumbled across as easily.

[quote="Marekenshin"]So I get credit for only part of those aspects, this time! The verse chord progression with that great A-E6 thing was all lmd2131, and we worked out the overall progression together (although I pulled the chorus chords from an idea we had jammed to a few weeks prior and I think I wrote the prechorus chords, too).

The cool riff after the first verse/prechorus is stolen directly from the Japanese rock band Number Girl. It's just some intervals played in rapid succession until the final chord:
24xxxx 46xxxx 57xxxx x57xxx
24xxxx 46xxxx 57xxxx 46xxxx 24xxxx 02xxxx
24xxxx 46xxxx 57xxxx x57xxx
x47xxx 022120

Edit: Also, I don't think you go too far with the dissonant notes! It just seems like feeling out a few more sonic options for what to do with that sound to give your album more tonal variety might keep listeners more interested. The songwriting itself is quite good, and I think you're developing a "sound" in terms of the vocal stylings - there are some trends with how you do your meters that I quite enjoy. Anyway, as always, keep it up![/quote]

Very cool. It's funny how other artist can contribute a lot to a song others, you, or me may write. I haven't listened to Number Girl; suggest a song by them? I did the same thing you did except I changed the single note of the lead on the bridge Carnival to a pound on fingerpick on my song Caravan, haha. When I played it, I was like "man this sounds awfully similar to that part in the song Carnival."

Could you explain Sonic options? Like, are you saying that it all kind of blends in? The reason why I ask is because I am doing an album (currently) based on my experience living in a cabin in Alaska. I am leaning towards the theme of when I first moved there to when I left. I'm already liking this album much more than my last and it is looking to be an album containing more than the average number of songs on an album.

I think that the guitar tones and use of parallel harmonies across Changes may be a bit frequent for my personal taste, mostly. Having some sections that contrast the heavy and dissonant bits with more bright, major-scale focused melodies would give a really interesting sound, I think. You have this great alternative sound going on, and the writing is smart. Personally, I like just a bit more of what people like to call "pop sensibility," I guess. Having some songs or just sections that feel distinctly "fun" to listen to, or whatever. I think there was more of that on the one before Changes, perhaps.

That said, I do recognize that you were trying to make some new sounds on Changes, and it definitely sounds quite different from the other set of songs you've posted so far. If your next songs are something that blends the two most recent albums in style a bit while continuing to try new things, I will likely enjoy it quite a bit.

[quote="Marekenshin"] Having some sections that contrast the heavy and dissonant bits with more bright, major-scale focused melodies would give a really interesting sound, I think. You have this great alternative sound going on, and the writing is smart. Personally, I like just a bit more of what people like to call "pop sensibility," I guess. Having some songs or just sections that feel distinctly "fun" to listen to, or whatever. [/quote]

I'm gonna have to give that a shot, that would be interesting to try out.

haha, I have a hard time writing "fun" song. It's something I lack and I think it's due to my listening influences as well as my lyrics. This isn't an excuse to not being able to write something fun poppy, but it may be an underlying factor to why I very seldom write such songs like it. Thanks for the advice; I'll keep a mental note, as I do with everyone's advice, while recording.

As always, these are more thoughts on other areas you can explore than concrete "advice." You should apply whatever pop sensibility you feel, in however you feel, so that the character of your own writing still shines through clearly, in my opinion. So in terms of the sounds you like, it doesn't have be full out powerpop style "fun," but I think that contrasting sounds and emotions are a key part of creating intriguing music.

[quote="Dewith"]How long have you been using Reaper?[/quote]

I think I've been using it for a few years. Still getting use to the automation thing but everything else seems to come easily to me.

[quote="Marekenshin"]I'm glad you liked it! It's funny, I actually dislike summer a lot because of how hot it gets every day, but I guess I associate summer with ideas of youth, happiness, freedom, etc...so the summer here is more figurative than literal.

I did choir for so long that vocal melodies of many sorts come to me quite easily. Like, depending on how the chords themselves are played I basically hear/feel differenr melody suggestions without having to think too much about it. I'm awful at the technical, theory-based breakdown, but I have a bit of pride in my melodies.

Will once again leave this one as is for now, but play around with those various chord progressions you mentioned to see how I like them.

Even though I tend to be pretty stubborn about just disregarding any advice I don't agree with, I really dig that you write an entirely different music than I do and can make suggestions that I may not have thought of/stumbled across as easily.[/quote]

Wow, interesting I never thought about that. It seemed like came to me as literal, but you thank you for clearing that up for me!

Yeah, your singing is fantastic! So I think you wouldn't have trouble in the melody. That leads to me a question I wanted to ask you, do you have to become a good singer in order to come up with good melodies for songs?

Yeah my suggestions are basically ideas to mess around with rather than to apply them to rewrite the song. I honestly wouldn't change even the worst songs I've written, just so I can look back on it to see how far I've progressed as a songwriter. Not only that but it will come in handy when I write a new song. I can use as it guide to writing better songs. So not only I can't blame you for it but I even really support your decision in leaving the song as it is!

Yeah I had these suggestions in mind when I heard your song for a few times. I laid them out on guitar and piano to figure out what I'm actually hearing was correct upon those listens.

I wanted to chip in on Marekenshin's thoughts about the parallel harmonies happening in Changes. Double-tracking your vocals is fine, but when it comes to other vocal harmonies, they need come off as being less predictable or else it can bore the listener (I should know myself since I wrote a song with parallel vocal harmonies). So try to use them sparingly preferably to emphasize key lyrics. Another way to keep the vocal harmony interesting is to use contrary motion ([url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapuntal_motion[/url]). Have one vocal line go up while the others go down.

Edit: Dewith, The reason why I thought your main sound reminded me of My Bloody Valentine was the dissonant harmonies happening amongst the pop melodies.

I also want to chip in on the pop sensibilities thing. I also too go for that fun and pop stuff. But my tone of music has been quite unpredictable with whether i go with lighter meldic stuff or dark melodic stuff. While I have a lot of major key songs, I also have written several minor key songs in the past too.

I too also prefer to listen to lighter, fun, poppy things as well. My influences tend to verge more on pop music. Whether is pop-rock, power pop, pop-punk, or britpop. Of course pop music with a rock band instruments! I'm interested in pop music that has unpredictable things happening like odd time signature changes, key changes, use of out-of-key chords, and etc. You know the type of pop music that keeps you on your toes!

[quote="CARNVAL372"]Yeah, your singing is fantastic! So I think you wouldn't have trouble in the melody. That leads to me a question I wanted to ask you, do you have to become a good singer in order to come up with good melodies for songs?[/quote]

I don't think you need to be a great singer to come up with great melodies! Singing a lot, to a lot of different sorts of songs, is probably what would help the most, maybe? Once you have more muscle memory built up to comfortably play around with different intervals with confidence (which singing a lot of different songs should help you with, as you'll be singing different intervals in different keys from song to song), you'll be able to improvise and try out vocal lines with more ease, just like practicing many different scales and licks on a guitar will help you find more lead line possibilities.

You can develop the sense of melody without even singing, though, as well, obviously! There have been times where I just noodle around on my guitar to a rhythm progression, and I end up stumbling over melodies that I want to use for the vocals that way. No wrong way to approach it, the main thing is to just both absorb examples of what others have done and try things out on your own. I would actually recommend trying to also take the rhythm of the melody lines into account - hip hop and other genres have some very different rhythmic tropes than pop-rock and such. Basically, just keep listening to all the music you enjoy as much as you can and you'll find yourself picking up more and more options over time quite naturally, in my experience. It takes years and you never really finish improving, but you already know how addictive and rewarding the sense of progressing as a musician is, I'm sure!

[quote]I honestly wouldn't change even the worst songs I've written, just so I can look back on it to see how far I've progressed as a songwriter. Not only that but it will come in handy when I write a new song. I can use as it guide to writing better songs. [/quote]

I really dig this outlook. If I go back to update a song, I feel I'm more to rewrite it into something at least a little new rather than just making some minor edits to the form or something. I've only gone and reworked older songs like two times so far, but both times the changes were pretty significant, and the second one was really an entirely new song with just a few shared progressions and lyrics.

[quote="Marekenshin"]As always, these are more thoughts on other areas you can explore than concrete "advice." You should apply whatever pop sensibility you feel, in however you feel, so that the character of your own writing still shines through clearly, in my opinion. So in terms of the sounds you like, it doesn't have be full out powerpop style "fun," but I think that contrasting sounds and emotions are a key part of creating intriguing music. [/quote]

The idea of contrasting sounds is what most appeals to me. I have a couple more months till I have to pack up and move, so hopefully I'll have this album tidied up.

[quote="CARNVAL372"][quote="Dewith"]How long have you been using Reaper?[/quote]

I think I've been using it for a few years. Still getting use to the automation thing but everything else seems to come easily to me.

I wanted to chip in on Marekenshin's thoughts about the parallel harmonies happening in Changes. Double-tracking your vocals is fine, but when it comes to other vocal harmonies, they need come off as being less predictable or else it can bore the listener (I should know myself since I wrote a song with parallel vocal harmonies). So try to use them sparingly preferably to emphasize key lyrics. Another way to keep the vocal harmony interesting is to use contrary motion ([url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapuntal_motion[/url]). Have one vocal line go up while the others go down.

my tone of music has been quite unpredictable with whether i go with lighter meldic stuff or dark melodic stuff. While I have a lot of major key songs, I also have written several minor key songs in the past too.

I too also prefer to listen to lighter, fun, poppy things as well. My influences tend to verge more on pop music. Whether is pop-rock, power pop, pop-punk, or britpop. Of course pop music with a rock band instruments! I'm interested in pop music that has unpredictable things happening like odd time signature changes, key changes, use of out-of-key chords, and etc. You know the type of pop music that keeps you on your toes! [/quote]

i was chatting to a lady earlier today and she said her biggest issue (when she used Reaper) was that when she recorded while listening, her notes would be slightly off. Glad to hear you're making the best out of a program!

I have a song laid down that may compliment contrary motion. This is a nice little thing to keep in mind; you're absolutely right that when I hear a predictable vocal melody/harmony, it is less attractive then something a little more innovative or, rather, different.

I've noticed your tone change from light and dark; it is refreshing. Personally, I enjoy your darker tones, that's just my taste.

I mainly listen to less poppy stuff, hence my style may be influenced. I will say that you two have a point. I do enjoy a good song that gets me into a chipper mood or something that compliments the beautiful weather. A song with a little pop can make an album less dreary as well.

[quote="Marekenshin"]

[quote]I honestly wouldn't change even the worst songs I've written, just so I can look back on it to see how far I've progressed as a songwriter. Not only that but it will come in handy when I write a new song. I can use as it guide to writing better songs. [/quote]

I really dig this outlook. If I go back to update a song, I feel I'm more to rewrite it into something at least a little new rather than just making some minor edits to the form or something. I've only gone and reworked older songs like two times so far, but both times the changes were pretty significant, and the second one was really an entirely new song with just a few shared progressions and lyrics. [/quote]

I have to agree. Even though I have thought of redoing songs, I've always refrained from doing so. Like you Carnival said, it's a good point of reference of where you once were and how far you've progressed. Nice input man!
I think songs that I haven't shared are songs I will rework. If I've already shared them, I lean towards leaving it be, despite it having a couple off putting notes, vocals, etc.

[quote="Dewith"]i was chatting to a lady earlier today and she said her biggest issue (when she used Reaper) was that when she recorded while listening, her notes would be slightly off. Glad to hear you're making the best out of a program!

I have a song laid down that may compliment contrary motion. This is a nice little thing to keep in mind; you're absolutely right that when I hear a predictable vocal melody/harmony, it is less attractive then something a little more innovative or, rather, different.

I've noticed your tone change from light and dark; it is refreshing. Personally, I enjoy your darker tones, that's just my taste.

I mainly listen to less poppy stuff, hence my style may be influenced. I will say that you two have a point. I do enjoy a good song that gets me into a chipper mood or something that compliments the beautiful weather. A song with a little pop can make an album less dreary as well. [/quote]

Sounds like a latency issue with her interface. I haven't discovered this problem on Reaper but I highly doubt it's the DAW's (for any DAW) fault. Another thing might be that the RAM is too low to run Reaper causing those hiccups during recording.

That's cool glad to hear it from you!

Yeah I usually go with my influences when writing music. However I tend to also branch out at times. Though my influences have also done that as well! So that's not worth saying much to trying things outside my influences! I'm pretty sure that your influences once in blue moon would do something really untypical from something that they usually do. Like doing a song in a different genre, if they did dark melodies typically they would write light melodies rarely, some members of the band might do small solo projects in the future, The songwriter writes a song for a pop singer to do, occasionally they would play in-style of one of their influences for one of their songs, they might do a comedy number.

Btw I've always considered your influences to be on the poppier side but with less listener-friendly aspects such as dissoance (a semitone-off synths, careful with that axe vocals, unwarranted guitar feedbacks, messy guitar playing, lots of distortion), and raw production (either lo-fi or a warm sound). I could be wrong though.

[quote="Dewith"]A song with a little pop can make an album less dreary as well[/quote]

You could say the same to a pop album, A song with a little dissonance can make an album less exciting as well!

[quote="Dewith"]I think songs that I haven't shared are songs I will rework. If I've already shared them, I lean towards leaving it be, despite it having a couple off putting notes, vocals, etc.[/quote]

For songs that I haven't shared are basically either done for a different purpose (song contests, thinking of releasing it one day though for you guys to have a good laugh at it. ), fragmented pieces (or complete songs) that I have forgotten with written lyrics (both in-style attempts), re-workable nursery rhymes (mainly for production sake), failed cover attempts in the past (too many to list). a lot of these unreleased material were dated back in 2006-2016. Aside from the shoddy covers, I would've definitely released all of it.

As for songs that I've reworked I redid some songs (particularly Travel) because when I written those songs I didn't include the tempo, so I had to extend the meters to fit the lyrics (some of them even resulted in odd-time signatures because of the extensions). Some of these songs were originally written for the 50/90 contest and recorded under an hour that had the lyrics resized due to time constraints. Some of my songs also had wrong chords in them (Books, Anytime (still has!)). I rewritten new lyrics for two past songs (I Can Feel This Fragrance, Outside My House). The former had lyrics but I couldn't find them and so I written new lyrics, it turned out better than I expected! The latter was written under 10 minutes for a sub-challenge on 50/90 in where you have 10 minutes to write 3 songs. I also redid that one because I never recorded it before, and so I had no idea how the song went tempo wise. It also didn't had lyrics either, so I wrote new lyrics for that one too. And when I added the lyrics, the music was too short for them, and so I had to extend the meters again (resulting again in odd-time signatures). There were a few songs that had a lot of tensions chords to the point it was difficult to play the song and so I had to simplify them in order to play them easier (I Can Feel The Skies, From Somewhere Nearby). For FAWM, I reworked "And So I Joined" (during the recording session!) because the lyrics were too long as well.

I think an old song that didn't have a proper tempo, lyrics and music that didn't synchronized well, chords too difficult to play all the way through, didn't had lyrics, needs to be reworked! lol But other than that, it should be left alone!!

This song comes in with props to Sawao (because I stole most of the chord progressions from That House, which I make a nod to in the outro), and CARNVAL once again because om nom thanks for reminding me how good IV->iv is, even though I only throw it in there one time.

https://soundcloud.com/midnight-down/waiting-along

[quote="CARNVAL372"]

Yeah I usually go with my influences when writing music. However I tend to also branch out at times. Though my influences have also done that as well! So that's not worth saying much to trying things outside my influences! I'm pretty sure that your influences once in blue moon would do something really untypical from something that they usually do. Like doing a song in a different genre, if they did dark melodies typically they would write light melodies rarely, some members of the band might do small solo projects in the future, The songwriter writes a song for a pop singer to do, occasionally they would play in-style of one of their influences for one of their songs, they might do a comedy number.

Btw I've always considered your influences to be on the poppier side but with less listener-friendly aspects such as dissoance (a semitone-off synths, careful with that axe vocals, unwarranted guitar feedbacks, messy guitar playing, lots of distortion), and raw production (either lo-fi or a warm sound). I could be wrong though.

As for songs that I've reworked I redid some songs (particularly Travel) because when I written those songs I didn't include the tempo, so I had to extend the meters to fit the lyrics (some of them even resulted in odd-time signatures because of the extensions). Some of these songs were originally written for the 50/90 contest and recorded under an hour that had the lyrics resized due to time constraints. Some of my songs also had wrong chords in them (Books, Anytime (still has!)). I rewritten new lyrics for two past songs (I Can Feel This Fragrance, Outside My House). The former had lyrics but I couldn't find them and so I written new lyrics, it turned out better than I expected! The latter was written under 10 minutes for a sub-challenge on 50/90 in where you have 10 minutes to write 3 songs. I also redid that one because I never recorded it before, and so I had no idea how the song went tempo wise. It also didn't had lyrics either, so I wrote new lyrics for that one too. And when I added the lyrics, the music was too short for them, and so I had to extend the meters again (resulting again in odd-time signatures). There were a few songs that had a lot of tensions chords to the point it was difficult to play the song and so I had to simplify them in order to play them easier (I Can Feel The Skies, From Somewhere Nearby). For FAWM, I reworked "And So I Joined" (during the recording session!) because the lyrics were too long as well.

I think an old song that didn't have a proper tempo, lyrics and music that didn't synchronized well, chords too difficult to play all the way through, didn't had lyrics, needs to be reworked! lol But other than that, it should be left alone!![/quote]

I will say that some of my influences have helped me produce a different feel to a song I originally intended to be. My biggest influences (overall) have been The Pillows (of course), Elliott Smith, Sparklehorse, Hayden, Hermit, the Chewinggum Weekend and Barzin. I will say I get periodical influences that change my mood like phases that got me into Alex G (very Dissonance), Dinosaur Jr, Built to Spill, Iron & Wine, Why?, and Neil Young. The periodical influences may have changed my outlook on songs and how they are written and what not. I've always been a person attracted by overall sound rather than lyrics; although, once I like the song, I feel compelled to listen closely to the lyrics and truly get a grasp on whether I really like it or just enjoy it.

10 minuets to write three songs? Now that's wild! I will say I'm quick to get ideas down, but to actually finish 3 songs in ten minuets sounds intense! Or it is just getting the idea down rather than recording/finishing 3 songs? Funny you brought up tension chord for songs you had to rework...I've have a handful of those myself. Actually, they have been songs consisting of fingerpicking that was both too fast paced and finger straining, so I too slow them down and simplify them; to my surprise, they turned out to be songs I really really enjoy playing and re-hearing. Have you been working on any new songs or are you still taking a break from last month's demands?

[quote="Marekenshin"]This song comes in with props to Sawao (because I stole most of the chord progressions from That House, which I make a nod to in the outro), and CARNVAL once again because om nom thanks for reminding me how good IV->iv is, even though I only throw it in there one time.

https://soundcloud.com/midnight-down/waiting-along[/quote]

There was a time in my life where I really enjoyed playing That House on repeat, nice incorporation Mare; this is nice. I particularly enjoy the lyrics you have here. I can hear the meaning in your voice when sing this; it compliments the lyrics greatly.


A question out of curiosity for everyone here: When you record or get an idea for a song, do you write lyrics first or lay down a track or two?

I used to do more of a "compositional mode" when I was first writing - I would come up with a chord progression and then just add on layers of melodies and harmonies, and then write lyrics to that. Nowadays, though, I either go to the guitar when I have a good vocal idea and work them out at the same time in that direction; or I play around on the guitar until I find an idea that calls out to me and I then develop it until vocal ideas start emerging, and then work them both out from there. Basically at this point, I try not to make anything concrete until either entire sections or the whole song has come together in terms of the rhythm guitar, vocals, and lyrics.

I've found that while I set aside a lot of small ideas that could perhaps be worked out into something nice, I also write a much higher rate of songs that I am genuinely pleased with even after time passes since I began using this more patient/flexible approach to completing songs. Funnily enough, the past few months I've written most of the songs I work on within a single evening as opposed to over the course of days, but about half of them incorporate ideas that I've had stewing about in my head for periods of time ranging from days to months lol, so even that's a mixed approach.

Btw, for the main section of this new one, I added an upper and lower pedal note to the chords and didn't play the straight chords Sawao style until the chorusy stuff. Capo 4 but the chords are x32010 x32210 330013 x33210 shaped. It's like the Vanilla Ice method of stealing someone's shit, I just added a constant note onto Sawao's verse chords and BAM originality! (but really, those notes change the feeling of that progression a lot)

[quote="Marekenshin"]I used to do more of a "compositional mode" when I was first writing - I would come up with a chord progression and then just add on layers of melodies and harmonies, and then write lyrics to that. Nowadays, though, I either go to the guitar when I have a good vocal idea and work them out at the same time in that direction; or I play around on the guitar until I find an idea that calls out to me and I then develop it until vocal ideas start emerging, and then work them both out from there. Basically at this point, I try not to make anything concrete until either entire sections or the whole song has come together in terms of the rhythm guitar, vocals, and lyrics.

I've found that while I set aside a lot of small ideas that could perhaps be worked out into something nice, I also write a much higher rate of songs that I am genuinely pleased with even after time passes since I began using this more patient/flexible approach to completing songs. Funnily enough, the past few months I've written most of the songs I work on within a single evening as opposed to over the course of days, but about half of them incorporate ideas that I've had stewing about in my head for periods of time ranging from days to months lol, so even that's a mixed approach.

Btw, for the main section of this new one, I added an upper and lower pedal note to the chords and didn't play the straight chords Sawao style until the chorusy stuff. Capo 4 but the chords are x32010 x32210 330013 x33210 shaped. It's like the Vanilla Ice method of stealing someone's shit, I just added a constant note onto Sawao's verse chords and BAM originality! (but really, those notes change the feeling of that progression a lot)[/quote]

Interesting! There have times where I want to use a phrase or lyric and I find some way to incorporate it in a song; sometimes a song is born just do to that lyrics I wanted to involve. I know you said you have a good vocal idea then implemented it, but do you ever have instrumental ideas that are crystal clear and apply it to a song? It happens a fair amount of times for me (sometimes when i'm away from my "studio" ), so I was just curious on that occurrence.

I have a ton of small ideas as well, some songs I've played over and over again but still have not gotten around to recording it; maybe because I'm not totally married to the idea of the song or what it expresses. Funny that you say that a more patient approach brings more production of songs! There have been songs I worked on for weeks and I work/complete a "spur of the moment" song in a couple hours and tend to like it more than a song I have been patiently nursing. I will say, however, I do enjoy whatever song (long work period or short period worked on) that I record. There have been a few songs where I really questioned why I even put it up on the web, but I don't hang on to that feeling too much.

I like the capo approach ( I was curious to how the chords were laid out; thank you!). You may say it's a way of taking an idea from another artist, but you know what...with all the music I listen to, I hear a descent amount of songs that make me wonder "hey, were they influenced by this artist, because the lick sound so familiar to this...." so on and so forth.

I've definitely had a few times where a guitar hook hits me in the face out of nowhere and I have to write a song to use it! There was even one song that I wrote entirely in my head while riding in an airplane, and then successfully transcribed once I landed, which started from a guitar riff.

By "patience," I don't really mean necessarily taking a long time to write - I mean simply not rushing the process. If I have inspiration, I follow it with determination, but once it peters out, I don't try to forcefully complete the song. I keep it on the back burner and play around with it while waiting for the remaining inspiration to be born from my subconscious mind. IMO, the reason the songs we write in a single quick session are so satisfying is because our subconscious is far better at sorting patterns than our conscious mind. Thus, if you leave more of the work up to the subconscious, you get a much more cohesive and rich result. Inspiration of that sort, where a song simply pours out of you, means that it has been forming within you for some time, in my experience/opinion. Like a feeling you've been aching to express for days or months that you manage to write just perfectly, somehow, you know?

Basically, I'm aimed at capturing THAT process - the inspiration and pursuit of it - rather than "writing" or "composing." Songs that I wrote in my early years where I completed them in spite of the inspiration having hit a temporary stop are not nearly as pleasing to me; something seems to be missing in my mind.