Evolution of a Song #1

An indepth look at a process of songwriting. With audio examples. For my lovely paid subscribers.

Happy New Year!

Notice how I used ‘a process of songwriting’ in the subtitle? There are limitless methods, means and processes involved in writing a song. I am no expert, but I have worked with people (in bands and in studio sessions) whom I consider are experts in this field, and since I’ve been exploring my own path in this distraction, I have begun to appreciate the intricacies, the hurdles and those elements of chance that guide that path.

The song I have chosen to unpack in this first episode is Time Slider, a single I released for my birthday in October 2023.

This began as an acoustic guitar motif sometime in October 2015. If you listen to it, you will immediately be reminded of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, as did I when I was doodling around with it. Regardless, I recorded it onto my iPhone’s voice memo and archived it for later.

Archiving (my way of legitimising hoarding) has been the recurring theme throughout my composing life, from 1986 when I got my Yamaha MT1X through to now. Never throw away anything you think might be useful in the future! (You should see my shed.)

Anyway, I was determined to use it, although not to recreate Wish You Were Here, but to let it steep in time and to let it be its own thing.

Fast forward to February 2023, and I had decided to try getting a song out of the initial idea. In the studio, I played a simpler version of the piece, opting to outline the shape of the chord progression without the fancy bits. After playing the piece through about 5 or 6 times, trying out a few tempos until it felt comfortable, I settled on 122 BPM.