Sometimes, when I'm doing my day to day activities, I'll think of not necessarily lyrics, but a string of notes, that get caught in my head, and this is a bit harder to simply write down than words or phrases. I've often thought how silly it would be to write down something like "la la laaaa! da da de dee!" I can hear it in my head, but if I try to remember that later, there's just no way, even with it written down like that.
Now, some people can write the music they hear in their head, on a staff, knowing the actual notes. And if you've had training, and/or are that talented, I say go for it! You can use the lines of your notebook pages as the lines of your staff. But for those of us (like myself) who aren't as formally trained in music as they'd like to be, it's just so much easier, and faster to record it. It may look goofy if you're at Mcdonalds, and you're singing into your phone, but if you ever want to perform your songs live, you have to get over a few strange looks.
Also, you have to make sure your melodys are original. You can't go around recording melodys from other people's songs. Well, I guess you could, if it's just for personal use, but the minute you put it on your c.d. and try to sell it, prepare to be sued. It's one thing if you really thought you were being original, mistakes happen all the time. In fact, that's how you know you're on the right track with your songwriting! But it's kind of ignorant to rip someone off on purpose. Even sampling seems to be kind of a low art form to me. It may be legal, but it's kind of like doing a dance move that was popular 10 years ago. Everybody's seen it before, and it's not cool. It may be legal, but why embarass yourself?
Make sure that once you've recorded yourself, to let your friends listen. Check, check, and check again to make sure it's not a stolen melody. If you feel that what you've recorded is good, you may have the next million dollar hit song on your hands!
Jerry Cantrell!
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