r/guitarlessons • u/Repulsive-Listen-108 • 1d ago
Question writing guitar songs on a drum track or making the drum track after writing the guitar song
So, I wanted to start writing my own songs in a pop-punk/rock style, but I ran into a problem: I don’t really know which path to take. I was wondering how other people approach this. I’m not sure if I should first write the guitar part and then add the drums in a DAW, but when I focus on the guitar part, I like adding some pauses — which sound really weird when there are no other instruments playing, and that kind of messes with my songwriting. On the other hand, writing the guitar part over a drum track feels limiting, since I have to stick closely to the drum beat. I tried to explain this as clearly as I could; I hope it makes sense.
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u/lordskulldragon 1d ago
Both. For songs I've already written I'll create the drum track over that. Other times I write around drum tracks from Arnaud Krakowka, Max Backing Track, or Devin James.
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u/garbear007 1d ago
Either should work :) maybe try one of each and see what feels more natural to you.
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u/ObviousDepartment744 1d ago
You need to write songs and find what you like. You actually need to practice songwriting. I think it's important to remember that nothing is final until you say its final in a song, if you write a drum part because you don't like playing without something there, and the guitar part you write dictates that the drums should do something else, then you can change the drums.
In the specific example you're using on not liking the sound of your song without anything else playing, like breaks in the guitar part; if I were your teacher I'd say you need to figure out a way around that, and practice writing with nothing but your guitar because, to me, this sounds like your not really writing with any direction.
When I'm playing my guitar, and I'm writing a song, I can hear the entire rhythm section playing in my head as I'm writing it. It's the internal song that is helping me through the process. When it comes to song writing, you need to stay in a creative mind set and for many people that means you don't want to interrupt one process with another. Such as playing/writing a guitar part, then having to stop and sequence drums, or change the drums to fit the part you just wrote, then go back to playing/writing on the guitar. That's a very solid break in the creative process for many people.
But, I'm not your teacher, I don't know your process haha. So I dunno, do what works for you. And the only way to find what works for you is to practice songwriting from as many different approaches as possible.
Do remember, your first song is most likely not going to be great. And even if your first song is great, you may not know how to write it yet, so keep practicing.
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u/munchyslacks 1d ago
I usually have an idea for guitar first, but I’ll record to a scratch drum track. Something very basic without fills, then I’ll go back and flesh out the drum track.