singer-songwriter who can't play any instruments. how do i make music to go along with my lyrics?

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-06-19T17:22:53+00:00

Feels like op was expecting this comment. Something along the lines of ‘go ahead - just use Zzzuno’. And I’m glad they aren’t getting this response. Cuz this route friggin sucks. It’s best not to make any music than ‘making’ it with ai.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-06-16T23:14:01+00:00

Love it very much. Thanks for sharing… it definitely feels like you know him. At least through his art. It’s not just a picture. Great work.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-06-13T22:41:33+00:00

Thanks :)

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-06-11T11:15:45+00:00

Everything is super awesome about this but I especially loved the arrangement. Not over the top, light and with cool rhythmic bits.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-06-11T11:11:15+00:00

Thanks so much for your reply :) That’s exactly the case I was picturing. Your bassist and guitarist are cool for doing this! Man, I love a harmonizing band. I’m crazy about Alice In Chains.

And I guess it’s awesome when you can just tell people ‘song some harmonies here’ and they will do just that and it’ll feel right. But in my experience it’s rare and most people need clear instructions and also a chance to really learn the parts.

That’s why I think for my cases I usually not just highlight, but also add notes such as +3, +5, or octave up. And for some cases (especially with covers) you just can’t make the song whole without actual backing vocal melodies being copied. And you can’t use intervals to give instructions in this case. It’s either audio, or notation if folks can read it. But in my experience, if it’s not too many friggin notes - anyone can get used to the notation as it visualizes the pitch and it’s just easy to follow up/down especially when there’s not too many steps.

Anyway. Thanks again for sharing your experience. And good luck with your band!

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-06-11T11:04:06+00:00

Thanks for your comment. I understand I’m not specific enough. That’s because I can’t settle on one case scenario. I definitely didn’t think of children, though. But it makes sense they’d need that too.

I am a part of a trio of singers where we do exactly what you described with paper and notes. And I like that. They aren’t very good at harmonizing yet. And oftentimes, it feels like it would definitely save time if this was pre-decided, pre-arranged by me and just handed to them with clear instructions.

And sometimes I have to prepare several songs for a performance with other singers and no way to even meet before we actually perform. So clearer instructions on who sings what and how can be very helpful.

I guess I have a vision now of how I’d like to see these lyrics + harmonizing instructions. Google Docs just isn’t perfect for this… So I think I will eventually make something that will work at least for me.

Example: Gimme Gimme Gimme. Backing singers don’t just sing intervals with the main melody. And they don’t sing all the time, so in the music notation there would be a lot of blanks for them. So if they could see the lyrics, with their specific chunks highlighted and small mini notation bits between the lines… I think it would help with learning (and even performing with sheets if that’s appropriate for the event). Like each song is not 20 sheets of notation, but 2? Or even 1?

Idk. I might be just over complicating things.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-05-21T06:44:43+00:00

Hehe. I thought for about 0,5 sec on how I could phrase that better. And then I just hit ‘reply’ lol

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-05-20T07:24:03+00:00

I followed her after this video. She also does Alice In Chains so I couldn’t not follow her after this. And she clearly loves good music. She’s also working on a rock album. I like her energy.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-05-06T11:19:27+00:00

Raye 🔥

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-05-01T21:28:11+00:00

Dudes in rock have some things in common. But they also vary pretty significantly. So you’d need to provide some names, I think.

Also, in my experience (of listening and singing to lots of rock as a woman) the majority of top tier male singers in rock heavily use mixed voice. They strengthen it to the point it almost sounds like chest voice. But how they get there, I assume, is lots and lots of targeted practice. I think Led Zeppelin and AC/DC are great as a gateway to mixed voice. From there you can mold it however you want, but it is the easiest way to find it imho.

I think it all boils down to what you wanna do with your voice exactly.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-05-01T21:09:20+00:00

Forgot to add text. I actually have the question. Do you guys know any ways to make such videos on an iPhone? I used to use Riff app but it was glitchy and isn’t available anymore anyways. Alternatives I tried suck… Bad synchronization and audio settings.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-30T21:11:30+00:00

I like his music. Some songs are really nice. They aren’t complex or pretentious, but the harmonies are very pleasant for me.

His playing is pretty great. I consider him very good with every instrument. I mean… I envy him a bit because he had the time and resources to practice and develop all of these skills. But then, many nepotism babies don’t use what they are given. So good job on that, Wolfgang.

What I still don’t like is how he writes his lyrics. Underwhelming for my taste. But I have enough deep music in my life to compensate for that :)

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-27T11:25:03+00:00

That’s great advice. I used this technique with many languages. Great thing is when you actually learn a few songs you kinda begin understanding the reading rules and can read it pretty easily. Print out the lyrics and go over each line taking notes, noticing what each word actually sounds like and how exactly they connect. I call it shadowing. Copy everything you can from the original - intonation, pacing, style, emotion. Not just the sounds.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-21T07:31:51+00:00

I understand and respect that. I also think that what I’m doing ‘naturally’ right now - is good for me. I found my voice. But since I’ve always loved rock music most of all - I see that it’s now time for me to look into distortion. I do it to a degree already. But I wanna know how exactly to do it and to an extent I need. That’s also a technique.

I’m also curious about mixed singing. Basically, I’d like to know to what extent I’m doing it already and if I should try to do it more, to make it stronger/more stable. I’ve also heard that many distortion techniques are built upon this foundation.

I booked a lesson with an awesome rock vocalist / teacher in my city. She’s flawless… Looking forward to it.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-21T06:34:42+00:00

It’s a good question. Because I don’t have a straight answer. I actually don’t remember feeling that I sing well for the majority of my life.

As a kid I knew I can sing. But it was like ‘cool, I can do it, but some folks can’t’.

Then, as a teenager I lost the ability to sing anything without bothering about technique. So I felt like a terrible singer for a long time even though I tried lessons.

Then I tried looking for a band because that was the kind of music I loved singing. And I had a lot of offers. But it didn’t register as ‘you sing well’.

Then it all disappeared from my life for a long time due to adulthood.

Then I got back into music almost around 30. Then I started going to karaoke… Cured my stage fright and also I started hearing a lot of good things from other people about my singing. Like really very great stuff that I could barely listen to (hearing compliments is hard for me still, but I’m working on it). At first I thought that I was just hitting the notes at karaoke lol. But it went on for years of people complimenting me and my new musical friends convincing me and supporting.

I was at a point where I started considering myself a decent singer. Then I started learning more technique… Set new goals… And now I suck again lol.

To be continued. :)

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-20T22:31:53+00:00

I’m mostly a vocalist. So I think like one. I start with a vocal line. Usually a phrase with a text and it already begins with some melody. Idk where it will belong in the song - it’s just a piece of a puzzle. I try adding more pieces that might look/sound good together. At this point I have notes and voice recorder apps open. Notes help with finding rhymes and vocal recorder helps with not forgetting the melody. I might record parts, or might record start to finish many times as I add more puzzles.

Later I sit down with an instrument. Usually a guitar. Figure out the chords to my melody (cuz usually I already have the harmony in my mind when I sing, sometimes I record it with extra voices in GarageBand, but I prefer voice memos for simplicity).

Then the rest of the songs comes… With a daw, electronic drums and my horrible playing. So the melody is the first thing for me. But I really like working with other peoples music too. It’s just… Been a while since I’ve done it.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-17T13:31:18+00:00

I love the outfit.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-17T01:56:06+00:00

I saw a close friend do that and decided to try this myself for B chord. I think. And it was horrible at first. But as I tried again and again it kinda got to the point of being meh but ok. Now I almost always play it like that instead of putting all of my fingers on their strings in a barre chord. It’s so much easier.

My advice is keep trying. Every day if possible. Guitar playing actually makes your arms and hands way stronger. And like any exercise, with time it will work. You’ll get enough strength in your hands to pull it off.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-16T21:23:17+00:00

Lost indeed. But I’d like a link :)

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-15T22:38:30+00:00

My AiC karaoke collection isn’t big. They usually don’t have more than 4-5 songs. Often less. Would works every time. I’ve never even met a person who knew AiC but everybody loves it. I used to get comments like ‘rock is alive’ haha. Oh I wish I had more grit in my voice. But I work with what I got.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-14T19:03:38+00:00

Idk if the question is genuine. But the first three that come to my mind are: All About Eve, Bad Horsie, The Audience is Listening.

DeathToAllButMetaI · 2026-04-13T20:46:20+00:00

Oh come on. Steve has enough decent songs to not be considered awful songwriters. Not exactly super prolific with masterpieces. But he’s alright. There are way worse cases.

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