When it come to songwriting, there are a couple different ways to capture ideas. When I was in high school, I used a notebook, loose paper, even some of the perforated computer printer paper. Yes, I’m that old. Heck, I probably used a napkin once or twice.
The problem with that, is it hard keep track of all that paper, and it doesn’t help capture the sound of the song. Believe it or not, I still have most, if not all of the songs I wrote back then. Unfortunately some of them are just lyrics, I didn’t even bother to write down the chord progressions. If I could go back in time and kick myself in the ass, I would.
In my pile of crappy teenage lyrics, there is one song, that at least in my mind, was really good. The problem is that I can’t for the life of me remember the tune!
Now, that I’m older I hope to be a little smarter. I have tape recorders, a BOSS BR-600 (I love this thing, but I’ll save that for a later post) and of course my PC (laptop). I also keep a few Moleskin pocket notebooks strewn about the house, just in case I need to capture an idea.
With all the things I have available to me to capture an idea, I’ve found the easiest is to use the “Sound Recorder” program that comes with Windows. My laptop has a built in mic (like all laptops, unless yours is from the Jurassic period). I created a shortcut link to the program and pinned it to the task bar. So now if I have an idea, I grab my acoustic guitar, click on the “Sound Recorder” link and play.
I also make a point of naming the chord progressions somewhere in the recording, and if there’s a tricky bit, I verbally walk through what I’m playing so I can remember later.
I hope this helps make capturing your musical ideas a bit easier and thanks for reading!