I know this isn’t related to Synthesizer V but I really would love to hear your takes on this.
I’m WintermintP.
WintermintP is the lead guitarist of One Minute Winter.
I’m not having that much trouble using Synthesizer V other than the fact that because vowels always keep going until the end of the note the whole vocal rendering ends up sounding like some other word as opposed to what’s actually inserted in the file, but that’s not what this topic is about.
This topic is not about any of the problems with Synthesizer V.
Synthesizer V doesn’t suck.
I suck.
I suck at songwriting.
One Minute Winter is a serious band that does three genres: melodic metalcore, technical metalcore, nu metalcore.
That means One Minute Winter material not only has to be really melodic but also challenging enough that it would make people cry in pain if they were to play it on Guitar Hero or any such similar game… because it’s way too hard to play that it really hurts their fingers. That means One Minute Winter material is meant to be the Black Page of metalcore.
The bad news is, writing songs solely for their hypertechnicality means the songs sound a little too cheesy. Lyrics are harder for people to relate to. There aren’t enough hooks and catchy melodies for people to stay interested (unless they’re ADHD like me). The production doesn’t hit as hard because there’s no oomph to them. There’s no power-hitting elements that “Are You Ready” (Disturbed) has.
That doesn’t mean I’m trying to write simpler songs.
But I do have to look into more than hypertechnicality alone.
After many years of trying and trying to write the most hypertechnical song that I ever could, I’ve come to realisation that songs that I like the most aren’t just fast-paced and hypertechnical (although the vast majority of them are fast-paced and hypertechnical they have more elements than just that). They also hit hard at the important times. They also have lyrics that are like an anthem to the people who are having a hard time in their daily lives. People that don’t fit in. People who are disabled. People who are going through depression or toxic families or even poverty. They also have really good sound design and have elements from not only metalcore and thrash metal but also various elements from not-metal genres. We’re talking dubstep, trance, eurobeat, classical, and even other music genres from all over the world such as bossa nova or folk rock or hip hop or pop or even traditional French music and Japanese and African and… you get the idea.
It’s one thing that I really have to try and make the upcoming songs thrashy and hypertechnical, but when I also have to add a bunch of elements from not only pop but also from a wide variety of other music genres my head is starting to spin. And I also have to make the melodies catchy and the lyrics relatable.
So what are some videos I should look into in order to learn more about writing songs the way I described and what are some of the hit songs I should analyse so I can learn more from them? What are some of the best places I can go to in order to write better lyrics and what should I do to get more people to hear my band’s songs?
And most importantly, how is it possible for me to go about continuing to live when playing guitar is the only thing I know how to do and I’m dismal at even that?