Q: when you are writing a new song, how do you
keep track of lyrics and form? i know you record all the audio but for
like doing run through and building each section do you write anything
down, or just listen back to what you played/sang to memorize
it?
A: i used to write
the chart on staff paper but i no longer use any paper. i use a text
file and audio recordings. the lyrics are written in the text, and
next to each line (maybe every 2 lines or every 4 lines) there is the
file name of the audio reference. when the song is done you might
often see a file name at the top of the page for a full run thru. then
often when starting the arrangement, i will whip up a "studio chart"
(really just chords) based on the run-thru, and put it on paper just
to have something on the stand to look at in the empty beginning
stages of the arrangement. but pretty soon as things get filled in i
wouldn't need it anymore because it's all in there. and then when
doing vocals i may type up a lyric cheat sheet. sometimes i may
reference the demo run-thru if i want to confirm what the exact melody
was