Q:  10.16.17  12:57 pm I think you said that you mostly use a voice memo thing for getting ideas down when they come to you... do you usually just sing the main melody? Are you able to come up with chords/harmony in your head, and if so, how would you record that? What about drum parts/bass line?
A: melody, lyric, then just explain anything else that seems important or not obvious. chords for a melody are often obvious. like when you draw a duck's head, it's pretty much assumed that you're gonna have a duck's body there too. another important thing is to count it off, because a melody sung out of thin air can be ambiguous about where the top of the bar is. so i might count off, might orient the key in case it's not clear, might clarify what the chords are if necessary, and for the groove i might quickly sing something or might compare it to another song's groove, for reference. if i have a keyboard available i might play/sing a quick demo. i often over explain, especially in terms of count-off, because new ideas can disappear easily and you might not know how the time is oriented so i try to be as clear as possible