How do you write music?

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I've been playing the piano and guitar since I was a little kid, but I've never gotten anywhere trying to write songs.

Where do you start, when writing a song? How does the process differ for pieces with and without lyrics? How much music theory do you need?

If you mean literally, as in reading and writing notation, I've never learned to adequately do that, and unless you're composing in the classical music style, you really don't have to.

But if you mean how does one go about composing music, that's the part I know about. With me, it just starts as an idea in my head, but one that I know isn't a song already. I find myself thinking up a fragment of melody. I'll walk around or sit humming that for a while. If I'm not at home, I used to record the piece of tune into a pocket recorder; these days phones have apps that can digitally record. I hum the tune into the recorder to work on later.

When I get home, or if I'm home already, I get out my guitar or sit at the keyboard and see what chords would go with this piece of tune. My personal technique is that I hum and play that same small fragment over and over. I usually find that the next thing that happens is that another bit of melody suggests itself. I put them together, then find the chords that fit that second fragment of melody.

It all starts continuing on from there. Sometimes I find the lyrics coming simultaneously, sometimes I don't, I just know what syntax and rhythm the lyrics will fall into. Sometimes the musical idea itself suggests being just an instrumental piece with no lyrics. It can go either way, depending on the music.

Being that I can't read or write music notation (I'm not alone; Paul McCartney also never learned), what I do is I write down my chords and lyrics on paper, jotting in the name of a chord just above the word in the lyrics where the chord change occurs.

As for music theory, some people compose their music with exact intervals and the math of music theory in mind, while others instinctively know what is the right or wrong chord or harmony, etc. I tend to be of the instinctive type -- I've never had to count an interval to find the correct one, I just know what sounds like the right one or the wrong one. As you've been playing for years you will very likely have that native knowledge too.

I also record myself playing and singing the song as I go. When the song is finished I then record the whole thing as a demo. They say if you have a really good idea you don't forget it, but I strongly disagree -- I record everything and write down chords and other suggestions (such as "Pause here and let the chord just ring and fade"), and I need to because just a good night's sleep (or a bad one) will make it all go out of my head within hours if I don't write down chords or make a recording of how the song or piece is supposed to sound.

I don't know where the ideas come from; I just kind of "dream them up" (though awake, not literally dreaming, although sometimes that's happened too). It's the same as a novelist stringing words together -- just sitting here now I could say: "The yellow of the daffodils, usually a beautiful sight, looked only like baby poop to Jody today." That would be in a novel and not an example of song lyrics, but the principle is the same, you're stringing musical notes together in a combination that is new-ish, and the same goes for lyrics, you just play around with ideas and new ways of saying things, or a new melody. In the same way that you think up what words to say that you feel you probably haven't stolen or heard somewhere else before in that combination, when you're speaking or writing, you can think up a melody of your own too, and then build upon that.

While I do this, I usually let things flow without questioning too much, but if I do realize that something sounds like it's already been done -- suddenly part of my song sounds like a Coldplay tune or something, I correct it and change things. I've even scrapped a song entirely when I realized I was in fact echoing a well known song too closely.

But most of the time, surprisingly one manages to come up with something that hasn't entirely been done already in quite the same way.

Just let ideas come, then find chords that fit them, and keep building from there, writing down on paper the chords you're using, and recording things on your phone if you can.

Thanks! That's really helpful!

Truth is: I have no idea.

I typically start with an unusual drum pattern either using traditional samples or using my own field recordings. Then I usually have a particular sound I'm looking for (typically something "soft", "warm" or "analog-ish") and I just improvise on top of the drum pattern for a while until I stumble upon a melody I like, record the melody, then find another instrument to use to compliment it (something stringy or ethereal sounding maybe) and use that as more of the background/chord arrangements. Then I'll throw in some bass either with a Moog knockoff or my own bass guitar, then I try to piece it all together and go back and maybe add some variety to the drum patterns if the song calls for it. Then I might throw in some weird samples of mine here and there for flavor. Then I might start messing with modulation and effects and the like....panning...stuff like that.

Again, I really have no idea how some of my songs come together. There is no real process for it, but then again I don't write traditional ABAB songs either.

A melody pops into my head. Then I decide which instrument would sound best playing that melody, then figure out an accompaniment and/or harmony that would complement it. Percussion parts come last, primarily based on the mood I'm trying to set.

record yourself playing and/or singing, ad-libbing trough a bit, and combine later.
i myself have software which transforms MIDI-input directly into note script or tabs, so all i need is either a midi keyboard or a midi converter