Here's my process for songwriting.


I will usually start off with a poem about what I want to say.


Then I start to find chords that go along with the feeling of my poem that really speak to me. A rhythm, a movement, a feel. At the same time, attempting to find a melody that rhythmically works with the poem's rhythm. Sometimes i need to mangle the poem to get it to fit the music. The music usually needs something simpler than the whole poem.


As I'm doing this, i write out the chords, rhythms, melody, lyrics in Musescore. I do this for permanance and also because my drummer and singer are in another country and they end up overdubbing their parts.


It sometimes takes me 2-3 days to complete the song and massaging the poem to fit. Sometimes the poem just becomes inspiration for the direction and the actual lyrics differ quite a bit.


After I do this, i go into my DAW and, using a click track, I will record the rhythm guitar part. Depending on the style, i may use an old archtop guitar or a stratocaster or one of my other instruments. I choose based on feel.


Using EZDrummer (midi drums) I will add a drum beat that ~fits the rhythm and feel of the song. This could be anything from a rock feel to R&B to floating to latin to jazz, etc. The midi drums will eventually be replaced with a live drummer.


Then I add a bass part. This will sometimes stay on the end release or be replaced with better bassist.


I will then add vocals, background vocals, then add a lead guitar track, guitar fills, rhythmic hits with a wah-wah or whatever strikes my fancy. I try to let the music speak to me, the jimi hendrix-inspired voodoo-gods of love, channel through me. If it's a jazz tune, I usually use a clean fender vibroverb amp. For rock stylings, I will use a plexi marshall or semi-clean vibroverb, matchless or other. The amps are all recording using a modeling preamp called the kemper profiler.


It usually takes me 3-5 days to get the song to this point.


Once I get the song to this point, I will send to my drummer and vocalist to record live parts that I will layer back into my DAW when complete. The singer will record her parts, often re-recording the vocals and background harmonies I created when I sang the song originally.


It's usually a 5-7 days to get all the parts back.


Once all the tracks are back, I go through the mixing and balancing stages which can take another 1-2 days, working with a pro engineer to help with fine details, compressors, reverbs, delays, de-essers, stereo placement, etc.


All told, it's probably a 2-3 week effort / tune to get the music into shape where I'm comfortable releasing it which I do via distrokid.


Then I sit back and collect the $0.003/play from the streaming services. I have to have 33,000 plays to make $100. I usually spend $300/track for the parts and engineering, not to mention expenses related to instruments, repairs, plugins, etc.