Coming up with tunings?

Hey Tim, how do you come up with all the different tunings?

Hey Huw, to be honest a lot of them already existed like most things with tunings and guitar. Some I found out from bands I liked who used alternate tunings and some I made up (that is I came across them through experimentation, I'm sure they existed somewhere else already!). There are a lot of interesting tunings on the joan of arc forum which I tried using. A couple I ended up playing around with a bit and changing and some I didn't really get on with, worth a look though!

In coming up with my own tunings, again it is usually just playing around and seeing what happens, no real method.

Cheers

So how do you guys as a band write new stuff? Who starts things off?

Well in the past it tended to be a guitar riff brought to practice and jammed, changed around a bit until drums and bass fitted it and then vocals put on last. We've tried more jam based methods of writing and it didn't quite work out. I'd definitely admit that it was my fault as I don't work well in coming into a practice and jamming and getting lucky and writing amazing stuff. I much prefer to work on a riff or section in my own time and have something fairly solid to take in. It can be a limiting way to work and is probably frustrating to the other guys at times but that's just how I seem to work but I think it's probably different for everyone. Either way I am not a firm believer on rolling into a practice, hoping for inspiration and writing something great but that's not to say that it doesn't for this way for other people, just me!

We are still working out a method that suits us best (since Henrys arrival) 'so I guess we're still working some things out.

Tim TTNG wrote:Well in the past it tended to be a guitar riff brought to practice and jammed, changed around a bit until drums and bass fitted it and then vocals put on last. We've tried more jam based methods of writing and it didn't quite work out. I'd definitely admit that it was my fault as I don't work well in coming into a practice and jamming and getting lucky and writing amazing stuff. I much prefer to work on a riff or section in my own time and have something fairly solid to take in. It can be a limiting way to work and is probably frustrating to the other guys at times but that's just how I seem to work but I think it's probably different for everyone. Either way I am not a firm believer on rolling into a practice, hoping for inspiration and writing something great but that's not to say that it doesn't for this way for other people, just me!

We are still working out a method that suits us best (since Henrys arrival) 'so I guess we're still working some things out.

I'm on the same page about jamming stuff out. Even if it starts off as something good, you can build an expectation for it that someone else has a different idea about. Then it all falls apart. BUT there are a few times where it works out. Generally though, I do what you do.

Yeah, it's a really difficult process because you want to be precious about a riff or idea without being so overbearing that no one else gets chance for their opinion. Alternatively, if you're a bit too laid back and let changes to your idea be made, it's like you aren't precious enough about it and it was never that important to begin with. If that's the case, the passion will be missing and it'll probably come through as just another riff. That's what I think anyway : )

Exactly that. I've been pushing the guys in my band a little to go for more injection of emotion into the song rather than something that sounds like a good riff. I always feel like a "fun riff" will go stale after playing it so many times, while an emotional one can carry the same feeling every time you play it.

Yep I guess it's all pretty subjective though so what seems a great riff that's important to you as the player, might not be of the same importance to other people. Difficult one!