Misha Mansoor Songwriting Masterclass part 1 of 3

[@SuffyANX]

There is unironically nothing more comforting as a songwriter than watching Misha screw up chords or play a part too loud while tracking something. Reminds me that even absolute machines have to fiddle around to get stuff to sound right

[@MishaMansoor]

Suffy Honestly most of what I’m doing when I’m writing is messing things up haha, you guys usually only hear what makes it through haha!

[@freedomtvofficial7205]

@@MishaMansoor Exactly dude! Man 90% of my studio time is just fuckin fiddlin around until it sounds decent.

[@ericwilliams7374]

I think everyone does that when writing. I come up with some of my best material when I fuck up something I'm working, because I would have never of played it that way I did when I just fucked it up....if that makes sense??

[@glassplanet5624]

Eric Williams yeah man definitely, I played a note of a riff flat once and it gave me a minor version of the motif to use as a breakdown. Still one of my favourite pieces I’ve written

[@gus2n]

music isn't about doing everything perfectly, or comparing yourself to others. Just have fun

[@heyitsdamos]

that moment when his first draft of an idea has a better mix than something you’ve spent weeks on

[@kylepouliot4996]

This is where Misha's experience of workflow comes into view. He has a process and he knows what he likes

[@jchristian515088]

Yeah seriously

[@MrCk1234567890]

~$5k in gear & software lol

[@cory-o-cookies95]

@@MrCk1234567890 his Mac alone is 5-10k guaranteed

[@Dev_Cuddi]

Why does that feel personal 🤣

[@EvanAgee]

I don't think I've ever seen a better behind-the-scenes look at creating music. Thank you so much for the vulnerability of doing this in front of an audience!

[@sp1r1tcrsh3r]

whatereyou talking about ebvan`? lamo

[@FanaticDrummer]

Devin Townsend did this

[@23Guitardood]

@@sp1r1tcrsh3r did you just have a stroke? wtf is this comment, lol... Edit for autocorrect failure...

[@sp1r1tcrsh3r]

@@23Guitardood I'm fine now, thanks for asking. Doctor said I might regain the use of my left hand, typing this with my tongue. Telling about work flow is hardly vulnerable tho

[@23Guitardood]

@@sp1r1tcrsh3r ahh I see... yeah I actually agree, not exactly "vulnerable" - wasn't sure what you were referring to in your initial comment. Also, tongue typing is my favorite... especially out in public

[@DELTAdarke]

Misha Mansoor mumbles and plays guitar - The Movie!

[@user-yl4lf9mh1w]

HMMM

[@Afurthyclays]

😂

[@thepiratebay718]

You could have your own Bob Ross type show. This is great.

[@planetsab]

Baylor Kern-Lovick spot on

[@xaptronic]

Just happy accidents

[@Eflatmajor7sharp11]

Here's where we put a little cluster of clusters.

[@afonsomendes92]

Beautiful little things happen in this magical world

[@Afurthyclays]

Happy little clusters! 🤣

[@noctvrnoestudio]

27:10 Misha: Let's see if we can expand on this! *starts tuning his guitar but his audio is fastened* Me, who wasn't looking at the screen: He brought a mandolin?!

[@GuitarKillerable]

This is probably one of the most useful contents on youtube that almost nobody shares Thank you very much Misha, you are amazing man!

[@brianjohnson9802]

Useful contents indeed. I would have said "useful PIECES of content" or something if I was dead set on using the word "content." Since that would never be the situation....I probably would have just said something less gay and retarded as fuck than what you typed.

[@joaoldmedeiros]

That's such a beautiful motif Misha! Very excited to watch it develop, thank you for this valuable content 😍

[@TheOddKris]

Haha ofcourse you're here! Hope you have a good day, sir :D

[@joaoldmedeiros]

Ehehe same to you Kris! Have a great one 😍

[@Seadr4gon.]

Ulala! 💙O💙 I agree

[@MishaMansoor]

Glad ya dig it pal!

[@SpookyStorkRunningWild]

fancy seeing you here joao haha

[@Larryriley3]

In the past couple of months I’ve hit a rut in guitar. Recently I invested in a mini home studio set up MacBook Pro, Scarlett 2i2, monitors. Got Bias FX for guitar & GGD Modern & Massive for drums and it has breathed new life in my song writing and guitar in general. These types of videos give me inspiration to write. I’ve been learning as much as I can about working in a daw, mixing, programming drums and etc through this KZbin channel. THANK YOU @getgooddrums @mishamansoor

[@Larryriley3]

Emil Andersen thank you dude

[@manicmurph]

Same here. It's pretty challenging to try and learn everything on your own but I'm doing it! Thank God for KZbin videos am I right?

[@TunnelSnake-es7tu]

What program is he using? Do you have to pay monthly for it?

[@Larryriley3]

TunnelSnake9337 are you referring to the recording program?

[@lumpofcoal2437]

I'm not even a musician so I don't know what I'm doing here, but this is so fascinating to watch.

[@dustinsterling3248]

same lol, I'm just here to witness the genius that is Misha being Misha

[@ElectricMahatama]

My understanding is that you are a lump of coal.

[@jadedemon3904]

Its really nice to see your heros and inspirations as just a normal player outside of the music videos and live videos ,it in a way puts them down to your level and you feel like "holy hell I could do that" it really shows you just need comitment to a riff no matter how basic

[@braintoggle33]

This is awesome! I kind of feel like I am watching Bob Ross paint some happy little trees🌲. Misha room painting some happy little soundscapes

[@fredriksvard2603]

Brain Toggle we all need happy little friends

[@braintoggle33]

@@fredriksvard2603 Right on!!

[@Bigthoogs]

I have been waiting for this type of video, from this very person, for so long. such an inspirational writer to me.

[@a.7801]

having just purchased your Modern & massive pack this masterclass series timing is perfect! Thank you!

[@wesleytrott6397]

I love this video! It kinda reminds me of the 2 hour challenge Devin Townsend did a while back. Misha, thank you for sharing your process. This definitely inspired me.

[@bikesnbeerz]

Generous genius at work. Anyone else agree?

[@SkeeterMcBeater]

Autism at work. Anyone else agree?

[@amansingh-lj3tg]

Not cool brother. Not cool

[@softlikesilk]

Holy shit misha. You have no idea how much i needed this. Thanks man. Seriously.

[@mkk1980]

Can’t wait for the next Part! It makes me really lucky to see that also a genius like Misha works with trial and error. Love it.

[@fondfarewell2]

that tone with that effect gives me p1 vibes in beginning.

[@DanWaters]

This really is very harmonically interesting. Loving how it is turning out. By the way, I have been struggling with awful piano rolls to sequence drums since 2006, and your deep dives into Cubase caused me to finally switch over and I love it. It's honestly got the best drum editor I've ever used, so thanks a ton for your tips man.

[@Kathayne636]

I was wondering what DAW this was. Is there a stand-alone midi editor that's nice like this one?

[@kiethveseyofficial]

@@Kathayne636Reaper, and Fl Studio (they both have midi editors).

[@SynysterGates70]

It's definitely comforting to know Misha goes about songwriting and everything the same as me and many other. If only I had a decent recording tone, a bass and confidence in my audio engineering skills, maybe I'd stop scrapping ideas and produce some good material like this haha Sounds really good, Misha. Could imagine this as some sort of Interlude, possibly on your solo album? Look forward to the next parts!

[@NeoCestorm]

I've been trying to piece together how to write, mix, and master on my own for awhile now. This is hands down the best source I've found. There is so much great concepts and ideas. Thank you so much for this! I sincerely appreciate it.

[@BrianWardPhoto]

Thank you for sharing this process. So interesting to see Cubase being used so fluidly. Seeing you program the drums in there so quick and easy really has me excited to get stuck into trying it. Love your work

[@xxICONOCLAST]

This may be the most important video on youtube, thank you 🙏

[@26CW128Jake]

I've never been so excited for an upload!

[@prestonjobe]

Thanks for doing this. Every time I get stuck, I come watch your vids for inspiration. I think you've single-handedly been the biggest catalyst for my growth in the studio over the last several years. I've learned more from you than I have through Berklee at this point.

[@Cring0r]

this is so cool, so happy you released this! cant wait for part 2 and 3!

[@dustinsterling3248]

mad respect for the S.C.I.E.N.C.E. head

[@QuincyKane]

This is why I love songwriting; there's nothing more satisfying than taking a simple musical idea and hearing it come to life in the form of a song.

[@tfrank10311]

Didn't even watch the video before liking it, whatever this is I'm here for it

[@Geoffgeff]

This absolutely just made my Friday! Thanks Misha and GGD crew!

[@rhettbutlerwashere]

This is exactly what I do when I sit down with a guitar, an idea, and my DAW. I intermingle musical ideas with mixing and getting the sounds right in my head. I flesh it out from there. So many say to save the mixing until after pre-production. Nope, not me. I have most of the mixing already done with the song is complete. Then I spend a little time with final mixing tweaks. Great video!

[@donnathompson5338]

the jam reminds me of the band Toska w/ Rabea Massad. cool stuff

[@AnDres07061]

Currently writing some stuff, this helped me a lot, more so because of what other people said, that being that even top musicians like yourself (in my opinion) fiddle around and mess up sometimes. Thank you. 🎹🎸🌹

[@oscarscholten2059]

Awesome to see an absolute champ at work. Good and interesting to see how you draw the line on what needs to be properly done in the writing process and what is just part imperfection of the writing and to keep the creative juice flowing! A lot still to learn for me!

[@johnprentice1474]

This is great. So many artists I know get caught up on having to do everything perfectly the first time and can never get the concept that what you hear from bands is just the end product of a lot of hard work and trial and error. Good bands don't just "wing it" every performance.

[@xkmmx2132]

Thank God For this. Sometimes it gets way to easy to hear a finished project from an artist and just assume they spot the whole thing out in one full stream of consciousness without any effort at all. Like the song was written in 10 minutes

[@EnDTh3S1L3NcE]

Agreed man, this was such a down to earth video getting to hear his thought process and even the wrong notes, reminds us he's still human lol

[@anuranpandit9512]

This is so amazing. I kind of followed in his footsteps (compositionally, not the recording and mixing part), and my extremely basic riff started sounding more dynamic and melodically richer.

[@OceansInMotion]

Misha amazing work you're doing for the rest of the musicians/producers, We love the way yo do music so thank you so much for treasures like this.

[@blainetrain2299]

Misha: I just wanted to say thanks a thousand times for this. I have been playing for years and years, and as silly as it sounds. I had no idea how a song was constructed without other people to build it with. You saved the day!!

[@ScreamingWall-vc5kp]

Misha I wanted to tell you that the third Periphery album emotionally devastated me, and it will inspire my band to create more complex and nuanced music. In my opinion, you contribute madly well to the development of overall music. Now I am checking what you have to offer in your songwriting masterclass. Let's go!

[@metalforlife4ever]

Oh my God, this is content I didn't know I needed in my life! Misha, this is genius bro, please do some more! It's so helpful to get a look into your creative process! Thank you!

[@TheDarknessBane]

Beautiful! I pretty much go about this process exactly as so! My biggest problem is coming up with an entire few minute progression, and then bam, writer's block. I'll listen to it over and over and walk away from it for a while, come back, and still can't dig out more to build upon. It makes the song writing process take months instead of days. What do you do to address/correct writer's block?

[@zarlodious1]

Just get it finished after a few you kinda know the ropes even if they were rushed or ugly they got done work on that.

[@christo4249]

I struggled with this for years before I realized my issue was to try to get single pieces of a song exactly how I wanted, right away. I used to spend so much time working and reworking details that inspiration was gone before I was happy with it. I am also totally unable to write a part of a song and write the rest of it another day, just because my mood will have changed and I will probably think it sucks and decide to write something totally different. Here is how I proceed now : - I work on improvisation every time I get to play guitar (it helps writing faster) - I only write when I have at least 4 hours to dedicate to that - write a full song STRAIGHT AWAY. Even with a very simple and basic structure that will eventually change a lot in the future, but I want a full song to work on next time - accept mediocrity during this first stage I hope it helps :)

[@alangilchrist3278]

Dude this was released on my birthday so I know its a sign I am on my break of being a songwriter. This is really informative and it's great. Made me less insecure about my songwriting while giving me new techniques. Thank you! This is what I have been needing.

[@Erepet90]

Misha when is the next part? such an amazing stuff. And this melody... hands down

[@mrgzola25]

Thank you so much Misha for letting us see how you create masterpieces. They all start somewhere. Also shows us that we have to try and try again until it works. Brilliant

[@diegoreyes1864]

Man, this is so cool to watch. Thanks for doing this Misha!

[@GITMmusic]

Dude, of all the cool stuff in here... swapping he left and right rhythm tracks to make prevent some of that copy paste feel when the guitars repeat is the dopest lol. Never once crossed my mind to do that before

[@DanielSmith-pw9ws]

When he said he "flipped it" what did he actually do? Just saw the left/right guitars to the opposite tracks? Or did he do something to the actual audio sample?

[@Felipe..Vieira]

i try to avoid trial and error the best i can, but i cannot deny that for the amount of songs misha produces, this is probably the most efficient way

[@neuk01642]

Misha. Thanks so so much for this. I've been destroying myself confidence with my writing as I had convinced myself I was doing it all wrong. But this vid is an object demonstration of how I write ( albeit at a much lower quality and lower technical and musical ability). Come up with a hook/motif and build from there. I just need to massively improve the quality of my motifs and harmony knowledge.... MASSIVELY. Thanks again. Inspiring to watch.

[@guylumalfaro3176]

a straight *4/4* groove passed by 14:13

[@EmbarrassedComposer]

lmao!

[@m.r.keeper]

You made my day xD Spirits of rhythmic modulation flying around

[@franckinthestudio]

😂

[@jerbear97]

*a wild 4|4 groove appears*

[@messengercrow]

The intro is 5/4?

[@Depriety]

"The two count, I can make it!" This is me every time oh god oh fuck

[@Adam_A0]

This is awesome man keep it coming. I really need to get the hang of the drum programming and break away from sample libraries

[@davidegiancane282]

Finally! I've been waiting for this topic from Misha for a long time. Super top ✊

[@goatsurgeon]

I don’t have time to fiddle around with a song for hours. That’s why I made a system that boiled down my songwriting process to minutes and cranks out what I’d already do. Using D&D dice. But I’m not making huge prog songs either.

[@ar156]

Looking forward for part 2 and 3! I recommend to anyone watching this to also check out The Devin Townsend Challenge

[@Airtrooper719]

Wow not only is this really helpful to me but now I have that intro stuck in my head, very haunting yet beautiful at the same time. Really excited for pt 2 and 3 and the finished song!

[@Baedda666]

I love this video cause it's so honest and unpolished!

[@JessyWessy_]

I literally began to cry 2 mins into the video I don't if it was just ineffably beautiful or what

[@swingonthespiral]

This has absolutely inspired me. Seeing your brain work and how this process goes for you has taken so much anxiety away about getting started with recording. I'm really excited to start tracking things and hopefully will have an EP ready by next year. Periphery was my inspiration to take guitar playing seriously, and to start learning singing and harsh vocals. If I ever make any sort of contribution to the metal scene, I would cite your band as my biggest influence.

[@Smfournier]

Great validation for me seeing similar ways of recording song making process and comfort that I’ve been heading in the right direction with some of my ideas. Thanks so much. Can’t wait for parts 2 and 3!

[@Lewis_ATA]

The content we need in our lives

[@vatases]

I'd hate to draw any attention from the brilliant display of creativity and workflow, but Misha's got some forearms!

[@TheJTK123]

Please show the making of the whole song including mixing too! That would be sweet. Also do you ever quantize? Especially on faster picking patterns or do you just play it until its perfect?

[@arnyarny77]

i was intimidated to learn daw about 6 months ago, now i feel like i am finally at least really improving and actually learning, this is tough, not easy at all but i love playing around with drums and keyboards, now i feel like i have a whole other dimension of sounds and ideas to play with as opposed to just jammin my guitar

[@fondfarewell2]

PART 2 please! I just recently started learning how to program drums and stuff and this is definitely helpful.

[@JosePedroMusic]

Just from the title I know I can already press the like button. Excited to see this!

[@iamflowerless7839]

i enjoyed when you were trying sincapated palm muting before the open chords to match the high hat, very animals as leaders! I dig the vibe, super dark and moody with a really open ended resolution, could tackle this so many diffrent ways

[@hessammehdizadeh3239]

27:05 Sometimes I try to get too adventurous and "Bad Things" happen

[@tedats]

Ive been looking up song writing vids nd subbed to a couple channels just last night! Delighted to see this in my feed today.

[@dannygrimsley7486]

Getting some Toska vibes from that clean melody! Looking forward to watching the other parts.

[@jensjan3860]

#greatmasterclassdude *Hey, Misha.* It would be totally cool if you made your *Cubase basic setup* available for download. Also which effects you use like for example those of Slate Digital. That would be great and *totally inspiring*. Thank you very much

[@wmxx2000]

20:15 That's an interesting idea. I usually write with guitar pro just so I'm focused on what I'm writing. I'm not thinking about "I want more repeats on my delay" or "My tone isn't right". But that does mean that some parts come through sounding emotionless and robotic. And that kind of hinders my writing sometimes. I can't think of what I want to come next or what to add when what I am listening to isn't even hitting me like it's supposed to.

[@DanielSmith-pw9ws]

I used to write in guitar pro ALOT! I totally get what you mean, now I have a proper home studio set up, I do find I write differently now. Maybe I should go back and try it see what happens?

[@fieldsoftorment1]

Thanks for this, can't wait to see how it turns out.

[@el_cort3z]

You make it look so easy man. Huge fan since the soundclick days.

[@kronix9687]

This makes me incredibly happy, can't wait for the other 2 parts

[@chadfoster4286]

9 min in and im so ready to try sound software, thx for being so transparent.

[@yeserguitar]

It just came on the right time. I want to make an album for fun an it is very good starting point for me. Thanks Misha!!

[@TheJTK123]

I love this stuff. I've wondered why a lot of awesome musicians dont make a handful more videos like this.

[@jerbear97]

they're probably too secretive or not confident with their process

[@bobeialexandru6011]

I jut did, literally everything you did in this first part and to be honest, I kind of like what achieved. I'm struggling getting a good tone for my guitar, and to make my ideas sound great. Not a fan of amp sims, since I cannot get what i want from BIAS FX 2 using high gain amps. But your workshop helps

[@ronaldbronco6387]

Thanks for this, Misha. I always look forward to watching your production videos.

[@crissabater7698]

What a fantastic video showing the recording process. Thanks so much for the insight into your way of thinking Misha! :-)

[@TorqueBow]

Absolutely love that you guys did a series like this. Looking forward to more stuff like this.

[@homejib]

This series is great, thank you! Would really love to see you do this sort of thing with a heavy Haunted Shores-y style track next.

[@jawaidhafeez2352]

Thank you for the video and thanks a lot for Misha as well, this video gives me motivation to continue music as a guitarist and composer. Cheers.

[@nimagarthe]

Misha you are a genius really. It is creazy how good you are at all you do.

[@drummerjeroensimons]

You also can begin this song with an mystical violinsection and than a halftime feel (maybe some vague latin percussion blocks with a filter on it), than after 4 times your drumprogramming now (and accent the last 2 notes on splashes, aka question-answer in musical terms) and 5 over 3 polyrythm pattern for tension at the end of each phrase...And a countermelody in long sounds build up.... Just an idea that pops up in my head man, you inspire us, great stuff you show!!! ;) Thanks man! Cheers from The Netherlands, Jeroen Simons, Independent, ex- Epica. Ps. I dropped your (And Nollies) name at Warren Huart, Produce like a Pro... I like to connect dots in that way too..;)

[@sebastiank4211]

Thank you Misha for this project. Love it. I always struggled with this process and never got into it completely.

[@prog1962]

Cool Great stuff

[@Sjrm126]

Beautiful Holdsworth flavors in that motif 🙌🏻

[@averageleagueofficial7229]

This is cathartic af. Love it

[@stevelouth7011]

Thanks Misha looking forward to the next part !!!!!!! 😀😎😀

[@aaaaa111aaaaa]

Id expect to pay at least 100$ for this quality of masterclass

[@NickHillMakesMusic]

Genious way to market this library. Man does it sound great. Curious as to your template when starting these ideas (GGD wise)

[@chrisbedan]

The video we have all been waiting for.. Thank you soo much, The insight you have provided is priceless. Also thanks for letting us hang with you while you write.

[@MishaMansoor]

Chris Bedan Haha no worries dude, it is kinda nerve wracking to show the whole thing, but we figured it might be worthwhile!

[@gregbradshaw9000]

wow thanks for this. an awesome look into your process!

[@jordancarnett2314]

Very thankful that you took the time to do this. You’re the man🤘🏼

[@cortical1]

Pure gold. Thanks, Misha!

[@m4ssee]

I love how you just randomly start mixing when you get the intro tracked down. I do the exact same thing all the time.

[@JakeBlaze]

Absolutely fantastic video! So excited to see this pop up on my recommended

[@rasersharp9744]

Man I don't know where to start. I have a USB interface coming this week so then I'll be able to use software and get recording . At the moment I have an intro, some meoldy ideas, and a bit of a rythym/chord pattern. All based around the same set of chords. All im douing is using a voice recorder on my phone and taking notes on that, so when I have an idea I hit record on the app, and just play it clean so I don't forget it. I can't make beats, I have this free to use beat that I found, it's OK and kinda fits. So I'm pretty much having to build my song around the structure of this ready made beat. I need to learn to make them individually for my songs though