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  #1  
Old 12-10-2017, 05:37 PM
Northward Northward is offline
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Default Song writing snafu

Hi
I have this quirky little indie-pop
song I’m working on. A quick tip from someone might help me out.

The key is C.
Going from the verse to the chorus is fine, (no bridge). But since the chorus ends on a C, going back to the verse (C) feels a bit underwhelming. Something’s missing. Maybe some nice little cliche..
I need some sort of (fast) bridge from the chorus back to the verse.

I know this is little information on the song, but that may be just as well.

Any thoughts?
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  #2  
Old 12-10-2017, 06:40 PM
Pitar Pitar is offline
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It definitely needs more cowbell.

IOW, that's the best I can offer without any additional info.
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Old 12-10-2017, 07:08 PM
David Rock David Rock is offline
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Try Bb (or FMaj7)

D
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Old 12-10-2017, 07:15 PM
Northward Northward is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pitar View Post
It definitely needs more cowbell.

Haha [emoji38]
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Old 12-10-2017, 07:16 PM
Scootch Scootch is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Rock View Post
Try Bb (or FMaj7)

D
I vote for that ^^^
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Old 12-10-2017, 07:17 PM
Northward Northward is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Rock View Post
Try Bb (or FMaj7)



D


I will, tomorrow. Now it’s way past bedtime over here.
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Old 12-10-2017, 08:07 PM
DupleMeter DupleMeter is offline
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It's so hard to say without knowing the style & feel, the chord progression of both the chorus & verse, etc.

All that said one way to handle this would be to end the chorus on an Am to extend the resolution to the "C" of the next verse with a couple more chords...like maybe:
Am > F > G > C (verse starts)

or if you want a real short segue:
Am > G > C (verse starts)

or if you want something a little more colorful:
Am > D7 > Dm > G7 > C (verse starts)

This is just one way to handle something like this. So much depends on what has already happened and the style/feel.

HTH
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Old 12-10-2017, 08:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DupleMeter View Post
It's so hard to say without knowing the style & feel, the chord progression of both the chorus & verse, etc.

All that said one way to handle this would be to end the chorus on an Am to extend the resolution to the "C" of the next verse with a couple more chords...like maybe:
Am > F > G > C (verse starts)

or if you want a real short segue:
Am > G > C (verse starts)

or if you want something a little more colorful:
Am > D7 > Dm > G7 > C (verse starts)

This is just one way to handle something like this. So much depends on what has already happened and the style/feel.

HTH
No expert, but I agree with this approach of using chords from the relative minor key. It has worked for me in the past.
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Old 12-10-2017, 09:07 PM
1neeto 1neeto is offline
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Practically impossible without hearing the song.
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Old 12-11-2017, 09:24 AM
Northward Northward is offline
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Default Song writing snafu

Thanks for your suggestions [emoji1303] I’ll try all of them out this afternoon.

It’s an uptempo New wave / punk type of song, (reminiscent of Devo) with few barre chords and a lot of percussive strumming on muted strings. The challenge lays in the tempo, succinct with little room for musical ornaments.

So quite straight forward.
Verse:
C - F - C
C - F - C
B - E - B
C - F - C
(All repeated x3)

Chorus:
G - D - E
G - E - C
G - D - E
G - E - C

That last C in the Chorus and first C in the verse don’t sit right with me.

It may not be one of the most talked about genre in this forum. But western pop music is western pop music in and I find that the musical knowledge in here is high.
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Old 12-11-2017, 09:42 AM
Northward Northward is offline
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Default Song writing snafu

Quote:
Originally Posted by DupleMeter View Post
It's so hard to say without knowing the style & feel, the chord progression of both the chorus & verse, etc.



All that said one way to handle this would be to end the chorus on an Am to extend the resolution to the "C" of the next verse with a couple more chords...like maybe:

Am > F > G > C (verse starts)



or if you want a real short segue:

Am > G > C (verse starts)



or if you want something a little more colorful:

Am > D7 > Dm > G7 > C (verse starts)



This is just one way to handle something like this. So much depends on what has already happened and the style/feel.



HTH


This definitely harmonies with the rest. Liked the quick version best. Great tip! Thank you [emoji4]
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Last edited by Northward; 12-11-2017 at 09:52 AM.
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Old 12-11-2017, 09:53 AM
Northward Northward is offline
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Other ideas..
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Old 12-11-2017, 10:02 AM
vindibona1 vindibona1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Northward View Post
Thanks for your suggestions [emoji1303] I’ll try all of them out this afternoon.

It’s an uptempo New wave / punk type of song, (reminiscent of Devo) with few barre chords and a lot of percussive strumming on muted strings. The challenge lays in the tempo, succinct with little room for musical ornaments.

So quite straight forward.
Verse:
C - F - C
C - F - C
B - E - B
C - F - C
(All repeated x3)

Chorus:
G - D - E
G - E - C
G - D - E
G - E - C

That last C in the Chorus and first C in the verse don’t sit right with me.

It may not be one of the most talked about genre in this forum. But western pop music is western pop music in and I find that the musical knowledge in here is high.
What's obvious on paper is the lack of minor chords. Am is a good substitution for C, you can also look for a spot to insert Em or A major.
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Old 12-11-2017, 10:23 AM
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What has already been said and or, also consider perhaps Starting on the last C in chorus just strum it once and then do a single note walk up and back down to C being the start of the next verse
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Last edited by KevWind; 12-11-2017 at 10:31 AM.
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  #15  
Old 12-11-2017, 10:44 AM
Northward Northward is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vindibona1 View Post
What's obvious on paper is the lack of minor chords. Am is a good substitution for C, you can also look for a spot to insert Em or A major.


Yeah, I found the last C substituted by Am a nice ‘surprising’ chord change that a song like this needs.

The melody on paper seems basic. It’s the percussive execution I liked in the first place and what I think has got something. Along with the falsetto singing I wish I had the range for.. 🤣

I try to make the songs I write for my band fun and not too serious, but of course it’s “dead serious” that it sounds cool to me.. No matter how simple they may appear.

Transitions and bridges seem so unstrained in great songwriting that it’s easy to overlook by e.g a great chorus (maybe that’s why there is ten professional songwriters on a hit nowadays..

I saw a documentary on Elton John and his songwriting partner the other day. Where he talks about writing one of those huge evergreen hits in 15minutes... incredible!
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