Song writing question

[hatamoto]

I'm at the point where I have a chord progression that I like but have no idea how to go from there. I'm just repeating the same motif over and over again and I'm curious as how everyone else proceeds to advance a song.

so I'm playing a common 1564 chord progression in the key of C, which in the beginning started out as a pop style, strum/palm mute song. It was fun at first but got boring and bland quickly so I started fingerpicking it and incorporated different chord voicings to make it into a more chill vibe.

I mainly use the major and minor pentatonic as fillers, or sliding in sixths, thirds or double stops when switching between chords (I want to give it a Jimi Hendrix/soul feel)

So verse 1 would be in the lower registers, then for verse 2, play the same set of chords in the higher registers with some inversions, but how to proceed with chorus, verse and outro?

This is purely instrumental.

[rick-slo]

Work on melody.

[stanron]

One technique, which has worked in the past for many composers, is to put down your instrument and go for a walk. Whilst walking, play your composition in your head and see where it leads you.

Will it work for you? I've no idea but if it does you will be in very good company.

[islandguitar]

Originally Posted by stanron

One technique, which has worked in the past for many composers, is to put down your instrument and go for a walk. Whilst walking, play your composition in your head and see where it leads you.

Will it work for you? I've no idea but if it does you will be in very good company.

Yes, this....and melody work. One other tip which has worked for me now and then is to change up "where" you play your guitar.....ie: physically move to a different space.....in the house or even outside. Somehow this can change up what you do with a piece....I can't explain why!!

[Mr. Jelly]

Try a bridge of 3m, 6m, 2m, 5, 1

[RedJoker]

Is this an instrumental or will it have lyrics? All my songs have lyrics but I've approached it several different ways. I've come up with a melody first and then just sing gibberish over that until a feeling and / or words come to mind. Then I build the song from there.

Usually, though, the lyrics guide my writing. I build rough lyric structures and then see if any of my 'cool chord progression' ideas fit it. In some cases, that chord progression gives the lyrics a different feel, which then results in a lyric re-write to go in that new direction.

Iteration, iteration, iteration....

Good luck!

[DukeX]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Work on melody.

This. It is a song right? No melody = no song.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by DukeX

This. It is a song right? No melody = no song.

Sometime time chord progression leads to a melody, but sometimes it works the other way around. I find for a different part of a song I'll sometimes "flip" how I wrote the other part. If I wrote the verse off a chord progression, I'll improvise some melodies for the chorus and see how they harmonize; or if the verse started with a melody, I'll find some chords that build for the bridge.

[Mbroady]

Sometimes I start with a chord progression and scat a melody over it. If the melody feels and sounds good I try to fill the melody with words using stream of consciousness. If I really let go and don’t let the editors in my head kick in, then I might come up with a few lines that have a prosodic quality to them. I then explore from there.

Does not always work.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by hatamoto

...so I'm playing a common 1564 chord progression in the key of C....

Well, Petty just stayed in his one progression (4165) all the way through Learning to Fly, but like Mr. Jelly suggests....

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

Try a bridge of 3m, 6m, 2m, 5, 1

...most songwriters break up that same progression with a bridge of some sort, something that takes you away, then brings you back....

[MartinGibsonFan]

Get a progression, work on a melody,

Develop a bridge.

That's what makes guitar playing worthwhile.



MGF

[DukeX]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

Sometime time chord progression leads to a melody, but sometimes it works the other way around. I find for a different part of a song I'll sometimes "flip" how I wrote the other part. If I wrote the verse off a chord progression, I'll improvise some melodies for the chorus and see how they harmonize; or if the verse started with a melody, I'll find some chords that build for the bridge.

Understood and agreed, I do it both ways, depending on the song. So far he hasn't even mentioned melody. The fact remains no melody no song.

[hatamoto]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

Try a bridge of 3m, 6m, 2m, 5, 1

Thanks for this tip. I can hear something now!

[hatamoto]

Thanks everyone. I'll work on melody now. Usually I hear the melody after I write the chord progression, but the bridge tip seemed to help me hear the song. And yes this is purely instrumental

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by hatamoto

Thanks everyone. I'll work on melody now. Usually I hear the melody after I write the chord progression, but the bridge tip seemed to help me hear the song. And yes this is purely instrumental

Still, singing is the way to get a melody. Hum as you play the chords. A good instrumental melody is one that is singable.