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  #16  
Old 08-31-2020, 08:34 PM
The Bard Rocks The Bard Rocks is offline
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Originally Posted by JonPR View Post
Still, singing is the way to get a melody. Hum as you play the chords. A good instrumental melody is one that is singable.
Right on.

You have the progression; start singing over it and when you have stopped making changes, start writing it down or recording or whatever you do to make it permanent.
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  #17  
Old 09-02-2020, 02:22 AM
hatamoto hatamoto is offline
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Thanks for the tip everyone! I was stuck with chords for a while and the tips really helped me!
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  #18  
Old 09-02-2020, 02:47 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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I,V.VI,IV just screams a melody line to me. Add a V and a I and you have yourself a good verse progression.

Use that melody to say something - probably easy stuff like rhyming couplets and you are away.

A verse and/or bridge certainly makes the whole thing into a song.
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  #19  
Old 09-09-2020, 11:30 PM
hatamoto hatamoto is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Silly Moustache View Post
I,V.VI,IV just screams a melody line to me. Add a V and a I and you have yourself a good verse progression.

Use that melody to say something - probably easy stuff like rhyming couplets and you are away.

A verse and/or bridge certainly makes the whole thing into a song.
I'm not quite sure I understand this... do you mean play Gmaj and Cmaj (if I'm the key of C) for my bridge?
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  #20  
Old 09-10-2020, 03:34 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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Originally Posted by hatamoto View Post
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.
Wait, huh ? "Song writing question ?? Purely instrumental ??

Insufficient data - please resubmit.
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  #21  
Old 09-10-2020, 07:01 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Silly Moustache View Post
Wait, huh ? "Song writing question ?? Purely instrumental ??

Insufficient data - please resubmit.
The word "song" seems to have mutated its meaning these days.
I googled "flamenco sketches" today and before I finished typing it came up with "Song by Miles Davis". I'd like to hear someone sing that...
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  #22  
Old 09-10-2020, 07:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hatamoto View Post
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.
Hi hatamoto

People write differently. Sometimes when I have a short progression, I hook up my looper and 'play' till things gel.

I have written very few songs in one sitting.

I tend to collect fragments of song pieces as they pop into my mind. Since they pop into my mind usually when I'm playing 'other' things, I grab my H1n recorder and record the idea and then go back to what I was playing.

And then I put those fragments into a folder and visit them periodically to just listen to them. Often some of the fragments can be glued to others, and sections of a song are born.

Don't know how you work, or how your brain organizes things. You need to discover it and then don't lose the fragments which come to mind.

I tend to collaborate well, since I understand form and how to play harmonies behind other players. So if a player has an idea, I can usually help them flesh it out.

Have fun writing!!!





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Last edited by ljguitar; 09-10-2020 at 07:10 AM.
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  #23  
Old 09-10-2020, 07:42 AM
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Try writing a new song in the same key. Then insert it as a chorus or bridge. If that doesn't work try it again.
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  #24  
Old 09-10-2020, 09:40 PM
hatamoto hatamoto is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ljguitar View Post
Hi hatamoto

People write differently. Sometimes when I have a short progression, I hook up my looper and 'play' till things gel.

I have written very few songs in one sitting.

I tend to collect fragments of song pieces as they pop into my mind. Since they pop into my mind usually when I'm playing 'other' things, I grab my H1n recorder and record the idea and then go back to what I was playing.

And then I put those fragments into a folder and visit them periodically to just listen to them. Often some of the fragments can be glued to others, and sections of a song are born.

Don't know how you work, or how your brain organizes things. You need to discover it and then don't lose the fragments which come to mind.

I tend to collaborate well, since I understand form and how to play harmonies behind other players. So if a player has an idea, I can usually help them flesh it out.

Have fun writing!!!





This is good advice. I find the best way for me to "hear" something is play some lead lines on top of a looped chord progression, then somehow find a way to play them simultaneously so I have a melody and bass line piece. I only have one verse down and the challenge is finding another verse then progress from there. I'll try recording my ideas, maybe that will help me keep organized. It's fun, very challenging but rewarding.
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  #25  
Old 09-11-2020, 06:33 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hatamoto View Post
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.
After I found the chords to my "Standin" song's verses,
I wanted something to break up the verses, so I just took
some chords from the same key and hooked them together
to make a refrain...



-Mike

Last edited by Kerbie; 09-20-2020 at 03:58 AM. Reason: Corrected quote.
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  #26  
Old 09-20-2020, 02:47 AM
Ray175 Ray175 is offline
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90% of my compositions start with a chord progression, which suggests a melody via the different inversions/voicings and grace notes I add whilst playing the chord progression. Once the melody takes shape I'll then review the chord structure with a view to strengthening the emotional feel I want to suggest, maybe using relative minor chords in the place of a major, or build tension by "forcing" a chord for longer than could be expected.
For me, the harder part is to set lyrics that support the emotional feel I've built. At this point, the way certain lyrics scan, will lead me to adjust the melody, the supporting chord or both. In the end it's an iterative process for me.
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