Serious Trouble

Ok, so I have been killing myself over the last week trying to write a song, and i cant hardly get a melody that i like, I am trying to right Rock songs, newer rock but with an older sound, none of this recent rock coming out now, but anyways I am so worn out by trying and i dont seem to be getting anywhere, all the melodies i come up with are just random melodies, its like the only way I can get a good melody is if I get lucky. Thats how I feel I wrote my first song which is the only one I have written, I feel it was luck. What can I do???

I would change your signature, given the nature of your question :p

Actually...stop playing guitar for a while, don't think a lot about it. Listen to music. Play your other song. You may endup finding ideas. Improvise to commercials on TV/Radio, listen to other melodies, try learning those you like from ear. Most of the times my melodies, comes from improvisation with backing tracks.

If you have Broadband access to GuitarTricks you can follow through on some of the songs I've written . I usually go through the whole process for writing tunes using a computer and recording software.

Usually what I do is write out a template for the entire song.
Normally, you'd need a highband subscription for access to this stuff but I'll print it out for free so ya get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Writing a Song the Easy Way

Most popular songs having an intro, verse, chorus, verse, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus end.


So you write out a blank page like this

TITLE
Copyright 2005 K. Taylor/Schmange Music U.K./Canada

Verse #1
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________

Verse #2
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________

Chorus #1
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________

Bridge
_______________________________
_______________________________

Verse #3
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________

Chorus
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________

Chorus repeat
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________

Repeat and end or fade out.


Now all you do is fill in the blanks.

Start with a drum machine and plan it out so that it plays 4 bars of intro, 8 bars of two verses, 1 chorus with a slightly expanded beat, another verse and chorus, a bridge with something completely different, and then either another verse and chorus or just a chorus that repeat itself.
If you want to cheat, you can even take a popular song and just copy the drum tracks or even download a MIDI drum track off the net and use it as your template.
Note: I've only provided a short example of the audio file below but if you have highband access you'll get either the full audio file or be able to email me for the .wav file or the original MIDI file so that you can customize it yourself.

http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/mp3/MoogBoogDrums.mp3

Keep in mind that the original files are very basic and raw. Later they'll be improved with reverb and all kinds of tweaking. The thing to keep in mind is that all the various parts like the verses and chorus's etc... are already pre-planned as best as possible.

Next stage is to add some bass. I ended up using a Moog Synth.

http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/mp3/Moogfull.mp3

Then, to jump ahead a bit I added synth and other parts.... meanwhile I was writing lyrics to fit.

So I added a scratch vocal:
http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/mp3/Xanamoog.voxtest.mp3

Notice that the vocal have a lot of nonsense words that I've improvised. I've also left the vocals way back in the mix. This gives me the opportunity later to use this take as a guide to write new lyrics and ideas.
The best bet is to listen to this mix with headphones and use a microphone to improvise your own vocals while you're listening. That way you can come up with all kinds of new ideas without feeling limited by what you're hearing.

The end result now, is that you've got a full song as a scratch version that you can now put on a small mini tape recorder and carry around with you.
You can practice new lyrics or come up with new leads or full passages that would work.
You can also use your imagination to hear the song in your head as it would sound when finished.






It's only half finished, but I know exactly where all the verses and chorus's go and have half the lyrics finished.
Now all I've gotta do is finish it off and complete the lyrics.
Here's a scratch version of what I came up with so far.
All I did was write out the above plan on paper and then keep adding in all the blanks. I just did it in sections. Do the verse. Then come up with a chorus.
While you're writing the music for the verses and chorus parts, you get melodies and lyrical parts coming to you.
All I've gotta do now is finish off the vocal and it's done.

The important thing is to actually have a plan and get it down on paper and tape so that you have something to work with.
If the end result doesn't work...stick it in a drawer somewhere and come back to it later. You never know when an old idea might take you in a new direction.

If you'd like to delve into this topic further, the whole series is posted here:

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=8864&s_id=107

Kevin Taylor
[email]schmange@schmange.com[/email]

Schmange Music U.K./Canada
http://www.schmange.com

TV/Film Soundtracks
http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/SchmangeOnline/Soundtrackst0964.htm

Buy The CD
http://www.cdbaby.com/schmange2

Listen to the Tunes
http://www.weedtunes.com/index.php/a/av/artist/99

Saturday, July 9, 2005
5:54:58 PM

Schmange has a good point. Make a plan of the song you want to write before you play a single note. It helps you set goals and keep you focused on the tasks you need to accomplish to complete your song.

To take it a bit farther, think about and write down what kind of song you want to write. You said you want to write a Rock song. That's a good first step, but it is too vague. "I want to write a rock song" doesn't lead in too much of a direction.

Are you writting a Rock Ballad? A Jazz/Rock song? What kind of emotion do you want to portray in the song? These are some of the question you should ask yourself before writting. Be as descriptive as possible about the song you wish to write.

Knowing that you want to write a driving hard rock song with a bluesy feel . You now have a better idea of what to write, and/or a better idea of what to start with. A "bluesy feel" tells you that you might want to use a shuffle feel or certain type signature, and write a bluesy type melody. It also tells you what kind of chords would be good to use. Blues uses alot of dominant 7th chord (with some alterations). "Driving" tells you about the rhythm and tempo you want to use. Rhythm is the primary factor in rock music, next to melody. Those few words nearly write the song for you. Now your job becomes taking that and turning it into music.

Another important thing about describing the song you want is it give you a clear focused idea of the song you want to write. With that there is less chances of straying away from that. So keep that initial description in the back of your mind every step of the way, and after you finish each part compare it to that initial idea. Does it fit the description or does it stray away from this idea?

Straying away from the idea is not wrong, but seeing your a beginner. Keep it simple. Changing the emotion contour of your song, let alone the melody, takes some songwritting maturity to do convincingly throughout. Sticking with the idea seems to be where your at, and where you would benefit the most. As you gain some experience try changing it up alittle.

As for writting melodies. I say this is the part of the song writting process that alot of songwritters make alot more difficult than it has to be. Listen, listen, listen. Hum out your ideas and then transpose them to your guitar. Keep it simple. Alot of the best melodies are mostly quarter notes in 4/4 that move in steps from note to note. Write and have fun with it. Don't try to make your second song, the song that is going to change the world. You'll find yourself a couple years down the road with only a couple of songs and alot of fustration. You get better with experience, and the skill of songwritting is different from writting riffs. Putting those ideas together is the trade.

Have fun, everything is always better when you do. ;)