Whats up,
If you have the money, (180$) drop it on line 6 guitarport rifftracker (or wait till xmas for toneport) amazing solo recording device/software package for the money, with the twist of a few knobs, you canhave fantstic drums at your disposal, somtimes (as stated above) messing around with a tempo can be helpfull, or applying a riff to a tempo. I have recorded many songs with it , simply by plugging staight into the guitarport hardware, the onboard processing leaves hundreds of amp/head combos and effects at your disposal, and the way you record and build your songs is user friendly and extremly functional, you can also record keys, bass, and anytinhg you can record with a mic. check it out http://www.line6.com/rifftracker/
A good way to come up with songs is to start with a base riff or chord changes. Than build on that, change the mood later on by switching to minor chords, like D - Dmin , chords can work magic,
another way to get an idea, just plug in and start messing around, when you find somthing you like apply it to a tempo, etc.
lets say you came up with
e
b
g
d
a 2-3-2
e 0 3^ 0
your notes are E, B, C, and G
these could also be chords you play it over, you could have the chords change as soon as your notes do, or play 1 chord per verse or millions of other ideas, than maybe go an ovtace up and chnage your chords to hieghten the feel of the song
if you solo, maybe back that with a basic chord change thats related (in key) with your other chords, and let your soul spill all over it
thats all for now
- Dan