and I can add this bit of info. I have TONS of lyrics sitting around
So the breakdown is somehow getting the lyrics translated into some sort of melody onto the rhythm tracks
I may start trying this. Putting down just one basic drum pattern and sit with guitar in hand playing guitar and singing (2 different mics) trying to fit some of the lyrics into a melody over some chords over the drum pattern
ok here we go.
went thru my pile of lyrics on folded up paper, found something interesting looking
thought thru it to get an idea of what type of feel and tempo I wanted
went to EZ Drummer and threw down a basic structure. intro, intro chorus, verse, prechorus, chorus, verse, prechorus, chorus, bridge, chorus 2x, outro
laid down scratch vocals (just one time thru)
forgot to lay down vocals for bridge lol
Anyway, I struggled with the vocals, doing them sitting down without really warming up etc etc.
In any case at least it shows an improvement in the workflow
hows it sound as far as the ideas?
Not really my style but it is fun to hear what you have come up with in such a fast fashion.
What is your style?
I am of the indie folk sort of bent.
actually, let me clarify something. When I said ājust one time thruā I meant just one verse, one prechorus, one chorusā¦just to get an idea of the melodies
I didnt at alllll mean it was any kind of one take thing lol. I had 2 tracks for vox and I was bouncing back and forth between them basically doing one phrase at a time lol
That being said, the whole thing did take only about 90 minutes maybe?? The only thing pre-existing was the lyrics
I dont think its anything great but im glad to at least make some step in the right direction
yeah still that is impressive. It will be fun to see if it becomes of something in the long run.
if it follows the normal path of my songs it will be forgotten lol
Not sure about āadvantageā, itās just one of many ways of songwriting. Neil Diamond, Diane Warren, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Desmond Child etc. may have a different viewpoint to yours.
Just a point: chords are just one part of the presentation of a song. The song itself is the melody and lyrics. These are the two elements that are copyrighted, you canāt copyright a chord sequence. However good a chord sequence is, however much you like it and appreciate it, you can be sure itās already been done somewhere by somebody.
The Beatles in about 7 years dwarfed that whole list of people lol. see also Queen, Pink Floyd etc
As far as a solo person I think piano/keyboard players have a certain advantage in that they have 2 hands to make music whereas a guitar player is only fretting with one hand. Much easier for piano to get more interesting chords
The point I was making about chords is that a melody doesnt stand alone. The Star Spangled Banner is nice, but if you reharmonize it with totally different chords, it isnt really the Star Spangled banner anymore. Same exact melody gets a whole different flavor with the different chords
Hey Jon-Jon,
I like!
I certainly liked the guitar part, as well as the verse. My only comment so far would be that I didnāt recognise a real hook, (except maybe for the descending guitar riff). Thereās quite a few almost hooks in the chorus (ādeep down insideā, āwhen you do your magicā), maybe Iām just missing this one line that it builds up to (or alternatively starts with). Thereās another reason that I feel you could do with a stronger hook: the chorus is similar to the verse in the chords you use, so you might need a stronger signal like, hey guys this is the chorus coming now!:drums: Try Christineās advice on this: what is it youāre feeling, try to say it (scream it maybe in your case 
) in one short phrase. If itās honest and straight from the heart, itās bound to be a good hook. It might even inspire you to try a different chord sequence in the chorus?
The lick and the sound reminded me of the Beatles. Thereās a somewhat similar guitar lick at the end of I want you/ Sheās so heavy on the Abbey road album. I loved that outro, must have played it again and again so many times. I wouldnāt be surprized if that was your inspiration. Beside it being from the Beatles thereās also a difference. The lick (played by John Lennon apparently) is simpler, easier to get engraved as a hard copy in your brain. Your guitar lick needs to become a bit more recognisable. Alright, this is where AJās point of view is valid: the chord sequence needs a melody to become complete (which could just be a repeated arpeggio of the chord). Youāre almost there.
Anyway, keep working on it, itās worth it!
well the hook would probably be āwhen you do your magicā. But its not really going to sound but so hooky when theres one bare vocal there lol
and no, the Beatles never entered my mind at all on this one. if anything I may have had DefLeppard cross my mind on the prechorus but it didnt come out like them at all. DefLeppard has dozens of layered voxā¦this was a pretty bare demo first time thru scratching around for ideas
trust me, if I want to rip off the BEatles I do know how lol
We Will Rock You proves otherwise.
Melody, groove, riffs, notes, phrasing, lyrics, etc., can all be the primary focus of a song. You can start a song with any of those features as the main focus. There are no correct ways to approach song writing. Just write somethingā¦it doesnāt matter if itās good or bad, doesnāt matter if itās complete garbage. Just the exercise of writing will give you a better understanding of how to approach it. Too many people are blocking their own creativity with fear of making shitty songs and mistakesā¦BUT, there are know mistakes when it comes to creating art. Anything goes. Just write a melody over that musical āsketchā you posted above! Who cares if it sucks?! Most songs never amount to anything anyway. We can talk about this topic all day, all month, all year, but the eureka moment will likely come when youāve attempted actually completing many songs. It might never be a eureka moment, but instead it may dawn on you slowly. Itās a learning process that never ends. The important thing is that you take your next musical stepā¦Write a melody for that recording you posted. ā¦JUST DO IT !..Itās the only way you will grow as a songwriter and musician.
[quote=āJon-Jon, post:30, topic:1453ā]
The point I was making about chords is that a melody doesnt stand alone.[/quote]If you are struggling to write songs, this may be the root of your problem. Melody is everything. Nobody whistles a chord sequence as they walk down the street, they whistle the melody, and at that point, the melody does indeed stand alone.
[quote]The Star Spangled Banner is nice, but if you reharmonize it with totally different chords, it isnt really the Star Spangled banner anymore. Same exact melody gets a whole different flavor with the different chords
[/quote]Precisely my point. The chords are part of the melodyās presentation, but the melody itself never changes.
have to agree to disagree because tons of songs have extremely simple melodies or pentetonic melodies. other factors besides the 2 or 3 note melody make the song memorable
Im talking rock here lol. oh wow, the melody is C,B,A. wow. That melody was set up by what went before it and it was delivered with a super strong vocal and strong production etc
example
melody itself isnt much to write home about but in the context of the powerful vocal etc its a great hook. We are basically talking one word here. āna a a a a auhmmā
or
again, not exactly a beautiful winding melody lol that one would sit and āwriteā. More like a simple thing delivered with a lot of power
Weāre actually in agreement, weāre saying the same thing. I agree with almost everything you have written in the above post. The only diffrence is that your observations bring you to the conclusion that because a melody is simple itās not important. If you have a paradigm shift maybe your songwriting process will improve.
I will say again, no matter how simple you think a melody is, it is the only part of the song (and the lyrics of course) that can be copyrighted. That alone should tell you how important melody is.
or VanHalen āJumpā
whats that, one note? two?? someone is going to write one note?
song succeeds based on other factors.
Hooks?? I 100% agree. Listen to some DefLeppard off of the pyromania album. you are goign to get 10 different hooks that have nothing to do with the chorus
but also in these songs the production IS a hookā¦which is why I started posting on this site lol
Correct. That one note is copyrighted. (When itās accompanied by the word ājumpā).
Canāt think of one here and now, but simple melodies, one note sung over shifting chords are often the most spectacular.
Iām reading a quite long but really revealing interview with Bob Dylan published in March on Dylanās website. Iāve never seen him more articulate and open about his thought process. He touches many times on the role of melody in songwriting, so I thought Iād toss a link up here in case anyoneās interested. Very long, as I say, but well worth the time.