How to Write a Song in Five Minutes

[IanR]

Hey 64Gs

I have been using this method for a long time now.  It makes a lot of sense and it works.  Its all based upon making a series of chords (1st, 3rd, 5th) from each progressive note in the scale.  The chart is very useful but if you know the chord progression (major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished), you can work out the chords counting along your fingers anyway.  Blues songs are mostly based on I, IV, V progressions and most pop songs are too, or a close variation. 

I've been doing this lately with some travis picking.   Any tips on that?  It's hard for my old brain to learn.  My son can do it really well.  He overtaken me.

Ian

[Vaisvil]

That explanation was way way too complicated. Try this method.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMshvUReunc


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ

[Vaisvil]

BTW this thread illustrates quite well why I choose to write in different tunings. You can't use a chord progression a zillion people have already used if you are using a new tuning with all new chords....

[Vaisvil]

It IS a pain to write microtonally. Especially when you are talking about guitar which requires more or less a new instrument.

I think a good way to break out of formulaic composition is experiment with different open tunings on your guitar. People like Jimmy Page and Joni Mitchell are two rather famous examples of guitarists who reached for the unusual by altering their guitar tuning.

I have also heard of people tuning some strings to quarter-tones or just intonation and coming up with hybrid 12 equal / microtonal concoctions.

In fact the guy who won the last Untwelve microtonal composition contest did so by using quarter-tone alterations of normal tuning on a standard classical guitar.  http://untwelve.org/interviews/hickman.html  I did the interview - he's quite a nice guy.

Chris

[phantasm777]

i dont know, i still think there is plenty of good new music that can come from the same old 12. just takes experimentation and imagination.

[Vaisvil]

I agree - 12 isn't dead quite yet. But making original music in 12 is certainly harder with every passing day - and when I see formulas for chord progressions it lead me to think imagination was left outside in the cold, cold rain.

Undoubtedly there is a place for "four chord songs" as a vessel for stirring words and a memorable melody. But its not on the same level of composition as say Stairway to Heaven or The Rain Song. Or practically anything by Jethro Tull or Yes.

Chris

[chip]

Three chords, that's most of them, as for Yes, In my opinion way to complicated. We play mostly simple songs, which to me seem the best sort and the most popular.. I used to like Yes and all the rest of the complicated bands of that time, then I got into the German stuff to go with it.( I used to play in complicated bands too, in fact I had to leave one not long ago) luckily for me punk/ Tom Petty came along and great, we are back to 3 to 4 minute songs again..

We use dropped D sometimes to add colour.... I do find that most of the songs we play are either 4 or 3 or now and again 5 chords, sometimes there is a quick key change for say a chorus. It just works so well and always has done and always will. Now where did I put that Faust album

[Vaisvil]

more power to ya.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqW0u8Q-Ej8

[Hook]

I agree - 12 isn't dead quite yet. But making original music in 12 is certainly harder with every passing day - and when I see formulas for chord progressions it lead me to think imagination was left outside in the cold, cold rain.

Undoubtedly there is a place for "four chord songs" as a vessel for stirring words and a memorable melody. But its not on the same level of composition as say Stairway to Heaven or The Rain Song. Or practically anything by Jethro Tull or Yes.

Chris

Yes this is definitely true, but you've hit it on the head with "imagination" , it's all about imagination. If your tired of 3 and 4 chord songs, well, make a point to use more chords in your next tune. Don't go with the first melody you sing, try 2 or 3 different ones, use a different time signature, learn a new instrument (my personal favorite ). Write a song specifically in a key that your not comfortable singing and make a melody that works.   Explore tunings & microtonal music. We truly are our own worst crutch. Challenge yourself, it's fun!

[na_th_an]

I might be flawed, but all keys sound the same to me. I mean, C F G sounds the same as D G A, same intervals. Maybe some gifted musicians with absolute hearing can tell, but I can't. In fact, there's many times I've composed a song in a certain key and then found that I couldn't sing it 'cause some notes fell out of my range, and I've transposed it to another key and the song was exactly the same.

So that claim that a song in C sound happy or a song in G sounds tragic is a bit of a nonsense. I mean, I can write a song that goes C Am Dm G (In C major key) and then have my girlfriend sing it as G Em Am D (In G major key) 'cause she has a higher register and the song is not sounding "tragic" at all.

Or am I missing something?

On topic, a more complex song is not a better song. I've composed songs with progressions of 32 chords and songs with 2 chords and they can be as good (or bad).