[S.O.G]

sorry i just din't know where to post this question....

annyways....i have an acoustic song written and now i can't seem to be getting any idea about giving it a rythem or turning it into a song...i don have a any tunes for it........and i don't know what to do .....is there any tips i can get about this.......



again am sorry (if i am in the wrong topic)

thanx in advance...and i reaally apreciate it

[dadfad]

It's a hard thing to answer (and you might get better advice in the Songwriting Forum). It really depends on the kind of tune it is. Lyrically as well as what kind of genre, etc. You probably had some kind of basic idea of what you thought you might want it to sound like as you were conceiving it mentally. A good start might be to first sort of sing it, even hum it, in the way you think you want to go with it. Then just tapping your foot or drumming your fingers along with it will begin to establish some kind of rhythm. That'll then at least give you a loose structure to start with, which will make it easier to then begin putting it into some kind of musical progression. Once you have it loosely defined like that, then you can start working with a few chords, understanding that certain groups of chords tend to work well together, or that using a few minor chords might tend to give it a sadder or more pensive feel than simple major chords, things like that. I'd say that's the first step. Give your lyrics a little bit of musical definition by either trying to sing it as you think it might go, and from there maybe simple strumming of a few chords until you get the basic progression you like, and then take it from there as far as you want to go with it.

[S.O.G]

thanx this is great help...but you know i did sing it like when i am writing the song it always comes with a tune but i don't like that tune and it's hard to find another one.......cause that one is stuck to my head....but any ways thanx the idea of the chord groups really helps......

[dadfad]

Use the key you feel most comfortable singing in (the key of a tune is sort of like the... starting-chord or starting-point that the other chords all sort of are based on) (I apologize if I'm being too basic but I have no idea about your level of music-theory). Anyway, strum a simple chord slowly and start singing from that point (you might want to try several starting chords first... like say an A, then a C, a D, an E and a G. See which feels most comfortable to start your singing from (most singers have a "most comforable" key, so try to find yours). Then (slowly strumming to hear the tonal nuances, etc) venture into a few other chords that typically work well in that key (starting-chord) along with the starting-chord itself (sometimes called the "tonic-chord"). For example in the key of A, a D and an E chord are addd to form the most basic chord progressions. In the key of C that would be adding the F and G. In E they would be A and B. In G it would be D and C. Etc. (Progressions using that three-chord formula are called a I-IV-V progression and is the basis of lots of folk, country, blues and pop tunes.) So anyway, that might help. Slowly strum a simple chord on the guitar. Find which one is the most comfortable starting-place (key) and then try to work around in it by adding those other two chords. That's a start!


(I'm going to say this just so that further down the line as you learn more about theory or how chords work within keys, etc there won't be any confusion. The first chord of a tune isn't always the key the tune is in. There are exceptions. But for practical purposes here, it is usually the key of a tune.)


Anyway, I hope that helps a little.

[rickc]

Something I do at times like these, is to open a chord book containing songs or music that I like. Then ( to put it bluntly ) I steal a chord progression. Keep playing around with that progression and then a melody will kind of develop inside your head and help to disperse the one that is " stuck" there from before. I just try to keep developing it from there until I find something I'm reasonably content with. From then on I add ideas one at a time until something emerges, and sometimes the finished piece bares little resemblance to what i originally started with. It's a bit laborious but songs don't come all that easy to me and this method always seems to produce some kind of result. Might help you, give it a try.

[S.O.G]

thanx for the help..ah but don't you get songs that kind of have the same tune like the song you stole you're progression from...?

[dadfad]

It seems like you could just use re-arrangements and changes to the chords you could find in a tune in a song-book, those chords already being able to work together in various ways and sequences. They could be re-arranged in any of a number of ways to fit whatever one wanted. For example I'm sure there are many thousands of tunes that just use the chords A, D and E, but put together to fit whatever the songwriter had in mind.

[S.O.G]

well there is something you said that put some great attention to me...you said using minor chords can make the song have a sad beat......is there any particular chord family that can give me that ...

and about the thing where you told me to work off with chords and trying to see which one the song works in...and i feel comfortable singing in....it's A.....but it's a bit cheerful i want it more.....down ..almost ..it's you know a song that is almost played on the piano...

once again thanx alot for the help i really appreciate it

[dadfad]

There are lots of ways to start of an Am progression. Here are a few...

Am-G-D-D

Am-C-D-Dm (maybe end Am-E-AM) (similar to the progression in the Animals "House of the Risong Son" etc)

Am-Dm-G-C (or Am)

Am-G-F (similar to some passages in "Stairway to Heaven" and "All Along the Watchtower")

Dm-G-Am-Am (reversing the position of the Am)

These are just a few starting examples. Strum through them slowly, or change the order of the strings being picked using just several single notes out of a chord unstead of a complete strum. Re-arrange the sequence in different ways to find what you're looking for.


Instead of using simple minors try using chords in some places that are a little more "sophisticated." Like instead of Am X02210 try an Am7 like X002213 or X02013 or 5X5555; or an Am13 X02012 or Am6 X02212 or A. Maybe instead of a minor try another "color" like Amaj7 X02120 or Am add9 X02410 or A7sus4 (then to an A7 X02020). Instead or a simple D or Dm X00231 try X00201, or Dm add9 X07760 or Dmaj7. Instead of a simple E or Em 022000 try an Em9 022032 or 020032 (that's nice one) or an Eadd9 024100.

This is where a chord-family book can come in pretty handy. To give you ideas to experiment around with until you find exactly the voicing you're looking for.

Anyway, hopefully that'll give you a few ideas.

[S.O.G]

yes ... thank you for your help

[ninjato]

thanx for the help..ah but don't you get songs that kind of have the same tune like the song you stole you're progression from...?

Do you have any idea how many "different" songs there are out there w/ C D and G as the chords?

[S.O.G]

yea ofcourse i do...plus different strumming can lead you to a whole new song too