In our first two articles on guitar songwriting we touched upon the basics of understanding the pattern in a song that repeats itself - where the verse and the chorus work together to make the song interesting, and memorable. And that you should always try to get at least part of the song or melody line instantly recognisable, and listener friendly. The part known as the "hook" that draws the listener in and gets them singing along. Think of Tanita Tikarum - Twist in my Sobriety, or any other well known songwriter and singer. There is always a part that you instantly like or "recognise" even though it might be the first time you have ever heard the song.
For example: You can write a long intricate song full of meaning and endless verses, that no one remembers, but then add in a catchy hook line, or chorus part, and everyone sings along: Michael Jackson's Thriller. Beatles - With a Little Help From My Friends. Eric Clapton - Layla, or Tears In Heaven. Bob Dylan - Knocking On Heaven's Door. The idea is to make the listener identify instantly with the song - and to want to hear more - even though they do not know all the words of the lyrics.
We also spoke about the type and style and mood of the song you want to write, created by the key signature or chord sequence you use. Remember that different Guitar Chords give a distinctive sound to your melody - known as Voicing. If you write your song in Major Chord Key sequences, such as C or G or A, the song is normally bright and happy, and normally with an up-beat tempo. When you write in a Minor Chord sequence, as Leonard Cohen often does, your songs are more prone to a darker, or more meaningful balladeer type of sound. Many songwriters manage to write across the spectrum of Hard Rock to Pop, to Ballads, experimenting with all the variations they can find in their Chord Progressions. A laid- back sound used by J.J. Cale in his song: Sensitive Kind, uses chords such as D-flat-minor, F-sharp-minor and A-flat-minor, that gives the song a distinctive feel and sound. It would not be the same if it were changed to an A - E - B7 sequence.
So, check out your favourite band or singer, if you want to write songs just like them, for them, or similar to their sound and style, then write out their lyrics, with the chords above them, as we showed in our Song writing article - part One, and you can then immediately get a sense of what key and chord progression you should be writing in.
Be careful not to fall into the trap of plagiarism - which means that you are blatantly copying someone else melody or lines or chord sequence. This is a big No- No in the music industry. Although there are thousands of songs using the same chord progressions, remember that the pace and tempo and melody and word sequence all play a part in making a good song, and a memorable one - so do not think that you can steal or borrow someone else idea without someone out there noticing!
In our next article we shall write about Substance and Form and Meter and Style and Rhyme.
@2010 Copyright by Peter Pentelbury
About this Author
My thirty odd years of playing guitar and giving free guitar lessons has finally culminated into-Guitar Lessons Guided by http://www.guitar-howtoplay.com/ They include Free Online Guitar Video Lessons from Pentelbury's Educational Guitar Tuition. Printable chords and music songs. Learn How to Play your favorite music songs. It is a One Stop Source for Acoustic, Bass and Electric Guitar Lessons that will guide you every step of the way. Learn to play guitar from beginner to advanced. There is also a complete Guitar Chord Directory e-book, explaining the basis of Three Chord tricks, Power Chords, Open Chords, Bar Chords for Guitar.
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