Members tramampoline Posted June 11, 2002 Members Share Posted June 11, 2002 What's your usual process rof songwriting? I usually start noodling on the guitar unitl I find and interesting chord or progression and that usually perks my ear to create a melody to fit the progression. It works for me when I use the other method as well, but not as much for some reason. What comes first for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members whughes Posted June 11, 2002 Members Share Posted June 11, 2002 I find it much easier to come up with a melody when I already have a chord progression. In fact, I don't think I've ever done it the other way. Maybe I should try it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kingnome Posted June 11, 2002 Members Share Posted June 11, 2002 My good songs were melody first. My crappy, self-indulgent wanking fluff-o-doom stuff was all chords first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ninja of love Posted June 11, 2002 Members Share Posted June 11, 2002 Originally posted by Kingnome My good songs were melody first. My crappy, self-indulgent wanking fluff-o-doom stuff was all chords first. I agree. I always do chords first and end up stuck. The best songs are always the best melodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thelonius74 Posted June 11, 2002 Members Share Posted June 11, 2002 Originally posted by ninja of love I agree. I always do chords first and end up stuck. The best songs are always the best melodies. Absolutely. If you come up with a chord progression first, then your melody has to work within the confines of that progression. If you have a melody first, then you have almost an endless number of chords that you can put on top of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thelonius74 Posted June 11, 2002 Members Share Posted June 11, 2002 I should also mention that sometimes I do come up with progressions that I feel are very conducive to good melodies. So I'll do it the other way in that sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Welladjusted Posted June 13, 2002 Members Share Posted June 13, 2002 riff first, then everything else falls into place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zelmobeaty Posted June 13, 2002 Members Share Posted June 13, 2002 I too often start with chords. however, since I've been playing and writing a long time - it's getting old. I really want to start writing the melody first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spong Posted June 13, 2002 Members Share Posted June 13, 2002 normally melody first, but don't restict yourself to it. It really comes down to inspiration. A couple of chords can "set you off" as well as a bunch of notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlKindi Posted June 13, 2002 Members Share Posted June 13, 2002 Melody first and you song will have a soul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gibsoninvader Posted June 14, 2002 Members Share Posted June 14, 2002 what is the difference between the chords and melody? Is melody the singing tempo? I'm clueless here...or is melody the strumming pattern of the chords? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gadflyer Posted June 14, 2002 Members Share Posted June 14, 2002 I always mix it up. The idea is though is to try to write every day. Even if it is just a four measure melody. I belt out melodies in my car. I mess around with my notation software even if I have no direction. I noodle on the guitar quite a bit as well. When it comes to what comes first. Don't limit yourself to just one technique. Just remember, once you write a melody for a progression go away for an hour and come back to it. If you can't remember the melody you wrote it wasn't any good to begin with. If you want to start with just writing melody first that is a pretty good idea. It usually is the strongest. Pick up some Rickard Strauss: Don Juan or Death and Transfiguration are both great songs to get you gears rolling. Even James Horner helps me out sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dr fuse Posted June 15, 2002 Members Share Posted June 15, 2002 It depend what you are writing. If you wrote a main theme, i prefere beginning by the melody. It's your subject! But for a variation or or verse you can make for example a variation of the main harmony and do a melodisation on it. The most important voices is 1: your melody line, 2: your bass line. The rest is colors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Rock Jockeys Posted June 15, 2002 Members Share Posted June 15, 2002 Chords are first, then compose melody based on the chords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dr fuse Posted June 15, 2002 Members Share Posted June 15, 2002 strange affirmation! are you lissen the variations of "ah vous dirais-je maman " from Mozart? Doing melodisation produce less liberty for the melody movement. It's a choice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nin4269 Posted June 15, 2002 Members Share Posted June 15, 2002 Originally posted by dr fuse strange affirmation! are you lissen the variations of "ah vous dirais-je maman " from Mozart? Doing melodisation produce less liberty for the melody movement. It's a choice... Not sure I follow... are you saying in Mozart's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star he doesn't take liberty with the melody? I think that's not the case, most specifically useing the 8th & 11th variations as example. However I'm not sure that's a good peice to use to prove the point, since it seemed to be written as a training exercise for his pupils (in my opinion). Maybe I misunderstood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 19, 2002 Share Posted June 19, 2002 weeeeelllll.... sometimes chord progressions suggest melodies, don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Barry Jive Posted June 19, 2002 Members Share Posted June 19, 2002 Yeah, but even id you DO write the melody first, doesn't it have to be relative to something? Like, when I write melodies when I'm walking around or whatever, they're always chords going on in the back of my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lurid Posted June 20, 2002 Members Share Posted June 20, 2002 When I write my own stuff, I usually have a melody and lyrics taking shape before I put any music to it. In the band, things are different...my vocalist and I usually share the writing credits, but a lot of our songs just come out of jamming. We'll just start jamming, I'll hit on 2 or 3 good riffs over the course of the jam, and usually when I hit an above-average riff, the singer will just lay something over it with a spontaneous melody and lyrics that may or may not have been written beforehand. That's how our last 5 songs or so have been written...and they're our best songs, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tubesarecool Posted June 25, 2002 Members Share Posted June 25, 2002 I use both ways, but sometimes I find that if I start with a melody I'll come up with a progression for the purpose of backing it that I would never have thought of otherwise!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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