Song (Melody) Writers

[Matt Till]

Do you write a melody from your bassline? Because I've been trying and it's rough, not only do I screw up the bassline but I also don't get any good ideas. 3 chords on an accoustic and I rock. Syncopated bassline in 5/4, I'm lost. Advice?

[Juneau]

The song writter in our group always starts with the bass line for some reason, I think its just what he hears in his head first. He has a piano and drumming background, but he does base all his melodies off the bassline Im pretty sure. As for how, I think he loops the bassline using Cooledit or the like and then just plays around on the piano or guitar to see what fits and sounds good along with the line.

When he brings them to me, the basslines typically change a bit of course as I add my own things to it, or play a lot of alterations cause I get bored playing the same line over and over, but the basic idea remains the same so it is still all based off the original line.

Not sure if that was help or just a bunch of rambling, but Ill hope for the former hehe.

Matt (must have been crack induced mispelling), have you ever used a looping pedal, boomerang or Boss RC-20? My guitarist has one and I play with it quite often. Its come in quite handy in writting additional parts of the song because Ill lopp what Ive come up with thus far and see what sounds good with it, without having to keep it in my head the whole time. Might try something like that.

[Matt Till]

Mike?



If only I had money for a looper. My computer is very slow so I can't even use cool edit pro without a struggle.

[Juneau]

Hmm, depending on what operating system your using, you might be able to find a cracked version of older Cakewalk. Its a MIDI program, but you can map out your line and play along side MIDI version of your original line. The older versions (Cakewalk 5 and previous) will run fine on slow machines, but I think the version I have will only install on a 98 Machine or older. On another note, RAM for your machine is likely a very inexpensive upgrade that might help your problem out. If you need some help with that, let me know.

As for the pedals, save your pennies, its a worthwhile investment for anyone wanting to write songs for more than their original part and arent amazing enough to play multiple parts at the same time lol.

[Matt Till]

And lets not forget that loopers are awesome. I played with a pedal with a hold delay and that alone was amazing.

[Juneau]

Yeah, that too

[Josh Ryan]

I almost never start with the bassline. I usually have a melody in mind, then jump to writing drums first. Drums are my weak area, so it takes me forever to get them done anyway.

[Benjamin Strange]

I usually write the melody last. I figure if the music is interesting on it's own, then the melody will be interesting too. Granted, this makes writing the melody hard to write (and sometimes impossible). Rarely do I hear the melody first, but when I do, I usually go with that. Remember, your first instinct is usually your best. Don't overthink it if you can.

If you must overthink it, pay attention to color tones. Resist 1sts and 5ths if you can; try to stress thirds, 7ths, and the like. Big intervalic leaps are good too. Always try to say something when you are writing a melody; meandering aimlessly is bad in conversation, and what is music if not a way to communicate?

[Matt Till]

I'm more a write the music first kinda guy too. I want the focus to be the music.