Writing Punk rock music

[brawdylucas]

Anyone have any tips on writing punk rock style of music, my band is switching to this and ive looked at a couple bands and it seems like it has more moving bass lines and what not so any help would be appreciated

 

[Bert Slide]

Punk rock has as many sub-genres as heavy metal these days so it's hard to generalize. What type of punk are you looking to do, who are your influences, etc.?

It's super easy to write punk songs using some tried and true old formulas but it is more difficult to write unique music which is really what punk was all about before much of the scene was polluted by "Chickens##t Conformists Like Your Parents" (see Jello Biafra for more helpful insight).

 

[brawdylucas]

some influences would be all time low and we the kings and its that type of music with the octave chords in d and the barred chords

 

[Bert Slide]

some influences would be all time low and we the kings and its that type of music with the octave chords in d and the barred chords

OK I checked out those bands and I hate to generalize and categorize but it helps in the context of your question. I'd call All Time Low pop punk and I don't know if I'd call We the Kings punk at all, just pop. I listened to several of their tunes on youtube and frankly, Avril Lavigne is more punk than these guys. Not trying to start a war on what is punk or not, just my observation from 30 years in the mosh pits(which we used to call slam dancing which evolved from pogoing, but I won't bore you anymore with ancient history).

Writing pop punk is really no different than writing any pop music. Catchy hooks are all important and writing songs with lyrics the audience can relate to and want to sing along with is critical. Write from your own experiences and remember love songs, no matter how sappy, will never go out of style.

Playing pop punk is usually pretty easy. You may be called on for a few tasty fills and an occasional walking line but much of the time you will just be hammering it out on the root note. Check out Green Day and Blink 182 for good examples and for even more, dig into old pop and early rock stuff for inspiration like the Monkees, early Beatles, Kinks, Buddy Holly, Herman's Hermits, etc.

The easy formula for making any song punk-like(ala Me First and the Gimme Gimmes-they are masters at doing this with cover songs) is to take the chord progression, speed it up and play it Ramones style, i.e. guitar plays fast choppy downstokes typically in unison with bass rolling out the root note while drummer plays that fast repetitive backbeat that's so familiar nowadays. Energy and attitude trump playing skill here so go nuts but still keep good time.

Good luck with the project. Pop punk is fun and can even be quite profitable nowadays.

P.S. If you ever decide to get into the heavier stuff and the history of punk and need some direction on what to search, let me know. I'm 47 and have been a fan since I was 17 and I could give you a whole laundry list of cool stuff to check out.

 

[noahw1]

OK I checked out those bands and I hate to generalize and categorize but it helps in the context of your question. I'd call All Time Low pop punk and I don't know if I'd call We the Kings punk at all, just pop. I listened to several of their tunes on youtube and frankly, Avril Lavigne is more punk than these guys. Not trying to start a war on what is punk or not, just my observation from 30 years in the mosh pits(which we used to call slam dancing which evolved from pogoing, but I won't bore you anymore with ancient history).

Writing pop punk is really no different than writing any pop music. Catchy hooks are all important and writing songs with lyrics the audience can relate to and want to sing along with is critical. Write from your own experiences and remember love songs, no matter how sappy, will never go out of style.

Playing pop punk is usually pretty easy. You may be called on for a few tasty fills and an occasional walking line but much of the time you will just be hammering it out on the root note. Check out Green Day and Blink 182 for good examples and for even more, dig into old pop and early rock stuff for inspiration like the Monkees, early Beatles, Kinks, Buddy Holly, Herman's Hermits, etc.

The easy formula for making any song punk-like(ala Me First and the Gimme Gimmes-they are masters at doing this with cover songs) is to take the chord progression, speed it up and play it Ramones style, i.e. guitar plays fast choppy downstokes typically in unison with bass rolling out the root note while drummer plays that fast repetitive backbeat that's so familiar nowadays. Energy and attitude trump playing skill here so go nuts but still keep good time.

Good luck with the project. Pop punk is fun and can even be quite profitable nowadays.

P.S. If you ever decide to get into the heavier stuff and the history of punk and need some direction on what to search, let me know. I'm 47 and have been a fan since I was 17 and I could give you a whole laundry list of cool stuff to check out.

+1
Also, check out some NoMeansNo, Minutemen, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, Descendents (or All), fugazi (post-punk but great basslines)

But always remember punk is what you want it to be. It's been commercialized quite a bit since Nirvana broke and places like Hot Topic emerged but that doesn't mean punk is dead.

Have fun with it!

 

[brawdylucas]

Bertslide: Thank you i will defiantely be passing that on and listening to those bands and i am also into the heavier stuff which i use my schecter 5 string bass in drop b for but if i ever need more guidence i will be sure to contact you

noahw1: thank you i will look those bands up aswell

 

[AFRO]

Check out Rancid. Thier early 90s stuff was GREAT! Lets Go, and Out Come the Wolves were awesome albums. (Matt Freeman gets down sonn; not your average Root-5th stuff..Also, Operation Ivy..members turned into Rancid)

Check out Minor Threat. most members from Fugazi are from this band (still post punk, but early post punk)


Plus 1 to Bad Brains, and Fugazi..all their "Shizzle" is good

If you like those may also like: The Clash, get a greatist hits. 88fingers Louie 'Behind Bars'. NOFX. 'Punk In Drublic' and 'Heavy Petting Zoo' (Fat Mike is awesome) Pennywise, I think it was 'Full circle'. Offspring. 'Smash' Fishbone 'Chimm Chimm's Bad Ass Revenge'. Black Flag, best of. etc..

have fun.
AFRO

 

[Bert Slide]

I put this timeline together for a young bassist interested in punk music and it's history. It's off the top of my head so it's not totally accurate and I know I left a lot of great bands off but it still may be a helpful resource for anyone interested in exploring the wild world of punk rock.

Pre-punk 60's garage bands and surf rock:
Sonics
The Bomboras
The Invisible Men
The Mummies(not the modern day Here Come the Mummies)
The Ghastly Ones
Dick Dale

Late 60's punk pioneers
Stooges
MC5
Velvet Underground

Early 70's Glam rock
New York Dolls
David Bowie
T-Rex
Alice Cooper

70's New York scene: Max's Kansas City and CBGB's venues
Ramones
Television
Talking Heads
Blondie
Dead Boys
Television
Patti Smith
Wayne County
The Dictators
The Heartbrakers(Johhny Thunders not Tom Petty's band)

70's British scene
Sex Pistols
Clash
The Damned
Stiff little Fingers
Buzzcocks
Sham 69
Siouxie and the Banshees
Sham 69
X-ray Specs
Generation X
Ian Drury and the Blockheads
The Jam
The Stranglers
UK Subs
The Vibrators
The Slits
Adicts

Late 70's to 80's-American Hardcore and some other unclassifiable stuff
Blackflag
Dead Kennedys
Agent Orange
Bad Brains
X
Fear
The Germs
Circle Jerks
Minor Threat
Adolescents
Operation Ivy
Angry Samoans
Bad Religion
Descendents
Minutemen
Social Distortion
Dead Milkmen
T.S.O.L (True Sounds of Liberty)
Reagan Youth
Suicidal Tendencies
Misfits
Husker Du
MDC
JFA

1991-Grunge goes mainstream with Nirvana
You've probably heard Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots but check out these jems from the Seattle scene of that era:
Mudhoney
Big Black

I'll stop there and I've just been rattling these off the top of my head so I am leaving out a lot but that should give you plenty of great tunes to check out.

Here's some youtube links to documentaries that will give you more info:



"Minutemen: We jam Econo" great doc on one of my faves. This is the whole movie above.

Anyway, there's much more out there you'll find when searching this stuff. Search any spoken word stuff or interviews on youtube for Jello Biafra or Ian Mckaye or Henry Rollins. These guys are all great at verbalizing what the punk scene was all about.

 

[mpdd]

been relistening to man or astroman, nation of ulysses, big black, peechees, born against, jesus lizard, don caballero, brainiac, and the mummies

 

[JoeVictim]

Pick 3 to 4 random numbers between 1 and 10. Play the frets associated with those numbers.

You're Welcome!

 

[LayDownABoogie]

Pick 3 to 4 random numbers between 1 and 10. Play the frets associated with those numbers.

You're Welcome!

LOL. I swear that's how they do it.