I want to start using the keyboard to write music, I read some where that I need to know my circle of keys inside out.
ps: What do you think about writing a song together right here in this forum? We'll pick a common form, like ii, V7, I in C, pick a theme and start writing. what do you think?
yeah that sounds great, i have no idea of where to start please begin the first line.
Every song I write starts differently: My songwriting process has 3 basic areas;
Melody, Harmony(chords) and Rythmn(. The song can start in any of those areas.
Sometimes, I get inspired by a situation or a set of chord changes and jot down a couple of lyrics that later become the chorus of a new song. From there I just work at pulling the rest of the song from the initial idea. It can happen really quick or take a year, it really depends on the song. My best songs were put together very quickly.
Alright. Let's use a simple progression:[/b]
ii, V7, I[/size].
ii, V7, I is good because it leaves a bunch of space for improvisation/embellishments, etc.
To keep it simple, I suggest we use the key of C as our official key. So, you can work the song out in any key you want, but for the discussion, transpose everything back to C. After we've worked out the changes and have a basic melody, we'll play it in every key and listen for new parts of the melody. In the end it's depends on the singer anyway.
Let's start with this rhythmn arrangement:| Dmin7 / G7 / | CMaj7 / / / | Dmin7 / G7 / | CMaj7 / / / |
| Dmin7 / G7 / | CMaj7 / / / | Fmaj7/ Emin7| Dmin7/ / / |
| CMaj7/ / / | CMaj7 / / / |
Thats :1st bar: Dmin7 for 2 beats, G7 for 2 beats
2nd bar: CMaj7 for 4 beats
3rd bar: Dmin7 for 2 beats, G7 for 2 beats
4th bar: CMaj7 for 4 beats.
5th bar: FMaj7 for 2 beats, Emin7 for 2 beats
6th bar: Dmin7 for 4 beats
7th bar: CMaj7 for 4 beats
8th bar: CMaj7 for 4 beats
Lets pull the melody from the 7ths of the chords we have so far:
the 7th in Dmin7 is C
the 7th in G7 is F
the 7th in CMaj7 is B
Try it like this; C
up to F then
down to B. Thats pretty good. Now that we have a basic melody, we need a subject for the song. How about Deliverance?
The Lyrics could start like this;
"I (C) am (F) Changed (B)". We could use this as the Chorus or the first line of a Verse. Now that we have the base for our melody and our subject we can expand. A good second line could be,
"From(F) my(A) Head(E) down(C) to(D) my(B) feet(C), then we resolve the lyrics with, "
I(A) am(D) changed(B) again and resolve the Harmony by ending on the
I chord (CMaj7). Here is what we have so far:(Melody notes in parenthesis)
1st bar: Dmin7 for 2 beats, G7 for 2 beats
I(C) am(F)
2nd bar: CMaj7 for 4 beats
Changed(B),
3rd bar: Dmin7 for 2 beats, G7 for 2 beats
I(C), am(F)
4th bar: CMaj7 for 4 beats.
Changed(B),
5th bar: FMaj7 for 2 beats, Emin7 for 2 beats
From(F) my(A) Head(E), down(C) to(D) my(B)
6th bar: Dmin7 for 4 beats
feet(C), I(A) am(D)
7th bar: CMaj7 for 4 beats
changed(B)
8th bar: CMaj7 for 4 beats
Juvenile (and anybody else interested),Play around with this and post whatever Ideas you have for the lyrics, melody, form or whatever. I know the harmony is very basic but, this is just the starting point, we'll add the fill-ins, passing chords and other accents later.
----
ps: Juvenile, what is your real name? I feel silly calling you Juvenile!!
- James.
Reference:Harmonized scale for the key of C (CMaj7, Dmin7, Emin7, FMa7, G7, Amin, Bminb5)
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