[misfit]

Hello, Kirk. I have a suggestion for a lesson. How can I write my own songs using bass lines, chords, fills and melody lines all at the same time? Should I be thinking about the bass lines first or how should I begin it? My ultimate goal is to be able to cohesively weave all of these great guitar elements together to have a full band on my guitar. Sorry, I'm new to fingerstyle guitar but am very impressed with your playing. In fact, because of your awesome lessons I am going to learn as much as I can about fingerstyle guitar. Thanks so much.

[Kirk Lorange]

Think 'chord' first ... it's the central 'core' element to it all. That will determine the bass note (usually the 1, root, tonic). Then work out the melody line which is best played on the treble strings (the human ear tends to hear the higher notes as more important), then look for ways to incorporate other chord tones to flesh it all out. Once you get it, you'll see that it all falls into place quite readily and you'll also start seeing common threads ... bits and pieces that can apply to different tunes. What's more, you'll start to recognize these by ear.

When I say 'chord', I mean each chord as it comes and goes in the timeline. I call it 'the chord of the moment' ... the nice thing about music is that it comes one moment at a time, and it's the chord of that moment which is setting the rules for that moment. (The key has set the rules for that chord too, so always be aware of the key.)

There is more to it than that, of course, but not much more ...