[camway]

ok well i'm kinda new my gf has been teaching me guitar and i can play one song all the way thru (green day: Good Riddance) however i was thinking about writting somthing will somone give me a few tips?

[Lcjones]

Hi cam,

That's a really tall request there cam. Try this exercise to get your juices flowing. Take the Green Day song you have learned, melody and all, and write your own words to it.

A couple of things you want to be aware of are meter and rhyming. Notice how the music has a beat, i.e., 4/4 or 3/4. But also notice how the words themselves have a beat or meter. Pay particular attention to how a lyricist uses rhymes and such things as alliteration. If you're not familiar with alliteration, an example would be "love the lady of your life".

Anyway, that was short and sweet. But do try the exercise and post your writings.

Les

[Kirk Lorange]

If I were you I'd learn a few more songs before trying to write your own, but here are some tips:

Start from a chord progression that you like the sound of. Experiment with it, play different chords in different sequences until you like the sound of the progression. You'll find that sticking to the related chords of the key is a good place to start*. Once you have the chord progression down, then start looking for a melody line. Do that with your voice. Using notes from the chords is a good place to start that process ... you can try singing real words that you have written, or use that strange non-language that most songwriters use which is based just on vowel sounds. Once you start getting a nice melodic idea going, then start to write some real words. The vibe of the chords/melody should help with the sentiment of the words. Obviously if your melody is bright and chirpy, you won't be singing about heartbreak; if it's dark and moody, you won't be writing about elusive butterflies.

It's a process which takes a bunch of loose ideas and eventually ties them all up into the 'song' ... at least that how it works for me.

If you're already a poet and you find writing words easy, then work the other way around. Seek out a basic melody line for the words, which should already have some sort of meter to them, then look for chords that will flesh out the melody line. Again, the related chords of the key are a good place to start.

Here the related chords for the keys of C, D and G. The majors are the 'primary' chords.

C ----> C - Dm - Em - F - G - Am
D ----> D - Em - F#m - G - A - Bm
G ----> G - Am - Bm - C - D - Em

Good luck!

[nocat]

Like lcjones says, take a simple little tune and substitute the words with something really evil....
Say, for example... Twinkle Little Star...

Something like this...

Itchy itchy little scar
never should have broke that jar

Never should have gone barefoot
dancing naked on that bar

Little scar why do you itch
man I tell you it's a ..... Well, you get the drift...!!!

No matter what you attempt in life, always try to have a little fun at it....!!!

Cheers...!!!
Ben

[Hilch]

I always write my lyrics first then try to work around that with a melody .. you can always change words , once that melody gets in the head I just have to go with it and see where it takes me .

I started with a song about my children and finished with a song abot my car , words can always be chaged ...

[8LU3]

yeah someon help me write a good metal lick...

[Hilch]

You ahve to have a something in the grey matter ( brain ) to start with I feel , I can't just say right today I will write a song ....

An event or something someone said to me is usually the basis of every thing , I can't just write a good metal or any other lyrics if I have nothing to say ..

Others might be different .....

[8LU3]

yeah, i dont write lyrics, just guitar. i have problems feeling creative, can anyone help with that? lol.

[elwood]

a couple of yrs. ago, an elderly friend lost his wife. he grieved so , i wrote a little 3 verse poem about what i thought may have gone thru his mind before he pasted away from a broken heart, they said. anyway i read it at his funeral and now his son said i could try to put it to music. i'm almost satiafyed with it and if he will let me, i'll send it in. so i thank all you people that have given me advice although didn't know it. thanks again you'll never know how you have helped / elwood

[Cedric01]

Originally Posted by 8LU3

yeah, i dont write lyrics, just guitar. i have problems feeling creative, can anyone help with that? lol.

Watch a video or listen to audio of guitar works by Joe Stump!