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Ever think of writing your own songs? Has a cool line, melodic motif, hook, perhaps a special sequence of chords just sort of surfaced from your subconscious into the present? Such a cool thing when it occurs, sort of like falling in love. Which is the topic of probably half of the tunes out there eh? Nothing wrong with that. Some people just want to fill the world with love songs ... what's wrong with that ...?
In writing tunes, we potentially go to a couple of places that we perhaps would not normally go to in our everyday worlds. This idea takes on added significance if we were looking to perform our works for others, revealing ourselves to a wider audience. Lots of folks shy away from getting this far "out there" so to speak. The idea here is not to let this get in the way of writing our tunes, for writing our songs is a cool and challenging thing to do, a good way to think things through and then try to create a balance that hangs together in musical time. It is a very natural thing to want to do, to express ourselves, and very magical when it can come forth in our music. So we can write our songs then figure out the production end of things later? Exactly.
Creating melodies. So, where do the melodies come from? Everywhere and anywhere I guess. Sometimes it only takes just a wisp of an idea that becomes the seed from which we grow our tune. Sometimes we write songs for those we love and admire, the melody coming forth from the personality of the person. Sometimes to commemorate an event of historical significance, the melody based on a rhythmic feel of the event perhaps. Sometimes we write songs to tell a story, where the melody portrays the emotional character of our tale. Sometimes we write songs whose melodies help others visualize and get to a place where the would not usually go and to think about things that they might not normally think about, we draw these timeless melodies from the inner depths of our beings and bring them forth into a new light to share.
Folk music. Folk songs most often tell a story, about life and what the writer knows to be true in their own hearts. The music for folk songs is usually created on guitar to provide the rhythmic and harmony background, while our voice provides the melody line and poetry of words that tell our tale. So simple and down to earth eh? That's kinda the idea I think. Want to write a folk song? Need some help? Ask a friend perhaps? Need a common musical form for writing your folk song?
Rock songs. Rock songs are very much like folk tunes but are very much blues influenced, and of course the gear used to create the rock sounds and the themes of the song are often way different. The rhythms of rock tend to be rather primitive, usually in 4 / 4 time, simply a "rock" steady pulse under amplified guitars. Many rockers take the music to the outer limits of social awareness, reflecting perhaps on societies formalism and how that can shape our lives. Other rockers are storytellers of important messages and differ not in the least from the writers of any of the other American song forms, except in their choice of rhythms and instrumentation. Want to write a rock song? Need some help? Ask a friend perhaps?
Blues songs. At the core of all of the American sounds, the blues composer is perhaps the most simple theoretically of the American styles in getting their message across. So often written with a couple of pitches, the blue notes, and 3 basic chords, even the melody line and words is often one phrase simply repeated up a fourth. The stories blues players tell often strike like lightning right to the hearts of their listeners, as their themes are often universal, we each can often personally identify and remember one of our own episodes as described by the writer / performer. Pairing these kind of themes with the blue colors and placing them in the very simple blues form, blues songs can include as listeners everyone from all walks of life, even those listeners not old enough to yet experience the events described in a song are often attracted and included by the earthy tone of voice and the musical colors we call the blues. Want to write a blues tune? Need some help? Ask a friend perhaps?
Jazz songs. Jazz songs can be the simplest of songs or the among the most complex of the American styles. American jazz is so much about freedom. As the original creators of this art form were anything but free, they gained greater freedom for themselves and those around them by playing jazz. The real differences between American jazz and the other popular American styles is it's unabashed venturing into all the nooks and cranny's of the resources of equal temper and the polyrhythmic nature of the music. Folk, rock and blues tunes tend to start in one key and stay there, and once the rhythm is established, it tends to stay put. These basic parameters help define these styles. Jazz music on the other hand tends to venture into changing keys, or borrowing bits of other keys to flavor the music. And while the groove establishes the basic feel of the song, it is not uncommon to shift grooves, styles or even time signatures within the same song. So basically a much larger palette of melodic and harmonic colors over a steady groove created by polyrhythmic elements. Place these resources into a performance environment where the players are often expected to improvise their ideas within the context of the songs performed and we begin to get a sense of the artistic challenges of the modern jazz artist. Want to write a jazz song? Need some help? Ask a friend perhaps?
Arranging. In all of the forms of popular American music, we can follow the established forms in writing our songs. The term arranging in music simply means how we order the events in our creations. The following ideas outline the various components found within popular American song.
1) Usually a song will have an introduction of a couple of measures that will introduce the essence of the story to be told. In the intro we get a hint of so much that is to come. The style of the song, the key of the music, the tempo and overall feel are often in the intro. If we think of many of the songs we each love, in so many tunes we only have to hear the first few notes and we know what is to come. Songs without introduction are not uncommon, players term this to start "right on it" and is popular with blues and jazz musicians.
2) The body of the tune is often written in a form which helps determine the overall shape of the song. The 8 bar phrase, the 12 bar blues, the A / A / B / A 32 bar form with two themes, the A / B 32 bar form are among the most common. Using a form helps us mold our idea. Any aspect of any form is totally negotiable in the American styles, it's part of what we as Americans are all about. We simply use the forms as a starting point.
3) Solo. In the popular American styles and their own unique performance formats, there is usually a section within a song where there is a solo or series of solos for improvisation based on the theme of the song and the form in which it is written. These sections can be completely worked out or created by the experienced player from the shedding they have already done, creating theme and variations of the original melody of the song. The solo sections usually follow the overall form of the tune, folk and rock players usually take 8 bars or so, jazz and blues players usually a full chorus or two.
4) Restatement of theme. If there are solo sections, once completed, the song is usually played again as it was originally stated.
5) Ending. Once the song is complete, many songs end as they were begun with the introduction.
Variations on the above writing format? Endless? Where to start? If the music is in your heart bursting forth, simply let it out and shape it as it goes. Have a few basic ideas or bits and pieces of things? Try placing them into the context of the music you are most familiar with as created by the players you love to listen too, simply emulate what they have done and realize that that is what we all do at some point along the way. Everyone? Everyone. Writing tunes is so much like other musical activities, or in reality, like many activities in our lives, that the more we do it, the better it often gets.
The art of development. This next paragraph is perhaps the ...
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"A song has a few rights, the same as other ordinary citizens. If it feels like walking along the left hand side of the street, passing the door of physiology or sitting on the curb, why not let it? If it feels like kicking over an ashcan, a poet's castle, or the prosodic law, will you stop it?" A quote from American composer Charles Ives ( 1874 - 1954 ).