[nabs-l] Writing lyrics to chords, or vise versa
Marissa Tejeda
marissat789 at gmail.com
Mon Sep 8 03:31:03 UTC 2014
O, the chords I have been using, and remember, are
C, g, a, and F, in different inversions.
One set is:
g-c-E, g-b-D a-c-E and a-c-f
that pattern I use with it, one of my friends said it sounds like
a sceen from a movie where a coupe is walking along the beach, or
it's a dramitc sceen.
I also do this:
e-g-C, d-G-B, e-a-c and f-A-C
Sometimes I'll use them both, but all I do is a simple pattern, I
can't think of anything else to do.
----- Original Message -----
From: Kaiti Shelton via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com>, National
Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 7 Sep 2014 22:15:13 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Writing lyrics to chords, or vise versa
Hi there,
I'm majoring in music therapy now, and one of the things we do a
lot
is help clients write songs of their own. Though I don't have
much
experience in this yet for clinical use, and since you're not
really
looking for it, I'll just give you some basic tips that I've
learned
about from attending professional conferences and workshops on
songwriting. :)
First, try to look at any sets of lyrics you might have. Do they
have
a rhythm you might want to consider using? Sometimes rhythm can
be
more important than pitches or chords, because part of what
rhythm
does is help to convey the feeling like poetry does. Once you
establish a rhythm scheme you have one more aspect of the song
puzzled
in.
Next, try to come up with a melody. This is the part that's
always
been hardest for me. Don't make it outrageiously large in range,
it
should be something you're comfortable singing.
Next, you can put the chords in fairly easily. Look at the key
your
melody is in, then focus the chords around that melody. A very
generic chord progression for modern songs is one, six, four,
five,
repeat. If it's minor you could try the same progression, it
will
just sound different. Other patterns are one, four, five, or one
six,
two, five, one. That is the common "Doo whop" progression you
would
hear in a lot of fifties or sixties music, think Grease. That
one is
kind of nice because it is a little more unexpected any more.
When you're working the other way around, start with your melody
and
try to add words and a rhythm to it. The chords should fall into
place naturally based on what the other elements of your song
are.
Really, they're the least important part, so they'll come later.
Another thing you could do to practice writing lyrics and playing
popular chord progressions is to parody popular songs. I did
this a
lot with a friend when I was younger, and now that I know a
little
more about songwriting some of what we did as 14 and 15 year olds
is
actually really good. The parodies can be humorous---they don't
have
to be serious at all, it's just a way to get you practicing
working
with rhythm and writing about a different topic. You can also
try
taking established words and writing a new melody to them, then
adding
in chords to make a new arrangement.
Hope this helps.
On 9/7/14, Chris Nusbaum via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
There is also a list for blind musicians which you might find
helpful. This
list can be found at:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/musictlk_nfbnet.org
Chris
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Marissa Tejeda
via nabs-l
Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2014 12:08 AM
To: Elizabeth Mohnke; marissat789 at gmail.com; nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Writing lyrics to chords, or vise versa
Hi,
Thanks so much! I didn't know there was a performing list!
That's cool!
----- Original Message -----
From: Elizabeth Mohnke <lizmohnke at hotmail.com
To: "'Marissa Tejeda'" <marissat789 at gmail.com>,"'National
Association of Blind Students mailing list'" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 7 Sep 2014 00:01:43 -0400
Subject: RE: [nabs-l] Writing lyrics to chords, or vise versa
Hello Marissa,
Perhaps you may wish to post this message on the performing arts
division
email list. I would imagine you would probably receive more
helpful
answers on there than you would on here. You can find
information for this
email list at www.nfbnet.org.
Warm regards,
Elizabeth
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Marissa Tejeda
via nabs-l
Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2014 11:08 PM
To: Nabsl
Subject: [nabs-l] Writing lyrics to chords, or vise versa
Hi guys,
So, I have written about five original songs. Some of them, I
have tunes
too, but when I sit at the piano and try to figure them out, I
can never do
so. Also, I have a pattern of chords that I made up on piano,
that I would
like to put words to, but cannot, for some reason. I've tried,
but nothing
comes to mind.
Several of my songs have no tunes at all, (though, they do, I
just forget
them), and I can't put music behind it. The same goes for a few
of my piano
songs I have composed, then forgot how to play. Luckily, I
rember a few of
them, the ones I really really like.
Does anyone have any tips, advice, or would like to help me off
list?
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--
Kaiti
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