# seeking advice on composing



## johnfkingmatrix (Nov 16, 2016)

sorry i havent been posting for awhile, just have been really busy with football since we have a lot of away games and lots of long bus rides to play teams on indian reservations.

in a nutshell: i find it really easy to come up with ideas, but turning them into a full song is a struggle. noone ever got girls with a 30 second song, i figure i need at least a 3 minute one.

-any tips on how to structure an idea into a longer piece?

-tools for returning to a composition and continuing it?

-song writing/creativity tips in general? i found caffeine to really help with focus and motivation,but my moms making me cut back on coffee cuz it will stunt my growth

i tried wine coolers,but it actually slowed me down and made me angry/lazy

heres a song i wrote on the bus ride and another on a napkin when we stopped at a food place

any advice is appreciated, thanks !

View attachment 97909
View attachment 97910


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

Learn AABA form. If you are unfamiliar with it - each A can be an 8 measure statement of the same melody, the B is the same length, but a different melody. The B section can be in the dominant of the key you are in...or maybe put the B in the relative minor.


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## Alexanbar (May 11, 2016)

as a rule, any song starts from a text.
then the text has propmpts a melody.


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## Sekhar (May 30, 2016)

Check out Berklee's songwriting course on Coursera Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics, it's free. I took an earlier version of this course and found it very useful for songwriting. Lots of great ideas and tips on how to communicate emotion and create structure, and the guy's pretty entertaining too. You'd generally need to start with a melody because changing the words to fit the melody (and associated harmony) is WAY easier than changing the melody to fit the lyrics.


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## Alexanbar (May 11, 2016)

Sekhar said:


> You'd generally need to start with a melody because changing the words to fit the melody (and associated harmony) is WAY easier than changing the melody to fit the lyrics.


Poets do not like to write lirics on esisting melody.
Those melody names "fish".


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Similar to what David J wrote, verse/chorus/verse/bridge/chorus. try a truck driver modulation (raise the tune by a semitone or 2) for last chorus and the chicks will be all over you


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## johnfkingmatrix (Nov 16, 2016)

haha, thanks for the tips. ya the berklee vids on youtube are pretty good. If you think thats good, you should check out Rick Beato's channel on youtube ! everything from advanced theory concepts to production, scoring, EQ etc. 

Phil, i love the modulate up a semi or whole tone idea. That simple modulation is the one thats notably cheesey / poppy / high energy, huh? Perfect for a trucker song ! thats not really called truck driver modulation, is it? lol


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## johnfkingmatrix (Nov 16, 2016)

also, per lyrics. I don't know how to sing, if you do you can send me some audios as a tryout for my band


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

johnfkingmatrix said:


> haha, thanks for the tips. ya the berklee vids on youtube are pretty good. If you think thats good, you should check out Rick Beato's channel on youtube ! everything from advanced theory concepts to production, scoring, EQ etc.
> 
> Phil, i love the modulate up a semi or whole tone idea. That simple modulation is the one thats notably cheesey / poppy / high energy, huh? Perfect for a trucker song ! thats not really called truck driver modulation, is it? lol


Ya, it is actually. Gets its name from an analogy of a driver changing gears

https://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-and-why-to-modulate-to-new-keys--audio-23025


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Learn basic harmony skills, essential in both jazz and CM. Here's the great jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton's explanation of basic scales, modes, and chords:


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## David OByrne (Dec 1, 2016)

The best advice you can get is to start smoking weed, you'll find yourself learning quicker than the average genius. Hope you get those girls!


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