Hagar wrote on Jan 7^th, 2010 at 6:10am:


It it is interesting that the Chord sequence used in Pachebel's "Canon" appears in much of today's Western music.....I hear it all the time...the old; "Four beats to the Bar"... ...!

Paul....after me..... ...!

In my opinion there is good music & bad music. If you restrict yourself to one style you're missing out on a lot. I never liked the idea of categories or that awful word genres everyone uses nowadays.

PS. I was never a great fan of Elvis Presley but I quite like some of his earlier stuff. A lot of that is pure country.

Hagar wrote on Jan 7^th, 2010 at 6:53am:

Oh yeah, back to the topic, how to write a tune.  It does help if you can play either guitar or keyboards, you didn't say.

Tune composition 101:

Lyrics and melody line thereof.  That's what a tune is.  Rhythm is contained within the melody line.  Either the lyrics or the melody line can come first.  They have to be co-ordinated of course, and some adjustments may have to be made to do so, for example, the lyrics usually need to be properly syllabilized to get them 'melody correct', or the melody may have to be adjusted to the lyrics. 

Lyrics are usually easier to compose than melody.  Sit around with a notebook handy, either at work, school, or just watching TV, and jot down lyrics ideas when they come to you.  They can be either complete lines or partials.  You can splice the partials together later.  With computer word processing, this notation and splicing process would be quite easy today.

The melody line is totally another story.  Good luck there.  Exactly how they do it, or how I did it long ago, I really don't know.  It's also difficult to hold an original tune in your head, maybe you could hum it into a recording device of some kind.  I've always marveled at the originality of good tune melodies, whether it be "Danny Boy" or a Black Sabbath tune.

It's just difficult, period, with the main problem being the coordination of lyrics and melody.  And selling country tunes even more so.  Friend of mine wrote a couple a few years ago, hired studio musicians to record them, they were pure country and sounded OK, but couldn't sell them.  The country music industry is more driven by on-going established groups (I think), and there's your main competion.

My composing credentials:  1972, single handedly wrote a 45 minute long rock album (5 tunes only) for my group back then in what could be called the 'British' genre as it was influenced by Jethro Tull and King Crimson.  A most difficult and mentally draining project. 

I got an 8 point bucks head on my living room wall.
My house is on wheels and we're having a ball.
8 point buck.
8 point buck.
I hitched the house to my pickup truck.
I drove away, house and all,
me and my 8 point buck.   
 

Apex wrote on Jan 7^th, 2010 at 10:49am:


I found this step was much easier when I was an angry teenager with a lot to complain about.

The older I get, the less I seem to be angry enough to write about things.

Music on the other hand, flows from me like water.  I have too many songs, and not enough words. 

I like that addition to the song keep coming up with some ideas.