Forum of the Saxes

Altosaxophonerules · Joined: 25 Aug 2005 Posts: 130 Location: Canada

well i don't think this should go anywhere so i put it here. Well i need help writing a song. What should i start on? I also have a crazy tune i can think of in my head, so should i put that into the tune or something like that. I need this tune done by next week cause teacher wants be to compose something. Question

Matt AV · Joined: 14 Oct 2005 Posts: 34 Location: Pondicherry, India

It would usually depend on what type of piece/music you are writing to say what you should start with. If it's a jazz tune I often start with the chords in order to get an idea of the overall form, style and general feel of the tune. I then work on a melody and once that is done work out some kind of arraingement with intros, ideas for bass lines, basic drum patterns etc. I have composed tunes however starting with the melody and incorporated the chords second. Often a melody will suggest certain chords, so if you have a strong melody then why not start with that. Having a good idea of the form of your piece before you get too far is important though.

JazZz · Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 170

If you have a crazy melody already thought of, than my suggestion is to record yourself and sit down and transpose your thoughts from the recording down onto the sheet. Make sure to have your key/time/etc. signatures already down and figured out. Once you have the melody down, extract the chords from that and build up a supporting piece around that. This is what I do when I compose, it generally works for me.

Altosaxophonerules · Joined: 25 Aug 2005 Posts: 130 Location: Canada

I'm thinking of a Jazz feel, a blues. My teacher has some great tunes, that sound awesome.

Tully · Joined: 11 Sep 2005 Posts: 170 Location: Woodinville, WA

Whatever you do, I would write it as a 12-bar blues.
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Jacob · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:00 am Post subject:

Not everyone uses the same approach when writing music. Some start with the chords and work in the melody, some start with a melody and figure out the chords, etc.

The first tune I ever wrote was a blues; 12 bar form, just your basic I-IV-V blues (in Eb concert), which I played on the piano with my quartet. Don't feel guilty for using another tune's chord changes -- it's perfectly fine. Great jazz players in history did that (especially Bird's rhythm changes tunes like "Scrapple from the Apple", "Anthropology", etc), so don't feel like you have to make up entire new chord changes for your song. In this case, stealing is GOOD, not bad. Even Coltrane did that to a lot of his tunes, like "Satellite" (taken from "How High the Moon") and "Giant Steps" (the first half was taken from the bridge of "Have You Met Miss Jones", and the last half is just a series of ii-V7-I).

If you have BIAB (Band in a Box), that can be a very handy tool when figuring out chords, especially if you aren't able to comp chords on the piano yourself, or are able to have a real rhythm section at your disposal. In BIAB all you have to do is input the chords and loop it for as long as you'd like. Notation programs like Finale and Sibelius can do this to some extent.

The first couple of songs you right are never going to be that great, because you are just getting used to composing, which involves outside influences. The more you write, the better you will become at it. Your ears will open up, and your vision of what you want to write will begin to hit you more and more. Sooner or later, you will have so many ideas in your head that you wont know what to do with them.

For your first tune, start with some very basic chord changes, like rhythm changes (from Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm".. heard in hundreds of tunes like "Oleo", "Cottontail", etc) or basic blues changes, or maybe a ii-V7-I sequence from a jazz standard like "All the Things You Are" if you are comfortable with it. Don't try and make it overly-complicated. Be as simple as you can if you have to in order to make it sound good.

One huge tip I can give you for combo playing, especially quartet or trio playing -- when playing a blues or jazz standard -- the bassist should be playing with a 2-FEEL for the melody (however, if it's an AABA tune, use a 2-feel for AA, walking 4 during the B section, and back to 2-feel for the last A section). It adds a huge groove to the song when the bassist does so. Then, obviously when the solos come, go into a walking 4.

Oh, and if you write a melody out that you like, and the next day you hate it -- THAT'S A NORMAL FEELING. It can happen, especially when you first start writing music.

Have fun writing... and don't worry about how it compares with others' compositions. Everyone has a different voice musically, so don't get discouraged. In fact, you should use as many influences as you can to improve your own writing. I've been really interested in mixing Middle Eastern and ancient Egyptian styles of music into jazz. I haven't written anything out yet, but I kind of have this vision of what I want to do.

Whatever you do, keep writing.

Hope this helps!
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Altosaxophonerules · Joined: 25 Aug 2005 Posts: 130 Location: Canada

Worked and Worked on it. Finally came up with a blues. I used the chord changes from the song B flat blues and it sounds great. Thanks for your help. Very Happy