In this article, I'd like to talk about taking a different approach to your songwriting, focusing on emotions, melody, and originality.

Most rockers will come up with a chord progression for which they like the sound, and then write from there. Many jazzers or composers begin with a melody, which to me, can better express the emotion you want in the song. So how do you come up with a melody? Well, you could always just mess around with random notes until you find something that sounds cool, but remember our goal is being original, and the only way to do that is to be ourselves. If you can't sing and recognize intervals, work extensively on ear training until you can. Once you have this down, you will be able to play what you hear (and hear what you play) in your head much easier. OK, so onward with the songwriting.

Think of something substantial that happened to you today or recently (or just make up a situation - like writing a movie scene), and keep replaying it over and over in your head. The goal is to put yourself into the same mood you were when it happened (not just happy or sad or bored, but into emotions that there aren't necessarily adjectives to describe). Now, try to come up with a melody that describes the mood you were in, or the situation (think of it as scoring a film you can only see in your head). Remember that rhythm and timing can be as important as the actual tones. Now, play this melody over and over while playing the scene in your head (Steve Vai spent 15 hours a day for 4 days soloing over the changes to "Windows to the Soul" on his new album in order to say exactly what he wanted to say), until you have everything perfect. OK, so now we have the perfect melody with the perfect timing...well, that isn't really a complete song. Now it's time to put the rhythm section in. You may want to write chords, or a bassline, or a 100 piece orchestral score to accompany your delicious new melody, depending on the style of music and your resources. Right now, let's just talk about writing chords to accompany a melody.

First, decide which notes lend themselves to "growing" chords below them (let's call them "chord notes"), and which notes just string the other notes together. The "chord notes" will be the ones that land on a whole beat and ring out the longest. To get a feel for what a "chord note" would sound like, write out 4 random notes in notation, each a whole note, then write 8th or 16th notes to connect them together so they don't sound so random. A "chord tone" will be the root of the chord you are playing. The next most important tones to decide will be the tones 3rd and its 7th. This can be dictated by the key the melody is in, or if it suits the emotion better, you may want to use chords that would not be in the same key. Next, come up with some "color tones" (9th's, 11th's, 13th's) if it helps. Remember to keep playing the scene over and over in your head to stay in the right mood.