Continuity

[CrGuitar]

Hey I really didn't know where to post this because I'm not really referring to improvisation. For those of you who are able to write songs (with or without lyrics) that are at least 1 minute in length, what is your secret? lol...I know that sounds ridiculous, but my conundrum is this. When I sit down and play I can usually hammer out something that is really intriguing and interesting, not necessarily fast - not even categorized really. Most of my stuff is somber and melancholy, I like expressing that in music. However, i have a terrible time developing continuity. I'll get one thing down and then try and think of something else, but everything I think of seems to betray or conflict with the emotions expressed in the previous verse.

I have a hard time picturing someone like Jimi Hendrix or Page sitting down with a piece of paper, a pen and a guitar and writing stuff. When you listen to it it sounds more like all they had was their guitar and themselves. I know this is unrealistic and is probably not helping me much in this particular endeavor...but ah i dunno. I can usually find what scale/scales im playing in but even using notes from them just don't seem to work.

I think I know why though, my mind can't grasp the complexity of music on a whim. There's so much too it, more than just notes. Rhythm, timing, attack, execution. Just a lot to try and convey, and a lot to try and fit into this tiny post. Some meager help though? Please?

[wild_axeman]

I'm certain that they had a pencil and paper handy on many ocassions.
But they also had a band and just jammed alot and recorded everything.
Maybe after years of that kind of experience you can just sit down and write on a whim like that by yourself and accomplish alot.It's not something that just happens overnight.Page was a guitarist since he was a kid and then he became a studio musician and session player so he had loads of experience.Hendrix was in Little Richard's band and also in the army where he made lots of musical connections and learned and jammed quite a bit.Once he formed The Experience they just jammed all the time.

[Mettra]

The way I write songs:

I'll come upon something that sounds cool and immediately tab it out on powertab. That way I may come back to it later and have an idea of something(s) to add to it and eventually write a song around it.

But if you're straight-up shooting for songwriting-on-command you need one of three components: a riff, a rhythmic progression, or a melody. Write out one of these things and just expand on them until you find something that works. If you feel like it's getting wishy-washy, put that stuff to the side and start with the basic component.

It's a good (!!!GOOD!!!) idea to understand some basic theory and to know at least the major and minor scales. Otherwise you're gonna be sitting there for a LONG time.

[wild_axeman]

It's a good (!!!GOOD!!!) idea to understand some basic theory and to know at least the major and minor scales. Otherwise you're gonna be sitting there for a LONG time.
:D

It's all a matter of experience!
Experience with listening,experience with theory knowledge,experience with jamming with others,experience with writing.If you've lived awhile you can probably tell better stories or write a better novel than someone who hasn't had much experience in the world.

[Merletto]

I remember reading in a Jimmy Page interview that he carried around a tape recorder everywhere he went, and he would tape down any outstanding ideas he came up with, then pieced parts together into a song. I doubt he did that for every song though.

[CrGuitar]

thanks this is really good input. I was meant to ask this b4, I think I used to know what term "Power-Tab" used to mean, but I forgot. I know what tabs are, but what is a "power-tab"?

[mu1der]

a powertab is like a tab but you can hear how its played through midi sound.

Heres the like for the software http://www.power-tab.net/

and a good site for powertabs is http://www.powertabs.net/