Writeing songs

[CJ]

I am writeing my on songs but what i get suck in is put music to them i am trying to put a Reggae beat to it and i love Reggae and world music. so guys i need some help.

[smirky]

Hey CJ,
listen to Bob Marley, there's a lot of melodic ideas in his
songs. sometimes I set up a cool bass line first and then try to sing some words to it. what I found out is that too many notes or melodies spoil a song, and that simple tunes are more catchy... try to experiment with scales too (for Reggae I often use pentatonic but also myxolydic!). I often find good melodies when just singing to one single chorus (you know Beck's "Loser"? one chord is enough for the whole chorus, but it's extremely catchy!)
imagine you're sitting on a Jamaican beach and start jamming! ;-)
cu, smirky

[Charlie Mosbrook]

I start every thing ass a folk song. focus on the song first. Than go back and work on beats, and bass lines. The song should start to take shape.
A good song should be able to take on any genre and remain a great song.

[jvasey]

Good call Charlie.

I'm sure even Bob Marley came up with a melody and chord progression before he worried about the drum beats.

[virtual.ray]

Yes,but sometimes a cool groove on a drum box is just the ticket to get your juices flowing.Also,I find keeping a little Sony cassette recorder w/built in mic around is handy for catching words/melodies that float into my brain.