that chord

guitarmonkus

guitarmonkus

New member
When you guys are writing songs, is there a favorite chord you always migrate to? Or maybe a favorite scale you base your songs on that you like?
 
A lot of the songs I write are based around the "relative minor" keys. Many begin life in the key of Am/C, as that is all white keys on the keyboard, which I am pretty clumsy at but like to use when brainstorming and creating non-guitar backing. Sometimes the vocal melody and chosen guitar works OK in that key. If not, I can transpose up or down electonically on the keyboard, record the result, and then lay the vocals and guitar in in normal fashion.

Tom
 
The very popular C F G combination seems to be my favorite and more songs than I'd like to admit of mine are based on that progression with other chords thrown in like Dm and G7
 
I try not to do that. I switch tunings, I change what fret to capo, anything to stay away from my own habits. I feel if you're writing so many songs with just the same chords, you're only limiting yourself. If thats the case, personally, I'd suggest trying to explore your guitar more.

I can agree with staying in a key for vocals or let the key set the mood a bit. There's infinite things you can do in one key but I think to stick to literal chords is very limiting to the musician.
 
I try very hard not to depend on given keys, etc. I do find that when I write on guitar the songs are often more driven by riffs which often are in Major keys (A or E, etc.) and which tend to lend themselved more to I-IV-V type progressions. When I write on keyboard, I tend to write more melodic material that doesn't depend on guitar riffs and which uses more passing chords and extended chords, etc.

That being said - Am is one of my favorite keys.
 
Never mind all that - Guitarmonkus, remind me where your sig comes from. I know it, but I can't remember and it's driving me mad.

:mad:
 
Lately I am experimenting with coloring achieved by sus2's and m9's, as well as discovering ways to use dim chords in passing. The latter are so easy to play on the keys -- not so for me on the guitar. Guess that's why some guitar related sites say they aren't important.

Tom
 
I can Create worlds around A toAm
Because I must be an A ho
It can drift into cosmic Em
to B or Bm with c in ther and D or dm drifting to f
e to f# to G
Excused me
Where am I
Pretend you're Ritchie Blackmore in the spotlight
and your sole intention is to blow peoples Minds
You can fry your own with the best intentions
and feel good about it for days
Just don't record it.
maybe you should
Nah
Never mind
 
If you are going to sing them you're going to gravitate to chords/key in your range. Just last night I was working on a song with Fsus9 (Key of C) as it's focal point. But after determining it was in a girl's key, I transposed it to Asus9 (Key of E).
 
69 SG said:
I can Create worlds around A toAm
Because I must be an A ho
It can drift into cosmic Em
to B or Bm with c in ther and D or dm drifting to f
e to f# to G
Excused me
Where am I
Pretend you're Ritchie Blackmore in the spotlight
and your sole intention is to blow peoples Minds
You can fry your own with the best intentions
and feel good about it for days
Just don't record it.
maybe you should
Nah
Never mind
Click to expand...

Perhaps someone needs a bit of decaf coffee?:D

When I pick up a guitar I automatically play a G major. It is the first chord I learned (1964) and was the predominant key I sang in for many years of my youth. As a result much of my writing seems to be in the key of G. I almost always transpose the completed song to a more singable key for me afterwards however. Like Ido, I think we all play what's most familiar until it doesn't fit any more. Only then do we move from our comfortable box. Keep writing all. ;)
 
up-fiddler said:
Perhaps someone needs a bit of decaf coffee?:D

When I pick up a guitar I automatically play a G major. It is the first chord I learned (1964) and was the predominant key I sang in for many years of my youth. As a result much of my writing seems to be in the key of G. I almost always transpose the completed song to a more singable key for me afterwards however. Like Ido, I think we all play what's most familiar until it doesn't fit any more. Only then do we move from our comfortable box. Keep writing all. ;)
Click to expand...

One of the first chords I learned outside of strict major and minor chords is Amaj7. Whenever I pick up the guitar I find that is the chord I just naturally finger and play... which then leads into a simple progression I wrote involving Amaj7, E and B. My roommates have heard me play it probably close to 1,000,000 times. Fortunately they are tolerant of my repetition :)

Since I've been playing a lot of Dylan and other folk music material recently, I also tend to start fiddling around in C a lot (well, at least the key of C's chord shapings - the capo changes it, of course). It doesn't help that one of my roommates really likes the progression and the style in which I play "Don't Think Twice" by Bob Dylan - every time she sees me with a guitar she requests it.
 
There is a very real risk that writing in the same key (either because you sing in that key or because you don't know your way around other keys) - can result in a sameness to your songs.

I work with a songwriter who is a very good lyricist, but not a strong musician. He writes on keyboard and always writes in F (because he knows what chords work with F). Sadly, many of his songs start to sound very much the same.

The best thing that ever happened to me - as a writer and as a musician, was writing for different singers (both male and female). I will often write a song in one key, but the singer will want it in a different key. Sometimes, I will try a couple of diffeent singers on the same song, each singer having a different power range. I've recorded some somgs in 4 or 5 different keys - whcih really forced me to learn how different keys and progressions work (or don't work) on both guitar & keys.

I think that as writers and musicians we must force ourselves out of any comfort zone we may fall into.
 
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