How We Write Songs, Part II

Good afternoon, Tyler here. This (part 2 of how we write songs) is long overdue. Part 1 is here: http://jennyandtyler.com/how-we-write-songs-part-1. I’m going to jump right in.

When I started writing songs, I didn’t have a clue about music theory; sometimes I still wish I didn’t. The danger of music theory is that it has the ability to constrain or limit artistry when used incorrectly. For example, you could be hearing a beautiful/powerful/sweet chord progression or melody in your head that according to the basic rules of theory (derived from J.S. Bach) shouldn’t work. The rules are there, sometimes to follow and sometimes to break. Had Kurt Cobain followed the rules, Smells Like Teen Spirit would not exist (it uses parallel fifths in the chord progression – for you theory buffs out there).

Standard Chord Progression

In conventional American pop music, the standard chord progression is (in the key of C): C, G, Am, F. If you put that in terms of chords numbers, that’s 1, 5, 6 (minor), and 4. Go here for examples of pop songs with that progression:

In conventional American pop music, the standard chord progression is (in the key of C): C, G, Am, F. If you put that in terms of chords numbers, that’s 1, 5, 6 (minor), and 4. Go here for examples of pop songs with that progression: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I. You can start on any of the chords in the progression and keep going around. For example, if you start on the Am, the progression would be Am, F, C, G. If you start on the G, the progression would be G, Am, F, C.

Let’s think of all the following pop songs in the key of C:

Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” starts on the C and goes C, G, Am, F or 1, 5, 6, 4
Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” (chorus) starts on the G and goes G, Am, F, C or 5, 6, 4, 1
Coldplay’s “The Scientist” starts on the Am and goes Am, F, C, G or 6, 4, 1, 5
The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young” starts on the F and goes F, C, G, Am or 4, 1, 5, 6

In our own music, again thinking in the key of C:
Song For You (on the chorus) and As Long As Our Hearts Are Beating go C, G, Am, F or 1, 5, 6, 4
Through Your Eyes (in the bridge) goes Am, F, C, G or 6, 4, 1, 5
Faint Not, Holding on to Hope (on the chorus), and Abide (verses) go F, C, G, Am or 1, 5, 6, 4

Variations & Substitutions

Because our ears are so used to the standard chord progression, it’s nice to vary it up sometimes. When we do, we usually only substitute one chord in the four chord progression, on occasion two. Here’s an example of chord substitution using the standard chord progression (again thinking in the key of C):

This Is Just So Beautiful goes C, Em, Am, F instead of C, G, Am, F. As you can see, Em (minor 3 chord) is substituted for G (the 5 chord).  Carry Me (in the verse) goes Am, F, C, Em. The substitution in Carry Me is identical to the one in This Is Just So Beautiful; the minor 3 (Em) is replacing the 5 (G).

Below is chart I put together of possible chord substitutions; think of this as a color palette. You’ll want to use these substitutions wisely, according to what the song demands. For example, if it’s a powerful lyric with a minor melody, you probably want to substitute a minor chord for a major one, so if we are using the standard chord progression as a template, it might look like this: C, G, Am, Fm or C, G, Am, Dm. On the other hand, if it’s a happy lyric with a light, celebratory melody, you’ll probably want to substitute major for minor, so C, G, C, F.

*Please note. A capital letter by itself, like C, D, E, F, and G, almost always means a major chord. If it has a lowercase ‘m’ next to it, it means minor. The exception is if it’s a 6, then it’s almost always minor, even if there’s no ‘m’ next to it. I’ve got usual substitutes (what you commonly hear in most music) and occasional substitutes (what you really don’t hear much at all but can sometimes be really cool).

Chord Substituions: Key of C Major

Original Chord:                   C – – – – – Dm – – – – – Em – – – – –  F – – – – – – G – – – – – – A
Usual Substitution:            Am – – – – F – – – – – – – G – – – – – – Dm – – – – – Em – – – – – C
Occasional Substitution:  A – – –  D or Fm – – E or Gm – D or Fm – – E or Gm – – A or Cm

Adding Chords to a Melody

For us, songs usually start in one of three ways.
1) A melody comes to me or Jenny without words
2) Words come without a melody
3) Both words and melody come at the same time

In any of the cases above, we almost always have to add chords.

Certain notes fit with certain chords.  Here’s a chart for that.

Notes in Pop Chord Progressions: Key of C Major

Note     Solfège    Number    Common Chords             Uncommon Chords
C – – – – – Do – – – – – 1  – – – – – – – – C, F, Am – – – – – – – Gsus4, Fm, Dm7, D7,
D – – – – – Re – – – – –  2  – – – – – – – -Dm, G – – – – – – – – – C, D, Em7, F6,
E – – – – – Mi – – – – – 3 – – – – – – – – Em, C, Am – – – – – – E, Fmaj7, D9, A
F – – – – – Fa – – – – – 4  – – – – – – – -F, Dm, G7 – – – – – –  Fm, Am6
G – – – – – So – – – – – 5  – – – – – – – -G, C, Em – – – – – – –  Dm, F, Fm, Am
A – – – – – La – – – – – 6  – – – – – – – -Am, F, Dm – – – – – – D, C6
B – – – – – Ti – – – – –  7  – – – – – – – -G, Em – – – – – – – – –  C, Dm, D, E, F, Fm

For the most part, we try to make our lyrics, melodies, and chord progressions cohesive. For a powerful song, we use a mix of major and minor chords. For a dark song, we use mostly minor chords. For a lighter song, we use mostly major chords.  Sometimes we put dark lyrics with a lighter melody, feel, and chord progression. I like to call this the Bob Marley effect. Bob sang about some heavy stuff (slavery, poverty, etc.), but the music, the feel, and the energy of the songs is always bright. Sometimes to make a more neutral lyric go deeper, or help facilitate contemplation, we combine it with a minor chord. Similarly, to make an already deep lyric more accessible, we might place it with a major chord.

Finding a Melody

When words come without a melody, we need to find one. Theory is pretty good for that. To find a melody, I usually play a chord progression and start to hum along until I find something I like.

Let’s say there are three types of lyrics: deep, dark, and light. Again, we usually want the melody, chords, and lyrics to be cohesive, so we match a deep lyric with a deep melody, carried along by a deep chord progression.

Deep – I take the standard chord progression above and maybe substitute one chord here and there. Let’s say the verse is darker and the chorus is lighter. I might start on a minor chord (remember 6 is minor) in the verses 6, 4, 1, 5 and go to a major chord in the chorus 1, 5, 6, 4 or 4, 1, 5, 6.

Dark – I use mostly minor chords, usually starting on the 6 and using the 2m and 3m when it feels right.

Light – I use mostly major chords, usually starting on the 1.

That’s it for now.  In my next entry, I’m planning on listing the tools we use to make songs more interesting.