As we talk about the Bm7 guitar chord, it’s important to realize that you need to see it as more than shape. Instead, you should see it as a building block of music and a crucial shape to a few genres. The two genres it’s going to be seen in the most include Jazz and Pop, although it does appear in other places. 

Before we get into why it’s seen so often in those genres, let’s look at it being used in a few songs that you already know….

Songs That Use The Bm7 Guitar Chord

The most famous example of a song that uses the Bm7 guitar chord sound, while in the key of B Minor, is the Eagle’s classic “Hotel California.” In every minor key or major key, there will be three minor chords and all of them can create a minor 7th chord. Just keep in mind that this song’s progression is played with a capo at the 7th fret:  

(Bm – F#7 – Asus2 – E7/G# – G – D – Em7 – F#7)

The next song that uses this popular chord shape is “The Scientist” by Coldplay. Take note that this isn’t using the Bm7 guitar chord, but it’s still a great example as the Dm7 uses one of the most popular forms of this chord: 

(Dm7 – Bb – F – Fsus2) 

A classic metal song that uses the sound of Bm7 is Megadeth’s “Tornado Of Souls.” A lot of the key riffs of the song are centered around the 7th fret, including the one you see in the image below: 

Now I was able to recall one song that uses the Bm7 guitar chord explicitly. Check out the chord progression to the chorus of the Beatle’s classic “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

(A – C#m – F#m – C#m – Bm – Bm – E7)

All of these songs are using one of the following shapes of the minor 7th chord form: 

An Important Shape For ii-V Changes

More than likely you’re just here reading this article because a song calls for this shape. Well like we said in the intro, that’s a big mistake as there is so much more to this chord’s sound. You can’t get that by just grabbing the shape and leaving! 

So if you’re interested in creating funk, r&B, or jazz-type sounds, then you should take a close look at how this shape creates the common ii-V chord change. In the key of A major, Bm7 will occur at the ii, and you can see this easily when we break down the notes: 

A major scale: A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G#

A chord: A – C# – E 

Bm7 (ii): B – D – F#

E7 (V7): E – G# – B – D 

The combination of the ii and V in a major key is the basis of so many chord progressions and riffs in the genres I just mentioned. Many chord progressions just use combinations of these two chord choices throughout the progression! 

So whether you’re a songwriter or an aspiring musician, this concept is very important to know. 

The Polychord Concept

This concept just means that some chords will have more than one in a single shape. For instance, Bm7 contains the chord D major, while Dm7 contains the notes of F major. Many chords will have this quality about them if they contain more than 3 notes. 

Now this may be a difficult concept to use if you’re still brand new to learning any chords in general. However, if you’re a little more advanced in your journey, you may appreciate this concept as it’ll help you see so many connections to the fretboard. 

Take a look at the chords of Bm7 and D major:

Except for one note, they’re basically the same chord. This is an amazing concept that you can use to vary your chord progressions and your soloing. Think about this concept in the future as you learn chords like 13s, 11s, alt chords, and diminished chords. 

The Dorian Mode

If you’ve ever wanted to dive into the mysterious topic of modes, then the Dorian mode is a great intro! Let’s show the B Dorian mode alongside the other chords and scale we broke down a little bit earlier: 

A major scale: A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G#

A chord: A – C# – E 

Bm7 (ii): B – D – F#

E7 (V7): E – G# – B – D 

B Dorian: B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A 

B Minor: B – C# – D – E – F# – G – A

Without the G#, the major 6th interval to B, you will not get the same set of chords that’ll help you create the ii-V sounds. Instead, you’ll have an Em7, which has G as its minor 3rd. There’s nothing wrong with using this at all, but the Dorian mode is the key to so many funk and R&B sounds. 

The E9 chord for example, which is used quite a bit in Funk, is just an E7 with a 9th (F#) on top of it. A lot of grooves are made just by using this type of chord, and you can’t get that alone from the B minor scale. 

Try to just combine some of the other chords together that are available in A major/B Dorian like C#m7, Dmaj7, and F#m7. If you’re not familiar with these chords, just download the Uberchord app and search for them from your phone. We also have several other articles that will cover chords like this one, and help you learn new songs or possibly make a few of your own. 

The post Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The Bm7 Guitar Chord appeared first on Uberchord App.

What is a Chord?

Before we get started, it is important to understand what exactly a chord is. The word chord means that three notes are being played at the same time. When two notes are strummed at the same time, this is called an interval and anything with three or more different pitches is called a chord. Since a typical guitar has six strings we will be examining chords that have three to six different notes. We have a music theory blog series with a lesson dedicated to “Chords“ if you are interested in learning more about guitar chord notation, be our guest.

What about Power Chords?

So you may ask, why is a power chord called a chord and not a power interval? Power chords are typically perfect fifth intervals (for example C and G), which means that the notes are harmonious with each other, making them sound powerful so to speak.

Guitar Chord Notation Part One: The Root Note

Through extensive research on how familiar guitar chord notation symbols work, I discovered that there are many different systems. The only information that all chord symbols have in common is that they start with the root note of the chord and for that they use the name of that root note. The root note of a chord is the note on which a chord is built. For example, a three-note triad using C as a root would consist of the notes C-E-G.

Guitar Chord Notation Part Two: The Triad Type

Triads are characterized by their quality or type: major, minor, diminished, augmented, sus4 and sus2. The use of guitar chord notation symbols for triads is inconsistent: sometimes the letter of the root note is a capital letter for major and a small letter for minor. In most cases though it’s always a capital letter and no additional information is given for major, because apparently it is used more frequently than any other. Only if the chord is not major it is indicated in one of many ways:

• Minor: “min” or “m” or “-“
• Diminished: “dim” or ” ° “
• Augmented: “aug” or “+”

Many notes can be added to each of these triads, which is usually done in thirds. We call these “tensions” and they are usually written smaller than the root name and the triad type (min, dim, aug, sus4, sus2). In most cases they are listed on the right side, so generally chord symbols are read from left to right like a text (unless it’s hebrew or arabic).

Guitar Chord Notation Part Three: Seventh Chords

Seventh chords have 4 notes, the triad plus a seventh above the root.

As explained above: since the major triad is the most used one it became a habit to not give any information except for the root note. If there is nothing else but the root name that means: major triad. Whenever we read “maj” somewhere, that means that a major seventh is added to the major triad and we have a major seventh chord. This is also written in one of these ways: maj, maj7, ma7, M7 or ^Δ.

Suspended Chord Symbols

These are triads as well, but the third is replaced with the second (Csus2: C, D, G) or suspended to the fourth (e.g. Csus4: C, F, G). Their origin always resolves into a very consonant triad (C, E, G), although in pop and jazz they are also used outside that context.

Guitar Chord Notation Expert Tip:

A unique scenario arises when a chord has two characteristics with equal importance. An example for

this is “sus4” and “7”. “sus4” is the triad type and “7” is a main characteristic for a dominant chord. Normally, this would result in a symbol where the “7” would be on the right side of the “sus4”, which would make it difficult to recognize that this chord is dominant. So in this particular case we decided for our app to show the “7” above the “sus4”.

Guitar Chord Notation Chart & Symbol Cheat Sheet

Chord Symbols for chords with more than 4 notes

Whenever a chord has more than 4 different notes its symbol of course gets “longer”, more information has to be given. Most of these do not sound as frightening as they read. In addition to a seventh chord the symbol has to tell which other notes shall be part of the chord. This happens just like before by listing all the notes as numbers, for example: D min7 9 11

The numbers tell their interval from the root. We already dealt with the sevenths. Then next we have b9, 9, #9, 11, #11, b13, 13. Since chord are built from scales and most scales have 7 notes, four of which are already occupied by the seventh chord, there usually will be a maximum of three more possible notes.

Altered Chords

We call any chord that uses altered intervals altered chord. If it has a #5 or b5 instead of a 5 or a b9 or #9 instead of a 9 and so on. There exists a symbol just saying “7 alt”. It means you can use any tensions from the altered scale for the chord. We don’t use it, as it is not specific enough.

Chord Symbol “Shortcuts”

There are many common guitar chord notation symbol shortcuts that musicians use. In Uberchord’s use of chord symbols we decided to avoid these shortcuts, and name every single tension of a chord so that our symbols will hopefully not be misunderstood. The result is not always the best readable, some symbols get very long. But establishing a system that is very clear seems much more important.

For example using a “9” or “13” as the only additional information to the root note means that it is a dominant chord (major triad with minor 7), even though “7”  isn’t included in the chord symbol. A dominant chord is with a major third and a minor seventh. C7: C, E, G, Bb – it is called dominant chord because of its function within chord progressions.

The importance of consistency with Chord Symbols

Chord symbols can be very confusing. For our app, we had to find a way to use chord symbols that was consistent and easy to interpret by all guitarists. With 500 guitar chord notation symbols and counting, we needed to find a consistent method to display chord symbols within our app. What makes this process the most challenging?

Uberchord includes this absolutely amazing list of ALL possible combinations of three to six pitches that can exist within one octave with a given mutual lowest note C. This list serves as a reference for the chord recognition technology, chord labeling and the graphic display of that symbol. I love this list! We made sure that it contains every single piece of information for literally every chord that can exist within the context of functional harmony.

The Uberchord app also features chord symbols beyond functional harmony to some extent. The only chords excluded were those that have three or more pitches with only half steps apart from each other. Let’s call them chromatic clusters. No one would bother finding chord symbols for most of these.

All of this info will be a great help when you’re trying to find 12 bar blues chord guitar, can’t help falling in love guitar chords, or the thunder imagine dragons chords. The best way to practice guitar and understand guitar chord notation is to take the time to learn new songs and new chords. The links we just provided will do just that, as well as help to make this all second-hand knowledge.

The post Most Important Music Theory About Guitar Chord Notation For Guitar Beginners appeared first on Uberchord App.

While the House of The Rising Sun has been covered by countless artists, perhaps most prominently by The Animals, Muse and Sinéad O’Conor; Bob Dylan’s version is a relatively simple, and remains one of the most popular amongst the contemporaries.

As it often happens with folk songs, this one has no known author. The lyrics have also been modified to suit the individual taste and preferences of the artists who’ve covered it. Dylan’s employment of an alternative strumming pattern and his unique performing style give the song a particularly folk sound. It is also worth noting that Dylan’s chromatic approach to the chords inspired The Animals’ version of the song, but it was a certain Dave van Ronk who inspired Dylan.

You can learn to play the complete House of the Rising Sun by Bob Dylan with guitar chords, lyrics and a strumming trainer directly in the Uberchord app.

Key of the Song – House of the Rising Sun

As with a lot of famous songs, this one is framed in the guitar-friendly Key of A minor and makes use of rather simple chords which are all fretted in the first three chords. This song should be therefore easy to approach for beginners. To warn you beforehand, there is in F-major chord that will require some extra work for beginners, but you may substitute it for a Fmaj7, which is always easier to fret and play.

In terms of theory and, to be more concrete, turnarounds, you have some common chord progressions going on here.

The verses are based on a i – III – IV – VI that has a very pleasant, atmospheric sound mainly due to the contrast between the D major chord and the F major that follows. There is often a V – i cadence that accentuates the fact that the key is A minor.

House of the Rising Sun – Chords

A short research on Youtube suggests that this song is played in a way that differs from the original and simplifies the chords involved. Most lessons will have you fretting the following chords:

A-minor – C – D – F

Bob Dylan’s version, however, sounds a bit different due to a downward movement in the bass. You’d have modified versions of the chords above.

A-minor – Cmaj/G – Dmaj/F# – Fmaj

C-major/G, for instance, is a so-called slash chord and it simply means that you’ll be fretting G as the lowest note in the chord. This will prove tricky to the beginner, as slash/chords usually require you to employ all four fingers of the left hand. Take the time to make this chord sound well.

I personally find Dylan’s treatment of the chords more enjoyable, as it is more interesting. It actually has a vague resemblance to the beginning of “Stairway to heaven”, since both tunes feature chromatic, downward movement in the lowest notes of the chords played.

House of the Rising Sun – Video Lesson

This is probably the most comprehensive lesson you’ll find on this song.

House of the Rising Sun – Lyrics with Chords

 Am        C/G              D/F#        F       Am   C/G     E

There is a house down in New Orleans they call the rising sun

Am      C/G        D/F#        F                              Am   E        Am    C/G

And it’s been the ruin of many a poor girl and me, oh God, I’m one.

D/F# F Am E

Am    C/G          D/F#     F       Am             C/G          E

My mother was a tailor, she sowed these new blue jeans

Am              C/G         D/F#     F             Am         E

My sweetheart was a gambler, Lord, down in New Orleans.

Am                C/G   D/F#                 F       Am              C/G          E

Now the only thing a gambler needs is a suitcase and a trunk

Am    C/G   D/F#     F                 Am   C/G          E Amin D F E

And the only time when he’s satisfied is when he’s on a drunk.

Am    C/G              D/F#     F                 Am   C/G          E

He fills his glasses up to the brim and he’ll pass the cards around

Am    C/G              D/F#     F       Am        E

And the only pleasure he gets out of life is rambling from town to town

Am    C/G      D/F#     F      Am   C/G          E

Oh tell my baby sister not to do what I have done

Am    C/G   D/F#     F                  Am          E

But shun that house in New Orleans they call the rising sun.

Am          C/G   D/F#     F                Am   C/G                  E

Well with one foot on the platform and the other foot on the train

Am    C/G   D/F#     F              Am       E

I’m going back to New Orleans to wear that ball and chain.

Am    C/G      D/F#     F               Am   C/G          E

I’m going back to New Orleans, my race is almost run

Am    C/G       D/F#     F       Am        E

I’m going back to end my life down in the rising sun.

Am      C/G         D/F#       F           Am   C/G         E

There is a house in New Orleans they call the rising sun

Am        C/G        D/F#                 F          Am   E        Am

And it’s been the ruin of many a poor girl and me, Oh God, I’m one.

Great job on getting all the way through this great song! This is a great song for beginners as it uses all the basic beginner chords and helps you practice strumming or picking the notes of the chords. Some more articles we recommend you look at include our discussion of the superstrat, next to me chords, and our guitar chords and lyrics app. 

The post House of the Rising Sun by Bob Dylan: Lyrics, Guitar Chords, Video Lesson appeared first on Uberchord App.

Why did we do it? Because we were tired of watching the highbrows turn up their noses at every new cover, whining, “The original was better.” They were only showing off that they knew the new song wasn’t an original and that their musical tastes were sophisticated enough to reject anything that departed from the first recorded version of it.

Besides, it’s not necessarily true. The first recording of a song is the definitive version only as long as nobody comes along to do it better. Which brings us to the question of the differences between composition and performance as artistic practices.

If you’re at all serious about the guitar you will at some point in your learning trajectory ask yourself: Which is more important to me, writing music or performing it? The answer may be one, the other, or both, but your answer to this question will have an important bearing on how you approach your studies.

The mind of the composer is where musical and often lyrical ideas emerge, develop, and blend to form a piece of music. The composer generates the work of art, so to speak, pulling inspiration from the ether and giving it flesh and bones. The composer is in a great position to present this new piece of music to the world for the first time, and if they’re lucky enough to be as gifted at performing as they are at composing, later performers will have a hard time re-interpreting the work.

If your talents lie more on the side of interpretation, don’t ever let a song’s fame and popularity keep you from trying to cover it! Just take a look at how many fabulous covers of Beatles’ songs have been produced and you’ll admit that no song is sacred— except for songs that literally are sacred.

“Having played with other musicians, I don’t even think The Beatles were that good.” ~George Harrison

So what can good musical interpreters do with songs they haven’t written themselves? A heck of a lot, it turns out, but while interpreting a song musically is easy to do it’s hard to do well. You have to love the song, grow to understand it, and strive to not only showcase its original beauty but also to bring out aspects of the song that the original version didn’t adequately bring to light. And you need to do this in a why that’s original, unique, and inspired.

The guitar being such an expressive instrument, a good guitarist can express the lyrics of a well-known song instrumentally without a word being sung, and you’ll definitely hear this in the examples below, especially in the instrumental versions of songs whose lyrics you know by heart.

The following is just a small sampling of notable guitar covers. Some of them include voice, but try to pay attention to the guitar and what it does to heighten the emotion of the song.

1. Jorma Kaukonen’s version of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”

This is a blues number written by Jimmie Cox in 1923. The earliest popular rendering of the song was recorded by the inimitable Bessie Smith. Jorma Kaukonen’s guitar all but gets down on its knees and asks if you can spare a dime.

2. Brian May’s rendition of “God Save the Queen,” performed on the roof of Buckingham Palace

Okay, we can’t refer to any “original” recording of this song and nobody knows who wrote it, but you have to admit, Brian May’s spine-tingling rocked-out performance on the occasion of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee was one hell of great idea. (Do you suppose Donald Trump would ever let Buckethead play “The Star-Spanged Banner” on the White House lawn?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoIWHKfW3P4

3. Phil Keaggy’s performance of “John the Revelator”

This is a traditional American gospel song first recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1930. Although it’s been recorded splendidly many times since then, Keaggy’s guitar and zealous delivery make this performance a winner. Keaggy’s spiritual path gave him a special affinity for the song’s subject; he also added some lyrics to the song after having spent some time on the Isle of Patmos where John the Apostle lived in exile while writing the book of Revelation. The guitar solo is apocalyptic.

4. Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”, covered by Stanley Jordan

We probably don’t need to tell you about one of the greatest rock songs ever written, but have you seen Stanley Jordan’s strange, startlingly innovative interpretation of this iconic number? Jordan’s fascinating technique involves tapping the fretboard with the fingers of both hands. The jarring beauty of his performance should help you see the potential of trying new things on your own axe.

5.Lennon and McCartney’s “A Day in the Life,” covered by Jeff Beck

In “A Day in the Life,” Jeff Beck takes Lennon and McCartney’s angst-ridden hymn and ups the ante, making it more abrasive, more urgent, more nuanced, and ultimately more poignant than the original.

6. Eric Clapton’s version of “Autumn Leaves”

“Autumn Leaves,” written by Joseph Kosma in 1945, was originally a French song but entered the canon of standard jazz numbers when Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyrics in 1947. It’s been covered repeatedly by jazz and pop singers alike every decade since, but Eric Clapton gifts us with a slow swinging version and a mesmerising guitar solo. Clapton’s voice is as subtly expressive as ever, but listen closely to his guitar solo; it practically weeps with all the sad regret the lyrics describe.

7. The Jimi Hendrix cover of “Hey Joe”

The copyright of rock standard “Hey Joe” was registered in 1962 by Billy Roberts and first recorded by The Leaves, who claimed to have written the song themselves. The song appears to have been cursed by the demons of attribution; to this day different people claim to have been instrumental in its authorship, and some even claim that it’s a traditional folk song. Whoever wrote it, Jimi Hendrix’s version became the definitive one, and if you listen you’ll understand why. His version also features the famous “walking bass” technique that bass players have imitated ever since, a bass line that really shows the song’s interesting chord progression, which is based on the circle of fifths.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_7Kr3oFwI4

We hope these covers will inspire you to tackle any song that moves you and make it your own, using your guitar to be creative and innovative and to express a song’s meanings that other musicians, even the original composer, may have glossed over. And don’t overlook what a great tool the Uberchord app can be in helping you to master a song.

Good luck and happy covering!

The post 7 Guitar Covers That Might Just Be Better Than the Originals appeared first on Uberchord App.

The post 6 Tips to Learn Songs Faster On Guitar appeared first on Uberchord App.

In this lesson, I shall be showing you simple ways to making chord progressions more interesting and diverse using simple tricks. We musicians are often confronted with writer’s block: we wish to compose something meaningful, something that makes sense. Sometimes we are left with one single, simple idea that doesn’t seem to lead anywhere. I firmly believe that music theory can help us out to get back on track and be creative.

If you’re a beginner, some of the chord names might seem daunting to you. I recommend installing Uberchord (click for download) Chord Trainer on your iOS device so as to have a quick, practical reference guide at the tip of your fingers. You will see how one simple idea can be used to create material that is fresh and interesting.

The Chord Theory

Chords are best viewed as numeric structures.

A major chord can be seen as 1-M3-5 (or 1-3-5)

A minor one would be simply 1-m3-5 (or 1-b3-5)

You can easily remember more complex, dissonant chords by viewing them as collection of numbers. A dominant ninth chord with a raised eleventh is basically 1-3-5 b7 #11. What seems like basic, simple knowledge (intervallic formulae) can greatly demystify almost any kind of chord.

As long as a chord isn’t framed in a chord progression, any given chord lacks meaning and purpose. The easiest way to lend a chord a function is to frame it within the context of a key

If you strum C major, you may end up using it to start a song in C major, or as the submediant in the key of E minor, or the dominant chord in the key of F major.

Generally, the more tension notes are contained within the chord, the more clear its function shall be. Being merely a triad, C major has only three notes in it, and as such it may lead anywhere, but a A7b9 will make your ears wait for that resolution towards a Dmaj7 or a Dmin. In that sense, this chord is more likely to show you a path to follow. This exact principle is the foundation for the ideas offered to you in this article.

More Chord Theory

One of the best things you can do for yourself as a songwriter is to get acquainted with chord progressions that are popular within certain genres of music. Just like numbers can help you learn and memorize chord formulas, you will be using numbers again to learn and differentiate between chord progressions. This time, however, Roman numerals will be used.

You probably know by now that I-IV-V is quite common in blues, while ii-V-I is very popular amongst Jazz musicians.

i-VII-VI-V is a common staple of flamenco (specially Rumba) and some Latin music.

The i-V-i turnaround is quite common in Cuban salsa and other genres of Latin music, as well as folk. A variation thereof is simpy i-iv-V-i.

A common trope of classical music until the 19th century was the progression characterized by i-iv-VII-III-VI-ii-V. Pop music producers swear by the I-V-vi-IV progression.

In electronic music you often have i-VI-iv-i…

Putting it all together

So the first step to get out of your rut is to identify what kind of progression you’ve got. You probably have a cool sequence of chords going on already. Write the chords down, and then figure out what scale degrees they can be assigned to using Roman numerals. Now we can start “decorating” or “enriching” said progression. We may do this either by substituting certain chords, or by adding color to the chords you already have.

Say you’ve got the following chord progression

Gmaj – Emin – Amin – Dmaj

This turnaround (sometimes called “harmonic circle”) is basically a I-vi-ii-V in the key of G major. It’s the basis for such hits such as Paul Anka’s “Diana” and Pearl Jam’s “Last kiss”.

Its popularity implies that this chord progression for sure works, and you can even see how it’s structure is vaguely explained by the circle of fifths. Since it works so well, perhaps too many people before you have used it, and you probably to give it your own personal touch. Here are some simple modifications you can do with it:

-Add more color to the chords by adding notes to them and changing their character:

Gmaj7 Emin7 Amin7 D9

Or

Gmaj7 Emin9 Amin7/11 D7b9

Nothing special, for now. Another thing you can do is simply replace some of the chords. This will obviously turn our I-vi-ii-V into something else, but we’ll still have four chords that will still fit to any melody you wrote for the original chord progression.

Gmaj9 Bmin7 Amin(add9) D7 (I        iii          ii         V )

Notice how Bmin7 (B D F# A) shares two common notes with the original Emin7 from a previous example (E G B D). This similarity justifies the replacement of one chord by another. Let’s see where chord replacement can take us:

Gmaj(add9) Cmaj6 Emin7/11 D9 (I IV vi V)

G B D A

C  E G A → replaced Emin (E G B)

E  G B D A → replaced Amin7 and shares three notes in common (A C E G)

D F# A C E

Also notice how all chords happen share common notes. This gives the progression cohesion and lets it flow nicely.

If you’re a beginner, some of the chord names might seem daunting to you. I recommend installing Uberchord on your mobile device so as to have a quick, practical reference guide at the tip of your fingers. I hope this lesson offered some new insight to you. I’m looking forward to share more of my ideas with you. See you next time.

Now that you have a better understanding of chord progressions you should take the time to learn how to play a few, or lean to solo over them. The Uberchord blog has lots of resources and information that can help you do just that. A few topics that we recommend starting with include amplitube app, everybody’s changing chords, and our guitar blog. 

The post Chord Progressions – How To Make Simple Chords Interesting appeared first on Uberchord App.

Hey! Thanks for keeping up with my series “Songwriter’s Paradise”. If you missed the introductory post, here it is: “Part 1. Exploration” . In this next section I’m going to go a bit more in depth with the ideas I shared in the last post, especially when it comes to the idea of “borrowing” things from other musicians/composers.

Good artists borrow. Great artists steal

This quote has been said in various forms by many people and considering I’ve seen this adage delivered by such legends as T.S Elliot, Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso, and Steve Jobs, I would say we should seriously consider its weight.

Music does not happen in a vacuum. Meaning, while you can come up with great ideas on your own, if you hadn’t been influenced by the wide variety of music you’ve no doubt heard while living your life, even if it’s in passing, you’d likely come up with nothing at all.

The idea behind this is in all music and art there is a lineage and more importantly a language; a history of ideas that are sparked, churned, recycled, reused, and regurgitated from artist to artist. And guess what? They are ours for the taking.

Want some specific examples?

This video features of one of my favorite bands, Lake Street Dive, conducting a songwriting master class at the New England Conservatory. While the whole master class is great, take note of the discussion and workshop that begins at 4:30. They start talking about the concept of stealing ideas from other artists almost immediately, even calling their song “You Go Down Smooth” a rip off of the Beatles tune “Got To Get You Into My Life”. They even made an exercise out of it (hint, hint)! Check out the songs via the links below and see if you can hear the similarities for yourself.

You Go Down Smooth:

Got To Get You Into My Life:

Lake Street Dive’s master class is great for multiple reasons. Mostly, I love how candid they are about their process. However, the main reason I’m using this example is to show how an artist will use the language of another artist and after a little manipulation and change of context; you’ve got yourself something new! Or if not totally new, at least you’ve got something that could work.

What are Musical Devices?

The guitarist Mike Olson uses the term “devices” when referring to the little chunks (the descending bass line thing and similar style of chord progression) of the Beatles song that he ripped off and is now using in the Lake Street Dive tune. I love referring to these little musical ideas with the term devices because it’s so nonchalant, as if they could be easily replaced with some other device. That’s probably because they easily could.

Musical devices are tiny musical ideas and motifs that create the feeling or movement of a piece or section of music.

Really that’s all devices are: tiny musical ideas and motifs that create the feeling or movement of a piece or section of music. When discussing music there are plenty of terms available to describe rhythm and melody but using the term device is great because it refers to both simultaneously.

If you remember back to my first post, I mentioned learning songs not for the sake of inspiration, but because it expands your toolbox. What you’re gathering for your toolbox are these devices. You could almost imagine them being like the little gears in a watch. As you’re building your songs you will dig into the well of your knowledge and pull out these devices to make the songs rotate and work just the way you imagine them working.

To put it another way, what you’re doing when using devices is using the musical language that you’ve gathered from other songwriters and composers.

Songwriting Exercise # 1

Write a song that uses a descending bass line

Ok guys, so here is the first real exercise of the series. Start writing a song that utilizes a descending bass line in one or more of its parts. It could be the main verse section, it could be a pre-chorus, verse, the main riff, or whatever you’d like. Just make sure it is an integral part of the song and not just connective tissue between sections.

Here Are Two Examples:

“Dazed and Confused” by Led Zeppelin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehwSEVbBZl4

This classic song by rock ‘n’ roll legends Led Zeppelin is a perfect example of using a descending bass line as a riff that carries through main parts of the song. It’s especially cool because the underlying harmony of it all does not matter; no chords are really ever implied while the descending chromatic blues riff is happening, allowing Robert Plant to really go for it. 

“Where Is My Mind” (The Pixies) by Nada Surf

If you’re familiar with The Pixies’ version of this song, then this is a particularly cool example because of what Nada Surf does with the final verse of the song; you can hear it after the guitar solo break. Instead of continuing on with the same chord progression from the original, Nada Surf changed it to a descending bass line starting in the relative minor key. For even more dramatic effect, they made a chromatic descending line with all the harmonizations happening in the upper parts of the guitar chords. (If we’re in the key of E Major/C# Minor the bass line would be C# – B# – B – Bb instead of the diatonic version which would be C# – B – A – G#).

As part of this process, search your musical library and find as many examples of this as possible. You’ll be surprised how many artists have used this device! 

3 Songwriting Tips to Ignite the Creative Process:

1. Start writing down some devices of your own.

Either ones you’ve used or from any of the songs you’ve been learning. Examples could be a chorus with an ascending bass line or a verse section that has little to no harmony. There are countless possibilities of course, but this is meant to get the gears turning and force us to put into words the things happening musically that are catching our ears or propelling a song forward.

2. Start recording everything.

This is not something I’ve mentioned so far but the best thing you can do is record all your ideas. A little melody that comes to you in the car? Record it on your smartphone (my voice memos section is a disaster). A few lyrics or something? Jot them down. Little guitar diddy? Use your laptop camera. Whatever. The point of this is to start documenting your ideas so you can use them later and examine what it is you’re doing.

3. Start writing and keep the judgement totally out of it.

Songwriting is a practice and is something that you must keep doing all the time to get better at it. Not everything you write will be awesome. Be okay with that. Not everything that comes out will be a full song, maybe just little chunks. Be okay with that. Not everything you write will fit into the genre that you had in mind when you started. Be okay with that too. Whatever it is that’s coming out of you, at any stage, embrace your progress and move on: it can only get better from there.

In my next post, I will be diving straight into more devices with songwriting exercises.

Part 3 of this series is coming soon!

Hopefully you’ve liked this post, be sure to check back soon for my next installment! If you’re interested in learning how to write your own original songs, stick around because there’s plenty more to come.

The post Songwriting Tips for Beginners: The Art of Stealing appeared first on Uberchord App.

Hey! Welcome to part one of my series dubbed ‘Songwriter’s Paradise’!

In this series I will be sharing with you a lot of what I’ve learned from personal experience in songwriting and some of my great teachers. I hope to give you some tools and insights that might help you on your journey to writing the songs you want to be writing!

Songwriting can be a heavy and daunting process for many people, trust me, I know. For a long time I found myself constantly stuck in ruts while writing, and truth be told, I still find myself there occasionally. But alas, there is hope! I’ve found there to be lots of ways to get inspired, find new ideas, and get yourself on track to writing some seriously great songs.

Songwriting Exploration

The songwriting experience for me is basically one giant input/output process. We are in a way, the black box in which one thing goes in one side, and something completely different comes out the other! For there to be an output however, there has to be an input and this is where the idea of exploration comes into play.

 Create and practice your chord progressions for free using the Uberchord app 

What & Where Exactly Should I be Exploring?

“So, what/where exactly should I be exploring?” The honest (and somewhat existential) answer is everything, inside and out, but to get started just look to the music that inspires you! The music that makes the back of your neck tingle. The music that makes it literally impossible to stop bobbing your head. Even though that will be different for everyone, you have to know what I’m talking about.

To say it plainly, I’m asking you to pay attention to the things you like because it will help you to create the music you want. These things don’t necessarily have to be musical either. They can be books, movies, interactions with friends and lovers, or so much more. Fill your creative well with the music, words, and ideas that spark something inside yourself.

Need some more concrete ideas? Here’s one of the most important things you can do in my opinion: LEARN AS MANY SONGS AS POSSIBLE! 

These Four Steps will Get You There…

1. Create a list of your favorite songs

Start keeping a list of songs that have gotten stuck in your head or songs that you just can’t stop playing on repeat. These songs are doing something for you musically and you should absolutely be paying attention to that!

2. Start by learning one song inside & out

Really dive into the song. Learn the chord progression. Play and sing the melody. Write down the lyrics and sing them to yourself. Not only will you get better at your instrument and expand your ear, but you will also be learning what makes that particular song sound the way it does and more importantly why it stuck out to you in the first place.

3. Repeat this process with more and more songs

I do this over and over again with many different artists and I’ve gained so much from every song I learn. Along the way I’ve learned new chord progressions, I figured out why a melody works over those chord progressions, and I slowly but surely learned how to achieve a “vibe” or to say it another way, how to recreate the things that I find interesting! What’s the best part about this?

4. Develop a toolbox of ideas

All that stuff is totally useable. I’ve used licks and chord progressions from other songwriters in completely different context’s and BOOM, something fresh and interesting goes down. Or sometimes it sucks, but what’s great is that by learning all these songs you’ve also built up a toolbox of ideas that work. I’m going to be diving into this whole idea of “borrowing” ideas a little later…

When it comes to songwriting, basic music theory knowledge is extremely helpful, but guess what? You don’t need to go to a music conservatory to figure out how 90% of pop music is working and the internet is full of resources, not to mention the plethora of music apps out there to help you become a better musician.

Part 2 of this series is coming soon

In my next post “Songwriting Tips: The Art of Stealing”, I will get down to some more concrete examples of songwriting exploration by looking at some musical examples. As they say, to be the best, you’ve got to learn from the best.

Hopefully you’ve liked this post, be sure to check back soon for my next installment! 

If you found this post interesting, you might also like “The Songwriter’s Guide to Melody”.

The post Songwriter’s Paradise Part 1: Songwriting Exploration appeared first on Uberchord App.

If this all sounds intimidating, don’t worry.  With a few easy exercises, melody will be transformed from an unapproachable concept to a songwriter’s best friend.

Read to the end of this post, and you will be well on your way to creating your own original melodies. You can also check out our other blog post “Songwriting Tips for Beginners: The Art of Stealing“

Exercise 1:  Spot The Melody

Throughout this exercise, I will use holiday carols as my examples, since their melodies are so easily recognized.  For our first example, listen to Andy Williams’ version of “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.” 

Example 1: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The melody in this piece starts at 6 seconds, when Andy Williams declares “It’s the most wonderful time…”  The vocalist carries the melody throughout this piece, and it is easy to distinguish with Andy’s voice so prominently ringing through background harmonies.  Notice that the melody is what you probably associate with this song, and what you would sing to identify this carol.

For our second example, listen to Nat King Cole’s “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.”

Example 2: Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

In this piece, the melody begins at 14 seconds when Cole’s vocals enter.  How can we tell this is the melody?  Does Nat’s singing make you want to break into dance, or want to sing along?  Can you recognize this song easily by the notes and rhythms you hear Nat King Cole crooning?

For our last example, listen to Frank Sinatra’s version of “Let it Snow.” 

Example 3: Let it Snow

Where does the melody begin in this piece?  How can you tell?  Answer in the comments!  If you are having trouble identifying where the melody starts, listen to another version of this song.  What is almost exactly the same about every version of “Let it Snow,” no matter whose version you listen to?

Exercise 2:  Variations on a Theme

Now that you have practiced recognizing melodies in the larger framework of a song, it is time to take the first step towards writing your own melodies: tackling the “note” side of melodies head on.  To begin your journey into composing melodies, we’ll first start by varying a melody of an existing song.

For this exercise, we will use the song “Jingle Bells,” as the basic chord structure of this song will make it easy to create a melodic variation.

Example 1: JINGLE BELLS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk–u9apwUo

If you are able to do so, strum along with the video provided above on your guitar.  Notice that the notes of the vocal melody fit nicely into each chord: every note in the melody of the song “Jingle Bells” is easy to place in the chord that is strummed while that note rings.

Once you feel comfortable playing the chords along with “Jingle Bells,” it is time to start working on varying the notes in the song’s melody.  To vary the melody, simply sing a different note than the one that appears in the song, but keep the song’s same rhythm.

For help deciding which note to sing, look back at what chord you are playing.  Play any note that fits in that chord.  If you are unsure of what notes fit in any chord, play the chord on your guitar, and then pluck a single string in that chord to ring out one note.  Now, use this note to replace one of the notes you sing in the melody.  Congratulations, you have just made your first variation on a theme!

If you need an example, sing a “B” note when the lyric “snow” first appears.  (If you are unsure of what a B sounds like, pluck the second string on your guitar, and try to copy the sound you hear with your voice.)  By singing a different note than originally appeared in the melody, you have varied the melody itself!

Now, try switching up more notes in the melody of “Jingle Bells.”  You will notice that the more notes you switch out, the less the song will sound like the “Jingle Bells” you know.

By practicing varying themes, you’ve learned how to place notes in chords, half of what you need to create your own melodies!  In part 2 of this guide, we will tackle developing your own rhythms, and creating melodies that are truly unique and original.

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