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Posted by: Papakautis Dec 22 2009, 09:25 PM

Hello GMCers it is like this: every time i try to write a song i come up with a cool riff/lick which i start to work out a song with, but i never finish them because they never sound anywhere near the way i want them to do
does anyone else have the same problem, or did you use to have it? if so then please tell me maybe we can solve it in some way

Posted by: Staffy Dec 22 2009, 09:37 PM

Didn't really got this.... How can they be cool, if they don't sound the way You want? Is it the sound that is the problem, or can't You play them the way You want? Anyway, I suggest that a strong melody shall be the basis of a song rather than a riff, even that a riff will stand out as intro/parts into the song. It's hard to write a melody on a riff with too much notes in since there gonna be a collision between two melody's. (even wondered why Ozzy sings exactly as the guitar part???) With that in mind, the structure is most important - eg. if You write a strong riff, it may be suited for the chorus and the intro, but not for the verses. There's usually a standard formula in songs, but mainly there is an intro, verse, chorus, and bridge, and of course solos on either part. It's obvious that the chorus shall be the strongest one, the verses are just teasers for the chorus and the bridge is just for some variation.

//Staffay

Posted by: Rated Htr Dec 22 2009, 09:50 PM

If you know it's not how you wanted to sound that means you know what to do in order to change it. Just waste sometime on it, songwritting is not that easy as some people think. What Staffy said is very good to follow

Posted by: Papakautis Dec 22 2009, 09:56 PM

what i meant was that the whole song never really gets the same feeling as my lick or riff has, they dont really fit together if you know what i mean
but thanks for replying



yeah well most of time when the song does not sound like i want it to do i just get frustrated and shut guitar pro down and then i go and do something else

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Dec 22 2009, 10:03 PM

I think I know what you mean - my advice goes along the lines of Staffy's:

A lot of times people will write a riff that sounds really cool by itself but doesn't really work in a song situation. These kind of riffs are often "overplayed" in the sense that they work more as a lead rather than a strong song foundation.

The solution could either be to "scale it down" a little - in other words take just a part of the riff and try to make it fit over a strong chord progression. If this works you can perhaps use the rest of the riff as a fill/break later in the song - or depending on what your material looks like, it would perhaps be more suitable to use as a lead somewhere.

Either way it sounds like you need to listen more to songs that you like - and try to analyze how their riffs are constructed.

Posted by: Papakautis Dec 22 2009, 10:22 PM

Okay i'll keep that in mind actually it wasnt until just recently that i started to really analyze songs so i guess it will come in the future in not too long tack ska du ha

Posted by: Rik Veldhuizen Dec 22 2009, 10:30 PM

you swedes...

the problem I usually have is a bit different: when trying to compose a song, the chords in there are a little to 'sought together', i.e. theoretically. It's getting a bit better lately; now what I need is a strong riff

Posted by: Staffy Dec 22 2009, 11:18 PM

Tell me when You found one, btw. I need the chords as well, since I only got the melody!

Posted by: Daniel Realpe Dec 23 2009, 11:09 PM

well it seems like it's a technical problem. I would suggest that you keep on working on your technique, and more specifically on things similar to your creations and you'll see that at one point you'll have the freedom to play what you actually want!