# Can't seem to write music



## Mauled (Mar 7, 2012)

I have been playing for 8 years, and I'm self taught, I know no theory at all, nothing about chord names, or time signatures, or scales so this is probably the reason why I can't write any good riffs. I get frustrated because everything I play sounds similar or just cheesy...I guess I should learn some theory first before I attempt to write anything, but I'm not sure where to start that. Can someone give me ideas on where to start learning theory/songwriting?


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Mar 7, 2012)

Mauled said:


> I know no theory at all, nothing about chord names, or time signatures, or scales



You can change this quite easily. Ricci Adams' Musictheory.net



> so this is probably the reason why I can't write any good riffs.


Not necessarily. Knowing things helps you to organize your ideas and recognize what does and doesn't work, though.



> I get frustrated because everything I play sounds similar or just cheesy...


Do you have any recordings of your material? It would help if you could show us your music.



> I guess I should learn some theory first before I attempt to write anything, but I'm not sure where to start that. Can someone give me ideas on where to start learning theory/songwriting?


The site I pointed you toward above will set you in the right direction. The important thing when you're learning the language of music early on is to find a path that has a method. A lot of resources out there are crap and won't help you to achieve musical independence. I can recommend a couple of textbooks, but you probably won't read them: Kostka and Payne's Tonal Harmony, and Miguel Roig-Francoli's Harmony In Context.

As far as turning your ideas into music, there are a couple of guys that have a very powerful musical philosophy. Hal Galper is one of them, and John Braheny is another. Don't listen to Braheny for theory, but his advice regarding songwriting is pretty good.


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## Mauled (Mar 7, 2012)

Thank you, the site you gave me is helpful, except I don't know how to read music. It gave me a basic understanding of time signatures though.


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## The Reverend (Mar 7, 2012)

Get some theory down. Once you get past the boring parts like memorizing the notes of the fretboard, you'll start wanting to incorporate all kinds of stuff into your 'toolbox', so to speak. I've been learning theory, first on my own, then in college, for about a year now, and it's sparked some really interesting ideas in my playing.


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## jymellis (Mar 7, 2012)

metronome/drum machine


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Mar 8, 2012)

Mauled said:


> Thank you, the site you gave me is helpful, except I don't know how to read music. It gave me a basic understanding of time signatures though.



The first link on the lessons page is a tutorial on reading staff notation.


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## Solodini (Mar 8, 2012)

Have a look at the free sample chapters of my book, man. I wrote it to help people to learn to be creative. Follow the link in my sig and let me know if you have any difficulties or questions.


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## Grimbold (Mar 10, 2012)

so yeah

who wants to make a "schecter whore is god" thread?

also, who wants to make a "dammit schecter whore i was gunna say that but not as good thread?"


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## morrowcosom (Mar 11, 2012)

Learn songs that you like from bands that you like. Eventually, you will intuitively come to how to construct songs. Afterwards, you can dissect them from a theoretical perspective to help come up with new ideas and gradually form your own sound.


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## iRaiseTheDead (Mar 11, 2012)

morrowcosom said:


> Learn songs that you like from bands that you like. Eventually, you will intuitively come to how to construct songs. Afterwards, you can dissect them from a theoretical perspective to help come up with new ideas and gradually form your own sound.



I have to second Morrow's post. The more you try and practice a certain style, you'll find yourself incorporating those techniques into your own riffs and writing. Give it a shot


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## mr_rainmaker (Mar 11, 2012)

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/off-topic/190575-incase-some-missed-joe-stump-tab.html


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## Explorer (Mar 11, 2012)

Although learning other people's music, and doing so from tab, can help one learn that music, I'm going to head in a different direction:

Learning to read and write isn't an overnight thing, but worthwhile if one wants to learn to express larger ideas.

Talking is pretty easy, but one can only develop smaller bite-sized chunks.

By progressively learning spelling, the parts of speech, how to use them, writing effective paragraphs, writing small book reports, writing term papers, and so on, one learns how to put together a coherent larger piece which effectively communicates everything one wishes. 

Music is the same way. One progressively learns how to use written music as a way to manipulate many ideas at once. Learning to do so isn't an overnight thing. 

Even if one is just using rudimentary tab and chord grills, without an understanding of what's going on, one can't decide on where one wants to go, in the same way one can't describe a baseball game without knowing how to use the parts of speech.


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