Songwriting Basics


This time around we're going to tackle an aspect of songwriting that I find very interesting and helpful. Chromatic and dissonant soloing. What is that? How can it help me? Well, it means you play random notes without having a tonal center. Kind of like atonal, except you are the only one playing out of key. In other words, you go through your solo playing random notes without using all the familiar patterns and clichéd riffs. It sounds weird, I know, but read on. All of the great improvisational musicians, from the blues greats to the jazz greats, sound better than most people. They can come up with awe-inspiring solos on the spot. How do they do that? Well, along with a good dose of talent and musical knowledge, they know their instruments like they know first-grade math. They have an outstanding awareness of the fretboard. They know what they are going to play long before they play it.
 
This time around I'm going to give you a few exercises to help you play more like that, and have more familiarity with your instrument. Whether or not you enjoy this type of sound, it is still a very good exercise. You will begin to discover what you and your guitar are really made of!
 
One good exercise is to sit down and play random eighth notes all over the fretboard. And here is the difficult part. Try to predict what the notes will sound like. Or, to make it even harder, try to sing the predicted note before you play it! It's not as easy as it sounds, is it?
 
Next exercise, find a group of musicians to jam with and incorporate what you learned into your soloing. Try keeping it chromatic. Don't follow those patterns!! If you are looking for something a little more within MTV standards, try throwing in a little at a time. Like right before a key change in the solo, for instance, to keep the listeners on their toes a little bit.
 
Last but not least, comes my favorite exercise! Now you get to play not only out of key, but in free time. In other words you are floating, or not playing in time. This is just as awkward sounding as the others and it will take a little patience to break out of that 4/4 rhythm ingrained in your head, but it is invaluable to your playing in the long run.
 
That's all I have for this time. Give these ideas a try and you will find that with a little practice you will have many new techniques and rhythms to take your songwriting skills to another level!
 

Jeremy

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