CodyFrumtript
Music Junky at Large
Whats up =D I'm a newbie. Anywho,
So the biggest thing i need help with right now, and the primary reason i came to this forum is because of a MAJOR sticking point i'm having in my songwriting and theory.
I played guitar for about 5 years, but never took any theory or lessons. In a way, this was awesome because i got really good at teaching myself music, but now its comming back to kick me in the butt.
Now that i'm taking music very seriously, i have a problem.
Everytime i go to write a song, i have limited knowledge on constructing bass lines, what melodies are interesting over the top of them and the biggest thing: Switching up the progression for the chorus.
Also a HUGE problem with my guitar playing is that i only know basic power chords and punk progressions. I'm at a loss for knowing where to go from hear. My latest aproach was to learn a new song on guitar every day, but that doesn't actually help me with this problem.
Also when i start to look stuff up it comes up like this:
"Hi! I'm a random music teacher, and i'm going to teach you about scales! The first ones, are major and minor...."
which seems to be a little elementary for me. What i'm looking for is some intermediate music theory. I do very OK when it comes to writing right now, but i'm starting to realize i need technical knowledge in order to acomplish what i need to. I need to learn about fifths and shiz i think. Currently i'll write an awesome progression or make a dank loop in reason, but have no idea how to switch it up into a chorus, or keep the loop interesting through the verses. Also i have problems finding the right melody, the ones i come up with first are always plain and predictable and the result is me sitting there for an hour or to trying to find the right note to resolve to, or a good progression to switch to... I need a better more practical knowledge on this stuff, because its getting embarassing when i'm trying to write a song with someone, and i need to "take a break til tomorrow", but honestly i just don't want to make them sit there for like an hour while i pick apart what needs to happen, get frustrated and smoke a pack of cigarettes before eventually retiring to the basement to play halo.
So my question is, where do i go? What do i look up, what tutorials should i use, what books should i read? I learn really well by seeing practical knowledge laid out in words or theory that i can then practice and apply.
So, i'm looking to learn to play guitar better, and also learn theory of song structures, melody, harmony chord progressions and what not. To some of you this may seem basic and retarded, but honestly i'm looking for something that is half way between basic and advanced. Any ideas or help i can get from anyone would be great. Its hard for me to iterate where i'm at, and what i need... because if i knew, then i probably wouldn't be asking for help.
So the biggest thing i need help with right now, and the primary reason i came to this forum is because of a MAJOR sticking point i'm having in my songwriting and theory.
I played guitar for about 5 years, but never took any theory or lessons. In a way, this was awesome because i got really good at teaching myself music, but now its comming back to kick me in the butt.
Now that i'm taking music very seriously, i have a problem.
Everytime i go to write a song, i have limited knowledge on constructing bass lines, what melodies are interesting over the top of them and the biggest thing: Switching up the progression for the chorus.
Also a HUGE problem with my guitar playing is that i only know basic power chords and punk progressions. I'm at a loss for knowing where to go from hear. My latest aproach was to learn a new song on guitar every day, but that doesn't actually help me with this problem.
Also when i start to look stuff up it comes up like this:
"Hi! I'm a random music teacher, and i'm going to teach you about scales! The first ones, are major and minor...."
which seems to be a little elementary for me. What i'm looking for is some intermediate music theory. I do very OK when it comes to writing right now, but i'm starting to realize i need technical knowledge in order to acomplish what i need to. I need to learn about fifths and shiz i think. Currently i'll write an awesome progression or make a dank loop in reason, but have no idea how to switch it up into a chorus, or keep the loop interesting through the verses. Also i have problems finding the right melody, the ones i come up with first are always plain and predictable and the result is me sitting there for an hour or to trying to find the right note to resolve to, or a good progression to switch to... I need a better more practical knowledge on this stuff, because its getting embarassing when i'm trying to write a song with someone, and i need to "take a break til tomorrow", but honestly i just don't want to make them sit there for like an hour while i pick apart what needs to happen, get frustrated and smoke a pack of cigarettes before eventually retiring to the basement to play halo.
So my question is, where do i go? What do i look up, what tutorials should i use, what books should i read? I learn really well by seeing practical knowledge laid out in words or theory that i can then practice and apply.
So, i'm looking to learn to play guitar better, and also learn theory of song structures, melody, harmony chord progressions and what not. To some of you this may seem basic and retarded, but honestly i'm looking for something that is half way between basic and advanced. Any ideas or help i can get from anyone would be great. Its hard for me to iterate where i'm at, and what i need... because if i knew, then i probably wouldn't be asking for help.