Easy Songwriter so let’s write a song

In today's episode we look at some beautiful sounding chords to write your song with. Some different chord voicing by changing the inversion or by adding or taking away a note or two from the standard chord, yet still retaining your songs changes. Much like being different and not sticking to the standard everyday major and minors.If you are just a podcast listener and you want to see some of these voicing its probably better to have a look at the YouTube link below where I show them on the guitar.I picked up the electric today so as you can hear from an electric guitarist perspective how these chords can sound just by them selves with a little chorus and reverb. I didn't want to stray too far from the acoustic guitar approach so I did this half with the electric and half with the acoustic.I guess I am trying to portray how inspiring the sounds of some chords to make you want to write something. It does that to me anyway. Melodies begin to come into my head when I play a chord like this and then chord changing ideas and sometimes lyrics start to appear.Of course you have to like the genre of music that these may fit into but even if you are playing rock its possible to use these to make a song stand out or even using them to write a different song outside the genre of the band you are in or outside your own genre as a budding songwriter.Its what I love about the art of music, there are no boundaries.Anyway as usual there is a YouTube link for those who wish to see a visual of this podcast.https://youtu.be/g3j5YVdJorgIn the meantime, peace and love.For those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.

For the Podcaster listeners, this episode is available on YouTube where I make a visual episode and the work involved and content can be seen in reasonable quality.As this podcast and YouTube series are aimed at the hobbyist and amateur players and aspiring songwriters Ive been keeping things really quite basic. But today I thought I would open up the chord vocabulary with some new and fairly easy but nice lush sounding chords to add to our ingredients for writing a song.The sixth chord for example, especially when played on acoustic guitar at the first fret and/or open positions can sound wonderful. Especially when played with some of the major and minor chords that I have shown earlier. I demonstrate this in this particular episode.We are only scratching the surface with attempting to write songs, but when we build up a knowledge base and get used to hearing what chords sound nice in particular instances then it gives a good grounding for being creative and ideas really do start flowing in.So that's about it. For those interested here is the YouTube link...(looks like I just got out of bed...not a pretty sight)https://youtu.be/JgNNN9Tea0EPeace and Love and Take care.For those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.

Greetings to my two subscribers, Im honoured.Todays episode is writing a song , or throwing some basic chords into the mix and seeing what we come up with. No lyrics really, just some guide ones, its easy to make up some nonsense words but I thought best just to concentrate on the structure and format.It was fun for me putting it together, still very basic stuff her, but for those who have never written i hope this is helpful in starting to write songs.i also mention that I released a self penned album last year (bar one cover) and I didn't do it for financial gain it was after years of playing and trying to write songs that I decided to knuckle down and try something i always wanted to do. I did it and the sense of achievement was unbelievable. I also mention about trying to get some free recording software if you don't have it, its great for inspiration as you get to feel and hear what you song could sound like. There is a little learning curve with recording software but really, in no time could can be multi layering tracks and then the ideas flood in.Well that's it... Take care.Peace and Love.Link to youtube for some very basic visuals.https://youtu.be/JOjOw2of0U0For those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.

In todays Podcast episode Im delighted to talk about the Happy Major. Nope not the laughing soldier but the joy and upbeat vibe a major chord or key signature can bring to your own songs.A couple of Podcasts ago I covered the Moody Minor, (minor chords and key signatures) which again can give your songs a darker moody or sad feeling should you so wish. My interpretation of the Major and Minor are only my own thoughts but I do feel for budding songwriters its a great place to start if you want to be creative.In this episode is a song I wrote a few years ago called Happy Happy Christmas, It got released under "The Del Boys" because, get this, when I wrote it I was playing around trying to hum a melody and this was all very good but the key was too high for me so I got someone else to sing it.Now there a thought, make sure when you write that its in a key for you to sing , if you are intending to be a singer songwriter. Its very easy just to hum a melody under you breath but when it comes to singing it out you find you struggle because its too high or low.... Thats the mistake I made with Happy Happy Christmas.So there you have this weeks recipe song, music is wonderful because the ingredients limitless, and you can write your own song to taste.Peace and Love to you all.For any of you interested there is a very basic visual on youtube for those that need help reminding of chords and things.https://youtu.be/EZUjkKJsc8AFor those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.

In this episode we look at different keys to write songs on guitar. There are favoured keys for writing on the guitar and we look at those. Also how we can change the key if we find that this grammy winning song you have written is too low or too high for your voice. we do this in part by visiting the use of a capo on guitar for raising the pitch, or tuning without having so much as to change your chord shapes.We touch on picking out a melody and fitting lyrics to the particular syllables to make it sound interesting, or at least to make it fit. Aswell as trying out the beginning of a new song idea new melody and trying to fathom what chord might go next if you have a particular melody in your head.I hope you enjoy it.Peace and LoveFor those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.

After saying earlier no theory would be required to write a song I stand by that. Millions of brilliant songs have been written by thousands of talented artists with zero musical theory knowledge. And many will say that is a better scenario than having  a full knowledge of theory because it may hamper your creativity. Others will say the more you have the better equipped you are to write.. A topic that will always be discussed and many will have their own viewpoints on it.Our musical forefathers such as Burt Bacharach, Glenn Miller, Diana Krall, Elizabeth Maconchy, Nina Simone, Christine McVie, Carole King, Andrew Lloyd Weber plus thousands more were probably classically trained and their musical theory knowledge is second to none.Other grand forefathers such as Robert Johnson, Patti Smith, BB King, Eric Clapton, Jagger and Richards, Kate Bush, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell were probably not trained yet still wrote timeless tunes that will reverberate forever.Please note the above lists are far from exhaustive and doesn't include thousands of great Artists today that will continue to inspire us in the future.So I think the point Im trying to make is that you can make music with practically no musical theory.So thats why is this episode I have scratched the surface of a little theory, just a tiny bit, and to be frank its about as much theory as I know, but it has really helped me when searching for that missing chord the I  can hear in my head when composing. As usual there is a very basic visual on youtube for those not up to speed on chords and stuff. Here it ishttps://youtu.be/Erf4gjvzUN0I hope you enjoy it.Peace and LoveFor those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.

In todays episode we look at the minor chord and how it can shape the mood of a particular passage or a particular song. In isolation the minor chord sounds dark, or can be perceived to sound haunting or even sad. And as I say in the Podcast major chords are happy and minor chords are sad. Well that's not quite true it is dependant, as we have already found out, on the other chords in the song, the melody and the lyrics.Its a marriage of everything. However, for me the minor chord is haunting, especially when you linger on it and create suspense with it. In millions of songs its used as a passing chord and this isn't noticable, but if you are looking to write a song that is melancholy, sad then you could do far worse than write in a minor key.If you wish for some extremely basic visuals then you can head over to Youtube where I have attempted to help those who might just need some chords shapes.https://youtu.be/-Lf38EI15hQPeace and LoveFor those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.

Tony Zoom brings you his take on basic tips to writing and constructing songs, with album and single releases he gives an insight on the process in the Art of Songwriting If you like the Podcast please feel free to subscribe….Peace and Love.In this episode we chat about Intros, count-ins, ending of the song, length of songs in general. And that will wrap up our first easy song. A link to some very basic visuals content used in this podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQRcX-XJ7LYFor those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.

Tony Zoom brings you his take on basic tips to writing and constructing songs, with album and single releases he gives an insight on the process in the Art of Songwriting If you like the Podcast please feel free to subscribe….Peace and Love.In this episode we take a look at how a song might be constructed and put together. What exactly makes some songs more interesting than others in the way they are written Verse, Chorus, bridge, Middle eight bars etc. Lyrics we will look at in a later episode.Different basic rhythm structures and how to decide on which is best for your particular piece of work.We look at what we might do to keep a listener captivated by your song and as a hobbyist the satisfaction of creating something artistic that you can call your own.Here is a youtube link to the podcast with some very basic visuals.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pENeiSBrN0E&t=3sFor those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.

Tony Zoom brings you his take on basic tips to writing and constructing songs, with album and single releases he gives an insight on the process in the Art of Songwriting If you like the Podcast please feel free to subscribe….Peace and Love.A  very basic start to understand how notes from chords can be used as a melody and how the sound of a certain note or tone can change its personality when played against a different chord.Aimed at the hobbyist and beginner especially those who find it hard to pitch their voice or hum a melody to a chord, or chord progression.A link to some basic chord visuals . https://youtu.be/4z5wnyM0J1I(For those interested in listening my work for ideas, my first and only album is called, You Don't Know Me)For those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.

Tony Zoom brings you his take on basic tips to writing and constructing songs, with album and single releases he gives an insight on the process in the Art of Songwriting Aimed at the beginner, amateur or hobbyist, or even an experienced player who wishes to start being creative. There is nothing like composing your own song. So if you have an acoustic guitar at hand, a quiet moment then listen to his unique way of sharing tips and hints to enable you to write melodically using simple but different chords and their voicings and later in the series lyrically, and how to get the message across in the song in a few important lyrics.If you like the Podcast please feel free to subscribe….Peace and Love.A brief introduction to the Series and linkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JUpXWYb8OEFor those interested in my work you can listen to snippets from my album called You Don't Know Me.