How to Write a Song - songwriting worksheet

Click here to download the worksheet PDF

Here's part 1 (the chords lesson):

Simple Chord Picker:

Pick a Key/Scale:

Pick a Count/Time Signature:

Pick a Tempo/Speed:

Pick a Feel:

Intro Size

Verse Size

Prechorus Size

Chorus Size

Bridge/Interlude Size

Outro Type/Size

Intermediate Chord Picker:

Here's part 2 (the melody lesson):

Melody Picker:

Here's part 3 (the lyrics lesson):

Who's the singer?:

Who is the singer addressing?:

Main Character:

Tense:

Emotion (and emotion family - spin multiple times):

Trigger:

Perspective:

Resolution:

Video Transcription:

Not quite. Nice try, Watson: Welcome back to learn piano live.com my name is Jane men and as you can tell from the countdown clock the lesson is about to get started in case you're new at this there's a few things I'd like to show you to help you throughout the lesson. Today we're writing songs everybody I'm writing songs your writing songs everybody's writing their own songs in this is truly for all levels so anyone can write a great song you're going to write a great song depending on your skill level you may not be able to play the song at the end of the lesson that you've written by day at least you have something you could pass off to one of your musician friends and have them play the song for you that you wrote so that's a goal today is to write a song in the news understand how they're put together idea here lots to talk about chords and about season so it helps if you have some knowledge about that but they're really 3 parts the chords the melody and the lyrics you can just do one of those parts you don't have to do all 3 of them. And I should also throw in here there's many ways to write a song so this is not the right way to do it is just a way that I think is easy to get started on it for me to show you how to do on your own. These lessons are always guided in shape by your questions and if you live with us today there's a couple different ways you can do that one is in the public live chat and the other is the ask demon a question button we can ask me a question privately and I won't share identity in case you're afraid you might. Stupid but it's not if you're in the archives though than just open up the survey it and that is a place where you can ask your question I will say frequently get questions from students in the archives lesson lesson from 6 months ago and I have no idea what I talking about so please try to be as specific as possible. If you're watching this outline can live.com there should be a PDF and MP 3 button right next to this video the PDF will often have additional video links. Side. Can get more in depth instruction. Topics and if you're the kind of person who likes to print out the PDF. You can make the same notes on your physical virgin as I'm making during the lesson. Now did. The MP threes just a play along tracks he. Practice more apt. In traditional lessons a teacher's going to actually present some new concept for maybe 5 or 10 minutes every couple weeks the rest the time to be spent applying 3 finding this concept. Well here I am stunned not hours of new information. Every week so it's totally unreasonable to expect you to actually absorb all of that instead of the goal of these life lessons is free to find some little nugget of something that makes sense but is a bit of a challenge defeat go practice because practices where all the improvements going to. So don't feel bad you have to leave the live lesson you find that little thing you're gonna practice of course I'm going to fast you can always rewind the life lessons. Or replaying the archives as much as you want. If these life lessons start feeling random or meandering it's because they are on purpose so if you're the kind of person who wants classical training with a step by step method and you're gonna want to checkout klapa academy on the website it's included in your life lesson subscription you can do both or either and the upper levels are seriously hard work but if you take you all the way from ground 0 all the way up to being ready to enter any major music college as a candle major in classical or jazz. And thankfully I think that's about all we need to cover before the lesson so if you'd stick around afterwards and felt the survey I would love your feedback but for now. 0 fun makes music. Right what. Let's do this thing let's write some songs here first yeah on your PDF in case you haven't checked this out before you want to I read through this page maybe just take some of the highlights out of it that you wanna tell the 4 chord song that is enlightening to almost everybody who I watch is that and then the rest of these notes here just say I don't try to be too creative or I get too intimidated either one on your first time through. There we go little louder arm. So that for a lot of people this is a stretch like they were right the best song ever the first time through and they think that the way to make that the best song ever is to make the most creative song ever in the mood and make the most creative song ever is to break all the rules ever and that that always turns out terribly so I doing just try if you're one of the creative types than just try following the rules a couple times and see how that goes and then you know we bend the rules as as we want to what's we'd figure out what bending each of the rules does to the song and then there's the other type of students who are like just terrified of the whole thing in my I don't I or frustrated or is that I don't know how to write a song how how do I know which one to pick like here tell me to pick this quarter this court how my you know I don't think it is I just pick one. Just pick one. Jump in and try it out so the goal is not for this thing to sound great here by the end of the lesson the goal is for you to have made something and then be able to experience that something and realize when I did this this is what happened this out found this out sounded so the goal isn't something great at the and the goal is an educational experience so that as you become more and more educated about what things make what types of sounds you'll be able to write better and better songs because you feel that go well I wanna can make a you know a sad sounding song and the ability know what tools are gonna do that alright so having said all of that let's move on down the page to our Instapaper song this is in in the key of C. so that just means that we're gonna all white notes no black notes for the song. Does the nurseries and if then start on the seat which is always the note right below the group to like. That's a heavy Secord because every other no starting on seat and in the key of C. C. is number one. In the key of C. season run in the same with in the key of D. D. is number 1 the key of a flat a flat in what I see is number 1 then make D. number 2 and Ian were 3 and 4567 not aids. So if you build a chord. On the one that's one court if you build it court on that too that's it to court. Ford and or or not. Not really in use the 7 court because it almost never gets used so. Having said all of that let's jump in here we've got our one quarter to quarter 3 quarter for quarter 5 quite nice 6 chord and the first question we have is do you want a happy song or a sad song and this once again is like where some people why don't I don't know how we get how do but have line are 6 which one way shape pick and then the other people were like a wondrous 6 what do you mean there's like a ton of other chords you could you pick one I think a 3 because I said just go with me on this so you had to pick a one or a 6 or if you just can't make up your mind if you go to learn how I've.com slash. Song writing then now you get to this page it has spinners for all of the decisions that you guys are supposed to make because I've heard from so many of you who are just really intimidated by making decisions up here we go I'm gonna write a song randomly to show you how on even a random song can sound. Just fine this a 6 so. First thing is a 6 where to put a 6 right there and as you can see from these areas here these this 6 is also supposed come down and be in this circle and then it's also supposed to come down me in this circle and thousands of because cannabinoids circled the sauce was gunned down to be in the circus that 16 gets copied into a lot of places as well as this big diagonal line right here means it should be going down Ted there as well so that's all the places that out first chord is gonna go now next we need to pick a 1 of 4 of 5 or 6. So we will once again spin are 1456 wheel and we come to the 1. So this one is going to be a one. The next one. It's gonna be. Are for fantastic. And he's also going to copy according to areas so you can see the blue arrows are saying that this one. Suppose to come down here. And be right there which means is also should be. Right there. Cool and then this for here is suppose to be copied. Courtney the blue arrow down into there and that that's a Ford. And then also copied down to their. And then we'll have a couple things left this 1 right here 1 of 45 or 6 let's go with another 1. I never one. And that once you get copied down into that circle right there. And all we have left is a few more of these one for 5 or 6 and we're almost done with our song. Here we go this is. I 6. So this was the area 6. But that is his right there and then the next one 's gonna be. 6 again really okay and then the next one 's going to be. For we had a 6 minute for 6 and a 4. 6 enough for. Fantastic. Here we're gonna put 6 right there and 6 right there because those are coming down from those orange. Spots and I think that's the whole entire song so now we have places where where play for example the 6 court mmhm played as 6 chord right there and we're gonna have a play for 4 meets we'll talk more about time singers here in a lot of it but first thing you gotta do is hang on that 1 for 4 beats because is a 4 on top there that means that just you get a hold of her 4 clicks 12344 move before me on the next chord which is a 1 chord 234 and a 4 chord. Well I'm starting to play the song now so one last thing before I play the song because you gonna notice hand I'm in what is a tougher one court sometimes a plane thing like this like that switch it up but I'm not really. That's a one Martinsville to OneNote see which is C.. That also is a one thanks let's go let's go all tonight. Could this stereo in the key of C. them from one another one. Second bill the court on any of the. Mmhm his notes repeat over and over again southern one morning number one morning. NPI sampling one court just yet trust him playing a one chord unlike some like that that's still one court nnova other nter. Alright so now you know that I keep checking you I'm going to play what we came up with random Lee here on your mark get set. About that time something happy Europe. Never. The. Course again. The. Scores. Hold. Melody. So that's that's our. It works. So far. Single time. It worked. Just about. Well. So yeah. And yet. Okay sorry about that so I that is all of the. Chords that you need for your it's a pop song and that always works that follows all the rules and so now for all you creative types who are going to find out what all those rules are that we. You can perhaps maybe break bend change at least understand. So here's the the more random song first thing is we talk about how the QC. Is all white notes while their other key. Have other notes in them so well let let's pick one here we can pick on any one of these 12. Key is that we want or if we want to we could just go to our. Key picker and let it decide for us. And it picks the key of D. so we're gonna go to. Here and find out what in the world the key of D. is this the key of D. major right here which just means that this note which is a deed. I was gonna be our number one is and now it's gonna look a little something like this this is one. Rainn so we'd still the same of the same rule apply as always we're gonna have the one chord would be every other notes in the key. Starting on one so that one. Now the next note in the next. Not the next next to every other no. Starting on Denham said that no one. Now here to court because every evening he started to I think. If I. 6497 born in midnight back for 1 chord and this takes a lot of practice which I would totally recommend with my asterisk great here that unless you really feel compelled to do otherwise you stay in the key of C. because the key issues would be the easiest 1 for pianists because we get to display all white but are are random key picker said we're gonna be in the key of D. now so now we re orients the 1 word for for the fight with the 6.2 K. so then now are the key of D. E. and let's find out what else we could tweak besides the keen on the time signature so in most cases almost 100 percent of music that you're here is in 44 time. Like I said before just means you're counting to 4 before you're changing court for changing measures so that would be something like 1234 or 3. But you would necessarily have to count to 4. 3. It's another reason like one. A yet to 6. H1N1 6 you can have all kinds of different numbers you see that number is going to stay the same throughout the entire song this entire song will be in for or an entire song will be in 3 or an entire song will be in 6. Okay Corso then we're supposed to use this thing here to IPS that was the key bigger. To pick our time signature I'm really hoping it picks for and it does not of course it takes. 6 aids no I'm gonna have to find a way to get our on our live as his veteran. That big the times if you're figures as we're gonna be in 6 so that our whole thing really county 61456. More soon. 6 want. WNED. Okay. 6. Then the tempo the speed of this thing is just gonna be. One of those numbers 120 is like it on a pretty common thing but this was gonna be in night at 95 so that means that let me a moment you might hear. 95 something of this. So I'm David Smith really slow so OneNote. Where 95 I get this all totally random I've got preferences on these things that I I want to pick some things that other other things but I'm right now is what just what a show you that this is this can be. It's totally random and still work out. 95 is the number that were gone for now because it's I'm we're very goth because that's what they. Tempo picker picked for us and then we need to pick a field so this. 2 feels there is going back to 44 time. 1234 CNMI for days little tiny sob beats subdivisions in between needs beat and those can either be evenly spaced like 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and where there's the the number the 1 is the same. Size is the end. The subdivision. Or their swung where the number is significantly larger than the and in fact exactly twice as big so too is that big and this and this look with. Really tiny here's all ends resource so instead of 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and there's 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. This is so long. And. Or maybe those both side. Same. To you but I'm going to intervene here and say that I we're gonna play this one all straight partly because we picked a 6. Which will learn about I'm later why we do that we're gonna go with straight here and. I'm going to. Act like I'm picking randomly and Hey if they stray for me so far and that he is random and then this is the that the part that usually takes the majority of the time to talk about so the sections we have intro the verse the chorus the pre chorus the bridge in a live ending. Basically here's what you need to know you've got to play something. And I got to play something else. And then you have to stop playing. Those are kind of the 3 when I'm non negotiable of a song you got to do something then you gotta change it. And any out of stock. Okay so the first thing you play we caught the verse. When you change it we call that the chorus. And the stop playing it that we call that the stop playing it. Alright so those abilities you actually have to have a crazy and read this page if you want but if you want to you could have an intro so in in the intro is the thing that you play leading up to the thing that you're going to say. Like once upon a time that's an address not actually the story is that what you're going to say is just letting everybody know Hey here comes something that I'm about to set the pre chorus on if you would have one of those is just something that you. It's. It's. Not really like that thing you're saying and we definitely got to that of the change yet but it's I think it's it's like a it's an intermission almost me it's like Hey Hey there's there's a little break here some this is not the first thing we were about to say something different up that's what a pre chorus should be it's not but you can't really we can start this consider part of the course. Nor can be there part of ours and then there's the bridge so the bridge is after the most. The vast majority of songs are gonna go verse chorus verse chorus verse chorus verse chorus right they're gonna go back and forth and do that what has a change the words in the verse or sometimes he's the the the words the courses well but the notes are gonna all be did the same skin over scores records while people are tired of it and so the way we break that up and make that still interesting is by adding it rages. So bridges is just something that's. Dramatically different it's kinda like the pre chorus a lot of it except a usually doesn't come in until after we've already had a couple verses and a couple courses and were afraid that our audience quite frankly is a little bit tired of what we're playing includes wanna break it up a little bit with the bridge and then the interlude is really the same exact thing as a bridge only the interlude is going to be sometimes it can be really short. And. Oftentimes is just that instrumental part so you don't actually have any singing on during the end of that part and then that there's the ending there is I basically 3 ways set and a song you can write. A piece that is on the opposite of an introduction the end. Cool that was a really short outro and they all lived happily ever after. The and cool so that's an outro is writing something that is like. Tells the audience that the song is over I'm oftentimes it will also be instrumental or if you want to on if you don't write something special for the ending then you could just play the chorus over and over and over again or just play a bridge over and over again or slay the first over and over again and then record that and after you've recorded go back and just fade out those last courses. Until there's no sound. If that sounds like too much work to do to stop playing that's an option that's what we did on our songs appear on we. Other songs we just had a 6 scored. Right there band as it is planted mmhm in the song was over so you can't just cut and then you don't have to write an actual outright by the way outros are often times. A lot of times. That's what often means David on that is often times just the intro played over again see he if you write some some interaction then you can just feel that but at the very end of the song and that will sound like an outro. Okay so then the thing that we're going to do is I'm go through. I've recommended once again I you have multiple verses and choruses so if things you must have in your song or at least a verse. A chorus of first. A chorus and a chorus. But you have the option to throw in some other did other parts here introductions. Pre chorus is. Interludes more pre choruses before the chorus a bridge or an interlude a chorus and then over here we have either writing outro were fading or just cutting. Okay so that you can take the size that you want and here I'm highly recommending that that on each of the sections you make is some multiple 4 or 2 felt not some multiple to either make it too or making some multiple for 4 bars 8 bars 12 wise how long is this thing going to last this verse how long this court in the last these are some of your best options here pre course is you don't want those who get too long so I've kinda de give you fewer options on that same thing with an interlude leads to longer than it alone is is it a gets tickets. Too long very easily I'm honestly though the verses and the print and the courses if you can avoid a 16 bar a verse or chorus that be great like and 8 bars is is super duper 12 is kinda long 16. You really gotta work at that and then you're out shows you also be short in the same way that your intro should be short as well so then you can either pick those things or here in in the group that's and I won however I know what to pick I don't know how long it should. How long is very true to be. Tell us all mighty spinner 8 bars really. Really you pick the biggest one fine whatever so are interest gonna be 8 bars. Then we have our verse. And our verse is gonna be. 16. This song is never gonna and. Okay whatever. Whatever. Our pre chorus please tell me we don't have a pre chorus 4 bars every single one of these have been as long as possible. Well at least still get to see in this last and why it is maybe you make it things live it's the sinks baby don't play for as long as he possibly could. As people get bored if you. Chorus sides make a short it almost pick 16 epic date are it well that's that's weird. That your courses yeah. The one of the shortest parts of the song whatever are we to have an interlude almighty spinners. Of course we are gonna have a 4 by interlude. And then we have another verse oh my goodness 16 bars at pre chorus of 4 bars are chorus at 8 bars are bridge or interlude I'm gonna say no I'm gonna make I'm gonna call I'm gonna call it we're gonna not do that bridge or interlude we're just gonna play our last chorus right there and then what kind of mattress do we take. Just pick and please don't pick a long one infinite loop and paid are you kidding me okay fine. Okay so we're suppose to fade here. So where that guy couldn't have planned this any worse. It's gonna be terrible and we got a lot of court picking to do. Let me show you the well before I do that. The format. You creative types how what's the question about the format and of course you terrified types are terrified way to go. You get to keep your job I'm so then the. These are just some of some of the songs that there's only like 20 on here so this myth was could obviously be much longer I did not pick the songs but I only pick the songs because they were some of the highest so. Google search. Artist and that is take those artists top songs was divine here and what their it said I would have been here is intro verse chorus pre chorus bridge what was all so these are just the formats for all of the songs here so this one you can see here is intro verse verse chorus. Intro first bridge chorus ending which is like it seems like Hey that's that's creative except when you take a look at is really just a verse and a chorus. And a verse and a chorus. And then you've got of course your your intro you've got some kind ending because you have to have some kind ending arm and then you we'd have to double up on the verse and we put in a little somethin in between each of the verse chorus but still this verse chorus verse chorus. With some disaffected operations in the middle are this one right here. Verse chorus. Verse chorus. Verse chorus happen to have an interlude in the middle and have course has an ending and it has it has a beginning so as his verse chorus verse chorus verse chorus that's the innovation that if they did 3 times that it 2 times. So that you're gonna find that as you go through there that those are all very repetitive and I'm aware would be making a lesson hopefully by the time you get to this PDF we will have already swapped it out I will be taken at the archives so we have a lesson a link up here for us formats in in song types of about. So that is that is already in the works but having said that. We need a pick courts and we may need to pick a ton of them for this song where in the key of deep which means that we need to pick. Chords from this line right here. The one chord is this one that to court is that one but 3 quarters after minor before court is Jean the 5 quarters in a the 6 court is a B. minor. Alright so then ease those has their own characteristics that you can get used to I'm hearing those and eventually you'll have preferences on the list but as promised I'm just going to pick them randomly for right now let's set out the format of this song again it's an 8 bar intro could happens. I it's in the key of D. yeah the typos 95. 68. And we're gonna go straight with this one case our intro. It's gonna be a long old song friends in my behalf are poor guy here 16 to bar verse. So that means. That's how big the verses. That's our intro. That's servers. Are pre chorus is 4 and our chorus is 8. So there's gonna be the pre chorus. Is 4 and the chorus is gonna be 8. Then did we have anything else. An interlude of course here in Ireland so I have 4 bar interlude. Right here. And then we're just supposed to go after that I verse. Pre chorus chorus chorus. And then and then and so reply all way through all of those chords that we're gonna go back or play on the verse part again will go through the pre chorus will go through the chorus and repeat the chorus again and then after that we lubitz and we pretend as if it was all fading out. Okay. Rita picks accords was back some chords we got a pic as zillion of them. You can put more than one chord in a. The area. You can put more than one chord in a measure I've for that purpose of this thing we're not going to just to make this as. The kind of simplified but you actually could I put in more than more than one court permission carry on. I'm gonna pick these 4 at a time here it's gonna go 5 chord to 1 chords to get 51. 5. 45154. Then it's going to go the next 4. Measures are gonna go one chord to us. 3 chord if you're watching this and our has you might wanted to passport 6 chord 136. For. 136 forget I really am is going to do this until we have all these filled in this epic chords randomly. Okay. The first. 2 chord to why. 2 chord. To our. One chord. 2 I. 2 chord to 212 I think is where it's at. That's a really interesting verse. One chord to. One chord. Man. To a 3 chord 113 the. 1 man wow 1131 case a 2 to 12 and then 1131. That's weird. Fortunately we have 8 bars to redeem ourselves here. This verse so long 5 to. To. 15221. Last 4 of the verse. The verse it's not go away a one. To a 6. 16. 5. 3. But I suspect. 6513 Scherer. Night that was probably not what it was but I remember. So it's going to be. One accord. One. To a 5. 15. For. 1546. These are pre chorus 1546. 6. One. 6. One good thing. 6161. We're almost there folks will have 8 of them left 5. To a 5. 55. 25524. And then we got onto our interlude. 5. 2151. 1511. 25112 alright so once again let me remind you the goal of all of this is to get you to try to dive in and experiment with this stuff and experience the stuff and notice I'm what sounds like what when you when you put those different parts it what is a 68 feel like well it's got to have through such as whatever you're about to find out what the torture is when you've got a 16 bar verse and you're going to such a slow pace that it is your songs last for ever things like that are all great things to notice so I'm gonna try to play through this thing and that we're gonna go. At that pace 6 beats per measure and that I like is a report you'll see me playing the notes that it seems like I'm not playing the chord when really I am so for example this is a one chord. And this is one. Patience my lowest note I'm now do you hit as to what's I think. I think is in almost every case mmhm into playing. Number of the cord moving down here is on one and only one thing to court. Things to. So if you just make it subtle us now and you can to keep guns here but let's try to think we start with an intro and them also and what will keep you I've got big planted in consume them yeah we should be fine area. I'm. Eservers. The chorus. Take enough members of. Or. The chorus. And we've got and fact in most cases are the fade out the Lupin fade thing you have to play louder and louder and louder gets bigger and bigger and bigger even though the volume is going down the intensity is growing and so I'm I'm kind of the opposite of that that they're trying to like they get on my knees from. By like it repeating in invading our fate it manually which he admits discounted decrease the intensity of the whole thing. Who. That was a lot of chords and I'll be getting it sounded particularly. Terrible exist on the sounded a bit meandering because maybe because we had a random chords I in a random order I over random form in a random heat in Iraq so I'm that's like and that's worse case scenario right there I know I've done lots of these trust me that's worst case scenario the you write a song that sounded like that which is kinda sounds Mellon collie and meandering it doesn't necessarily sound. Like a bad song. Okay cool so we say to Mickey I we played all that stuff and then from that point we we would play that several times we've played it several times whenever you right out. Played several times because the first time you play through especially if you are doing it based on likes randomness and you're not doing it because all I grew like a 4 core there I think I'd like a one chord there on then you dates and that scares on where to you for the first time that I wanna play that back in probably certain sections of the first time through like fell like mad and like that at all. Second third time I might actually went up to it got me into that bank account works but. There's so many parts of your songs like it just doesn't work very very rarely like one in 1000000 times here to have a song that you get to the end of it and you like yeah that that was totally that's was going for there's always gonna be stuff in there the kind of want to tweak that you want to change so here are the guides for tweaking things according to the rules course you don't have to follow the rules can be a total creative type and and and just. Make the most amazing most creative song ever but I would recommend if you got a problem use these common tools first so first thing is he got one according to don't like it very much. Try a 6 court in its place. Or if that doesn't work out transform board is place or try if the requirements by so literally like if you have one of these appear that you just don't like for example as that'll I like this one right here. This guy right here it's just it's too much one chord there on that I could get rid of that one and just put a 6 there instead and that would likely. Sound batter it will lease how different it will it will start messing with that little section it's been like so now instead of having a 1 record there for 22 measures students at a high from it just feels like too much 1 now has a movement and there have been a while to a 6 to 3. Ndeb can like that actually. That can works for me so the one the 6. To the 3 instead solve my problem of that one just hang out too long and feeling awkward so you do the same thing with the 2 quarter 3 chord before quarter 5 quarter 6 court. You could have other options there on this 1 and you will see several times this this whole thing with the slash on it what it was before was whatever court I'm playing a penknife 1 chord 91 chord and here well that's not always true in some cases when you have a slash. That stink about it like a fraction like one over 3 so then that means that the the one is the chord you're playing on the top in right hand and the 3 is the part you're playing I'm in your last head. The bottom mmhm unfortunately they make sense that way but the way the the computer types that out of course is like that. The fraction is one over 3 which puts the one on the left side which is weird because that's what she was doing the right hand and it was the 3 on the right side which was only supposed to be like tends it looks backwards from the way it's what's the scene like in your mind turned it's a regular fraction of the top part. And the low bottom Barton area. That's a one over 3 areas slash court I mean can slash anything you play one over 3 refineries 7 or a full 6 or whatever over whatever okay cool. Then after you've tried to those all out and you're still feeling creative then you can start messing with these guys here and this is all of the like the really weird substitutions they usually don't work out for example I've got a little in like that right there that means it needs through the cord that is listed the one court for example yeah a major chord made mistakes you make that court might. You. Try a minor one. That's. Try them the minor 5 first. You don't yeah yeah try the minor 5 first but then you try minor one there and see in place of the the one court or if you have for the you're not particularly fond of then you could try a minor 4 in place of that are major too so let's try one of those via for sure they have what we have every kind. Of court in here yeah so I home area so liner and hat who let's do this one right here I'm cheating right now I know this is gonna sound like at a time so sorry and into this for randomly but the 4 was chosen randomly voice out this kind of randomness so right here when set of playing a a regular 4 where planned minor 4 so then before the end of our chorus starting the 5 toward where there they was on. For whom this time and we take that forward. And the lower this minor 4 with that right there and that's going to. Kick. Soon but. Sephora first here that I messed up wait no he's still holding the court. I actually like it kind of sounds cool so some of those I'm common substitutions summers where substitutions can actually end up being really cool chords and some really cool on parts of your song but I would just use them sparingly because they're all super duper weird. And then after that there's still more more messing around to be done so for example. So they can do here is. Court so the court's aware than others for example I told you already 7 chords are just they'd look. The almost no point trying to incorporate them in your song a 7 chord is always going to sound funky cell line death like the least safe chords you get out. The one chord you can you play one chord all day long. It's always going to sound minus sound pretty or are great with us is how safe is never gonna feel like now like weird like from that sound like a with with what song is this it's all okay and more but I know what teigen-nude-dujour more regular court that a little otherwise the later ones that. 3 in the Savan is sometimes the 2 desert less safe so if you want to stick with because you know we're gonna sound good sick with these 4 right here that's why in the in Saddam's on the very first thing we did you use all 151 words in a safe as court because I'm right all the time. Cool then I ending courts in order to save this would be the one so it's. Although it's really preferred that you and your your song on a one court but if not you could and your song on a 4 chord or 6 court hard to cord. If you really wanted to you could end on the 7 court I can't think of a single song that I've played that ends on a 7 chord. That be really super super weird and I know how to play a good at least a couple songs and none of them and on 7. Safest chord movements here if you're on a 3 the safest place to go to it go is a 6 if Ronda 6 the safest place to go is a 2 so is just a you like the chord you're on you just don't know what to what transition to go to what what the next court if you don't like the one because of the court in that song so you want to change it a bit by easy I'm on I'm on a 3 chord WNED the next one like I'd still like where goes to one corner it just doesn't feel right well. Try going to a 6. And that's almost always going to feel pretty pretty safe so all of these movements here are equally safe. So if you're on a 3 going to a 6 is the is the same amount as safe as it has out if you wanted to you go to a 5. Okay then I was next section is the opposite of that instead of I like the chord that I'm on but I don't like it when it goes to they now you're in the situation where by like the cord that because too but I don't like the one that it becomes right before that that transition doesn't doesn't fit I don't want to change the second court wanted the first one while. If you're about to go to one chord. The. Safest the most compelling thing to do. To play a 4 slash 5 so for what I'm wearing and 5 in the base. There's almost nothing in music more compelling than that. Or you play 5 chord if you know like that he's go straight file NDA CAP are trailing from 4 to 1 or 2 are so the same exact thing for the rest you quit if you ever about to go to a 4 port but you don't know what to do cord use to transition into it then you can try some of these in that list and if you go out to a 45 chord in these. Preceded with one of those court if you're about to go 6 quart Trefriw senior with one of those last 2 things are here verses and arm tell your bridges into pre courses should I'm usually. Starts on and use. The last used court so we talked before about using 151 because those are all safe almost always well if you got a breach in there are pre course it's a great kind of like throwing it to court or 3 chord there especially to start out with on that's gonna that's gonna sound probably pretty. Super cool. And then add the extending the your eyes verses choruses or especially the pre chorus is especially pre courses bridges. They maybe should say or their arm. So express your pre pre courses in your bridges but also your verses and choruses just extending those by a bar be putting it in a different court there but not just going with the number of measures that I recommended going with that number plus one for that number plus 2 would that help increase some. Anticipation some tension there so for example if we got to the end of this thing right here and then the course and I was gonna go back into the chorus but the answer is going I going back into it firefight extended that for minor for. Bernie man that's. Back into the course after that leads to a making that longer I'm when the rest of it when the rest this song is in those nice chunks of 4 or 8 or 12 or 16 on and then you take one of those he has but you play the regular 8 to the regular 12 whatever and then you just extend it by a bar or 2 on the this creates some some really delicious anticipation there. Then. Last thing before tomorrow we're going to talk about the melody writing the melody over how well this is all just chords so far. But that this last thing is. If you have a bass player playing with you. When they write songs they're thinking well about the bass line. Should be expected so they're not thinking nearly as much about what court neglected in the 6 court is the 4.there's thing about like how far away from this note that I'm on do I have to go. On the piano viewed the bass player on your left and then the other one I'm well all one conveniently moves to a team. Or to us I'm not so much to a 4. I want to for. The big thing. Remember. It's really inconvenient so. Get a bass player your base plays mostly get anything about how to make the Smalls was possible well if you just think that way as a bass player instead of where out well the chords and stuff you think I will what would I would have us based on it I'm there to there to there to there. I can tell you some. Or. Go up and. Know that I was going to. I told you I was in a play. A court that will. Sure that they use. So long as. Boring and. Song. So long to play there some places. I felt like I had. Movement so in the case of like this one right here going from a 6 to a 4. Well there's a 5 in the middle and my left hand bass player thing 64 you gotta be kidding me I'm not going to walk through that fine porcelain ones that find it it's instead of just playing what I'm supposed to which was mmhm some cases I slipped and I explained the wonders of between. So if what you're left hand first thing about it but as a bass player then you're gonna call with all kinds of really cool movements and much smoother transitions between records and things and then I know you think it with what I can do that that's fine but like some of those nodes aren't even in the scale. Like you told me last place 7 what's up with that like knowing only 7 so. No. You could play 7 court or if you want to. If your left hand is playing a 7. Then you could put your right hand could play a 5 chord. So I have I'm. My lord. That's that's pretty play 3 chords they'll other options I can play one chord yeah I'm. It doesn't sound as great enlisting in context if I did something mmhm. Farther. Right you go. The where they get in the heart you got off work to make them. You work out but there's you've got a cord that works for every single one of the notes that I have risen and he can play there's a chord somewhere in that key or just outside of that key that I would totally work I think so something like amazed where you know and up I've coastal much much cooler things I'm walk ups and walk downs that's just where your like I said to you that you may build one chord and is going to have 3 more numb sees a boxer at you like you would like I did acts. But it made. According. Well if that. Think. That's the last one I've given you all of the rules and and I've given you lots of options of how to break down the rules and this thing is constantly this I. worksheet as all of our worksheets are constantly I being taint so if you've got great ideas about on how I can fix that up and make that even better for next time then maybe it was just the where are you working on but that probably not I'd appreciate you let me know and then did join us again next time when it is change order dress tomorrow for the melody writing section where basically do the same thing when our is focusing on what is the note that you with saying if you were a singer on if you want to write a song and then the day after that we're gonna be doing are the lyrics with hopefully I'm Kendra joining us again for that so I can talk about what to do when you're writing their extra song that you got the chords yet the melody get the lyrics that's the whole entire thing so next until next time. Love yeah. Good luck have fun nnova.