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I've been making my own music for a while...

but for the past year after I started learning a bit more about piano and music theory I tend to find myself leaning towards more chord progressions and my melodic writing has suffered.
now I have some great chord progressions, but I can't put any decent melody or solo or arpegiated sections to them, so my music seems to suffer...
I often don't even know what other instruments to use...

currently i am working for a soundtrack for a film as coursework project and again i'm stuck with just some chords on really nice strings, and got someone else to 'noodle' on an acoustic guitar...

i also know that other chords should be able to fit on top of my chords sometimes for example if i wanted to add an EP sound, but then I don't really understand that, and it doesn't sound as good just playing the same chord an octave up...


does anyone have any tips as to what kinds of instruments can make a full sound? for example i have strings, bass, an arpy thing, a lower bass, and some EP for one track... most of these are really simple hit/decay sounds...
and any tips on improvising or composing melodic lines for these instruments?

especially in my ambient forms of music i tend to find too much rhythmic experimentation to be distracting from the aura of the piece, so I suppose i should be going for more of a blues feel? (i'm thinking like david gilmour's guitar solos...)
and then arpegiators, i'm afraid to mute steps.....

Hey X ... great topic

A few random thoughts, because like you I've transitioned between these two ways of working. Initially I played the guitar and all compositions of mine started from chord sequences, with melody lines added afterward. Then there was a big gap, and when I returned to music I was entirely synth based and worked up pieces by started with a groove (bass and drums) and then added melodic parts, and never really thought so much about chords but rather playing a number of harmonized melodic parts. Recently I've returned to the guitar as the starting point, so chords are the foundation once again. Like you I've had to think about melding these two ways of working.

1) When you mentioned just putting chords an octave up over your other chords, I think you want to also consider using inversions. Playing the same sequence of chords on two instruments, but using different inversions of those chords on each will often create contrary motion, which is one of the key harmonic principles.

2) It's often tempting to derive the key your playing in from the chords you're playing and then start noodling with notes from the appropriate scale. Sometimes that's tricky when working in a minor key, because you've at least three scales to chose from (harmonic, melodic up and melodic down), so rather than boxing myself in to a specific simple scale, I just close my eyes, listen, and start just improvising/humming. Once I hit something I then work out what it was on the keys or guitar, and often find that some funky modal thing has come up, or something in a scale I wouldn't have thought of if I've been approaching it more analytically. One of the things I love about the guitar is that it is so much easier to play that magic note accidentally that creates something special. On the keys it's more difficult, as it's more obvious which note is which as you play up the keyboard. You can simulate this using pad controllers, or just by transposing the keyboard and forcing yourself to feel those notes rather than play the right ones. So much good music is found, rather than deliberately "calculated" as it were. I also a have Baritone guitar which is quite differently tuned to a normal guitar, and that's fantastic for finding stuff, 'cos I am really never 100% sure what I am actually playing, as it is so new to me

3) I love all the chameleon like Sus4 and Sus2 chords, that you just drop in all sorts of place as alternatives to your chosen chords. Even if you don't play those chords as chords, use them as fingerings for melodic parts.

4) If your song is going to have vocals or a principle melody line, be sure to lay that down early with your chords, before throwing lots of other melodic parts in there. I've often made the mistake of not doing that, and finding that a melodic part played over chords actually changes the overall chords themselves into something else, and the fundamental tonality of those chords is lost and your main melody line no longer seems to fit. I did that two days ago. Recorded my chord sequence I was playing on the guitar, for which I had a vocal melody in my head. I then played a bass line, that wasn't just hitting the root notes every 8th but was a little melody line in itself. Then I went to sing over the top, and the vocal melody totally didn't fit. The bass notes had modulated the chords in such way that they seemed to have a somewhat different meaning or something. I don't fully understand that theoretically, but it's blatantly obvious when you listen.

Hope there's something useful in my ramblings

Daz.

Oops one thing I forgot. I really like that idea of implied chords, which U2 and others use. So instead of one instrument banging out that triad, you have three different things playing those notes.

Other full instruments ... pads obviously But maybe gated or chopped or ducked by drums, so stop it from being so static. Vocals oohs and ahs, with a little treatment always fill a void too. Judicious eq'ing to stop them masking other parts and reverb/delay to push them into the back some.

Gotta run ...

Daz.

Some great tips here Daz, reminds me of the book Tunesmith I finished reading last summer. A lot of ideas in there also. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to expand their songwriting skillset.

Great book recommendation there George, thanks !

I was looking at the preview here :

Tunesmith on Google Books



... and now I've ordered it from Amazon

Daz.

thanks daz for those brilliant contributions.

I do already use different inversions, and i like 2nd, fourth, seventh, and sixth chords.

I particularly like the idea of implied chords, will be giving that a go soon then!


your third point about humming is good too. I just picked up a guitar controller but i have yet to learn the guitar, although I know that playing on that will produce different notes to playing on the keys.


and now i'll be off to check out that book thanks georgeinar

I really like brass in careful chords... low and middle... no higher than 'bone and Fr horn...

John