Sharon asks…
How do you write rock, hard rock and metal songs?
In a band and we want to do originals. I dont know how to write songs so i was wondering how to write them. Obviously as stated we are a Rock/Hard Rock/Metal band and we want lyrics that sort of go with those genres.
Thanks :)
ConnieManuel answers:
Ok, I’ve written three hard/metal/rock song recently so let me outline my process for you. First let me say this. If you are going to write a song, don’t just write any song. We have far too many ordinary songs. You want to write one that has the potential to be a truly great song that many, many people will want to own. One of the very best ways I know of to do this is to become intimately familiar with the ingredients required to make up a hit song. The best way I know of to do that, is to listen to the best songs and study them. Not just the songs you think are the best but, the songs that have made to into the greatest of all time lists. Let’s take Heavy Metal for instance, here are the top 100 greatest metal songs of all time.
Http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_metal-songs.html
Ask yourself what are the ingredients that make these songs great? What do they have in common? Make a checklist of the ingredients that are required and check it against every song you ever write. Now that you know what makes up the most successful metal songs (do this same exercise for each genre you intend to write about. They are different), here are three ways that I get good ideas for songs.
The first one which I believe is typical for most bands, is to start with a totally unique beat and chord progression or unique guitar riff that has a catchy rhythm to go with it like that found in Iron Man by Metalica for instance. Then use one of the next two ways to get the lyrics started.
The second way is to first have an idea or subject that you want to write a song about. In this instance I generally have the idea for the lyrics before I try to figure out the music. The idea could be in the form of a subject for the song or a message that I want to get across to the audience. The band Triumph sold the songs message. Or, the subject might just be something like … Beer, for instance. A good beer song is always a hit on a college campus. In this case I actually researched the history of beer first so that the song had some true facts associated with it. I ended up titling the song “Nectar of the Gods” because as it turns out, it is believed that a Mesopotamian God handed down the first recipe for beer.
The third way is similar to the second but, here I have a definite idea for an incredible hook that will stick in the listeners mind and haunt them until they go out and buy the CD. I asked my granddaughter recently to tell me what is the one things that she and her girlfriends say to each other most often? She jokingly replied, “That Guy’s Hot”. Well, there is was, a great idea for a song title, and a hook, and it’s something that millions of teen aged girls all over the world can relate to. On the drive home I could picture a scene for a rock video about this song showing three girls hanging out at a mall giggling and teasing each other and point out hot guys. When I got home, I sat down and wrote all the lyrics in about 20 minutes. I already had an idea of what the music needed to sound like and that was the harder thing to do that took several day to perfect. I play guitar and bass and a little keyboard so, when I record a demo record, I play and sing all the parts myself. In this case, I needed to get a group of girls to sing the song or if I could not find a good girls group, I needed to buy a Electro-Harmonix Voice Box Harmony Machine Vocal Pedal that would allow me to change my voice gender and raise the pitch an octave so I could sound like a group of girls singing.
Anyway, make your song great! Follow a proven recipe for success base on others that have gone before you. Always have an incredible hook as part of your songs. But, the most important thing of all to remember is that for a song to be truly great, you must allow the song to write itself. Quite your mind often and sit and listen for ideas. They are out there if you will only listen for them. You cannot do that when you are listening to other bands music for instance. You have to be completely quiet. Go for a walk, go for a drive with the radio off. You’ll be amaze at how easily a song will just appear and then all you need to do is write it down and learn how to play it. Remeber this … If you are struggling with the lyrics or struggling with the music, then you are fighting the song. Quiet your mind and listen for the way that song wants you to write it. It’s the easiest and most rewarding thing is the world. Now go write a truly GREAT song … Good Luck to you.
Helen asks…
I need a list of all the songs that Pete Segger wrote?
I have searched the internet …and I cant find a list of songs that pete seeger has written. Can anyone help me!!
ConnieManuel answers:
Pete Seeger helped to put together these songs mostly with the melodies or ideas of other folks.
A Little A’ This ‘N’ That
Abiyoyo
Adam the Inventor (with Santiago Genoves and Wolf Rilla)
All Mixed Up
All My Children Of The Sun
And I Am Still Searching
Andorra (with Malvina Reynolds)
Arrange and Rearrange
Baby Burping Song, The (with Judith Seeger)
Ballad of Harry Bridges (with the Almanac Singers)
Ballad of the Fort Hood Three
Beast, The (Song of the Punch Press Operator) (with Bernie Packer)
Bells Of Rhymney (with Idris Davies)
Bring ‘Em Home
Broad Old River
Business (with Walter Lowenfels)
C For Conscription
Calendar, The
Clean Up the Hudson
Compleat Angler, The
Crawly Creepy Little Mousie
Dear Mr. President
Deliver The Goods
Djankoye
Down A Shady Lane (with George Reginald Hake)
Drowned in Paper
Emperor Is Naked Today-O, The
Empty Pockets Blues (with Lee Hays)
English is Cur-ray-zee
Estadio Chile (with Victor Jara)
Everybody’s Got A Right To Live (New Verses with Reverend Fred Kirkpatrick)
False From True
Festival of Flowers
Foolish Frog, The (with Charles Seeger)
Franklin D. (with Millard Lampell and Lee Hays)
From Way Up Here (with Malvina Reynolds)
Full Fathom Five (with William Shakespeare)
Garbage (Bill Steele; last verse added by Pete Seeger)
Get Up And Go
Goliath (A Nursery Rhyme)
Goofing Off Suite
Grey Ashes Falling (with Ken Keskinen)
Guantanamera (with Jose Marti, Hector Angulo)
He Lies In The American Land (with Andrew Kovaly)
Here’s To The Couple
Hold The Line (with Lee Hays)
Housewife Terrorists, The
How Are We Going To Save Tomorrow?
Huddie Ledbetter Was A Helluva Man
I Come and Stand at Every Door
If A Revolution Comes To My Country
If This World Survives (with Malvina Reynolds)
If I Had A Hammer (with Lee Hays)
I’m Gonna Sing Me A Love Song
In Dead Earnest (with Lee Hays)
I’ve Packed Up My Bags (with Matt McGinn)
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
King Henry
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine (with the Weavers)
Land Of A Thousand Songs
Last Train To Nuremberg
Legs (Lee Hays)
Letter To Eve
Little Girl See Through My Window
Living In The Country
Maple Syrup Time
Men of Principle (with Frances Taylor)
Mrs. Clara Sullivan’s Letter (with Malvina Reynolds)
My Father’s Mansion
My Name Is Lisa Kalvelage
My Rainbow Man
My Rainbow Race
Nameless Lick
New Hamburg Clockback, The
No Closing Chord (with Malvina Reynolds)
Odds On Favorite (with E. Y. Harburg)
Ode to a Composer (Bach at Treblinka)
Of Time And Rivers Flowing
Oh Had I A Golden Thread
Oh Yes I’d Climb (The Highest Mountain Just For You)
Old Devil Time
Old Father Hudson
Old Hundred (new verses)
Oleanna (with Ditmar Meidel)
One Grain of Sand
One Man’s Hands (with Alex Comfort)
Our Generation
Over The Hills
People Are Scratching, The (with Ernie Marrs and Harold Martin)
Pete’s Song
Plow Under (with Lee Hays)
Precious Friend
Quite Early Morning
Ring Like A Bell
River Of My People
Ross Perot Guide to Answering Embarrassing Questions, The
Round And Round Hitler’s Grave (with the Almanac Singers)
Sacco’s Letter To His Son
Sailing Down My Golden River
Sailing Up My Dirty Stream
Seventy Miles (with Malvina Reynolds)
Simple Gifts (additional verses)
Snow, Snow
Some Things A Man Can’t Do Alone
Song of the World’s Last Whale, The
Sour Cream
Sower Of Seeds
Spider’s Web, The (“Natural History”)
Spring Examinations
Starlight, Starbright
Story of Old Monroe
Strange Death of John Doe
Sweepy, Sweepy, Sweepy (with Mika Salter Seeger)
Sweet-A-Little Baby
Take It From Dr. King
Talking Union (with the Almanac Singers)
Tantalula (with Heinz Hector)
Teacher Uncle Ho
This Old Car
Those Three Are On My Mind (with Frances Taylor)
Times A-Getting Hard, Boys (with Lee Hays)
To Everyone In All The World
To Fight Perchance to Win
To My Old Brown Earth
Tomorrow Is A Highway (with Lee Hays)
Tomorrow’s Children (with Walter Lowenfels)
Torn Flag, The
Trouble At The Bottom
Turn! Turn! Turn! To Everything There Is A Season
Visions Of Children
Waist Deep In The Big Muddy
Walking Down Death Row
Water Is Wide, The
We Shall Overcome (with Zilphia Horton, Guy Carawan, Frank Hamilton)
We’ll All Be A-Doubling
Well May The World Go
When I Was Most Beautiful (with Noriko Ibaragi)
Where Have All The Flowers Gone?
Where’s My Pajamas
Who Killed Norma Jean (with Norman Rosten)
Who Knows
Wimoweh (with Solomon Linda and the Weavers)
Words, Words, Words
Other Songs Pete Seeger Sings
All My Trials
Amen
Banks of Marble
Blue Skies
Circles
Deportees
Die Gedanken Sind Frei
Garden Song
Goodnight, Irene
Hobo’s Lullaby
How Can I Keep From Singing
I’m A Little Cookie
I’m Gonna Be An Engineer
Jacob’s Ladder
Joe Hill
Joy Unto the Earth
Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream
Listen, Mr. Bilbo
Little Boxes
Mail Myself to You
Mary Ellen Carter
Michael Row the Boat Ashore
Midnight Special
Nicaragua, Nicaraguita
No Money, No War
Old Time Religion
Over the Rainbow
Passing Through
Pastures of Plenty
Peat Bog Soldiers
River of Jordan
Satisfied Mind
Sloop Clearwater, The
Somos El Barco
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
State of Arkansas
Talking Ben Tre Blues
The People Are Scratching
This Land Is Your Land
This Old Man
Wasn’t That A Time
Way Out There
Which Side Are You On?
Daniel asks…
Does anyone know of any good easy guitar songs?
Any songs, acoustic or electric.
I don’t mind if it uses power chordes or just normal chordes.
Thank you (:
ConnieManuel answers:
I’ll give you a list of songs I learned early on;
Blackbird – The Beatles (this is the first song i learned, though many people find it very difficult, hint: play it with two fingers, not three, easier that way surprisingly)
Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd (has a little bit of tabbing in the intro, but it’s fairly easy, and the rest is just chords)
Hallelujah – Leneord Cohen (also done by many other people, simple chords picked appriego style [straight down, then straight up])
How to Save a Life (acoustic) – The Fray (easy fingerpicking, then chords, nothing too hard)
Wonderwall – Oasis (just chords)
First Day Of my Life – Bright Eyes (just chords, but a barre chord that’s a bit acward to switch to, good practise)
Don’t Look Back in Anger – Oasis (just chords, though there’s tabbing to add is you want, has an easy change to a barre F, good way to intro yourself to barre chords)
Wonderful Tonight (acoustic) – Eric Clapton (in case you’re feeling a bit brave, harder than the rest, but nothing overly hard in it, just takes some practise.
Also it’s good to learn some solo’s and tabbing so that as you improve you’ll be able to learn songs that incorporate multiple different techniques, and to get used to playing faster. Some that I learned;
Angie (intro) – The Rolling Stones (good alternating between playing single strings and multiple strings)
Wish You Were Here (Solo 1 plus intro) – Pink Floyd (good to get the full song this way, slow simple picking that sounds real nice)
Roundabout (intro) – Yes (good use of harmonics, second part will REALLY test your speed and accuracy)
Layla (intro and opening solo) – Eric Clapton (picks up the tempo a bit for you, faster song using plenty of power chords for the intro and some hammer ons/pull offs and slides for the solo, hint; just play the top two notes for the power chords in the intro, makes it easier and get similar sound)
With all this said it should help with your guitar playing, remember that a good way to make a song sound more full is by taking a song that is picked, based off of chords, and switching to playing the actual chords. Changing the technique you’re using partway through the song sounds really good because it still sounds right, but isn’t the same as what you were playing before, so practice up on songs that will make you do that.
Wish you the best of luck fellow guitar player
Linda asks…
What songs to learn on guitar?
Okay i’m new at guitar. I’ve only learned the simplest songs Like metallica-one and metallica-back to black. I’m wondering what to play next, or maybe a list of songs to play in what order. I just want to get the feeling of the guitar and such, before i start learning chords and theory
ConnieManuel answers:
If you know the basic guitar chords there are loads of nice songs you can play. Here’s a few:
Amazed by Lonestar
Breathing by Lifehouse
Clocks by Coldplay
Dreams by The Cranberries
First Cut Is The Deepest by Cat Stevens
Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
Here Without You by Three Doors Down
Horse With No Name by America
Hotel California by The Eagles
House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
Pianoman by Billy Joel
Please Forgive Me Bryan Adams
Wonderwall by Oasis
This site has the chords for most of these songs and some other easy ones. It’s in an Ebook you can download…
Http://www.pluckandplayguitar.com/easy-guitar-songs.html
William asks…
Good Songs????????????
I;m having a camfire song night and I’m taking request for songs from people coming but for me I chose songs like: Hey Jude
Brown Eyed Girl
Wagon Wheel
Knockin on heavens door
I’m yours
Three Little Birds
When the stars go Blue
if you have similar song ideas let me know. I want classic and good catchy songs. make them aproprite cause im only 14 and ones I can play on guitar. put as many options as you like thanksssss (oh, and if you know if the song has a bar chord, please dont put in in the list) again, thanks!!!
ConnieManuel answers:
Wow those are some of my fav songs!!!
I love hey jude and thrree little birds!
I would suggest some of this person’s music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR7-AUmiNcA
Here are the chords to another one of her songs http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/s/sara_bareilles/love_song_ver2_crd.htm
and here is the song lol http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=love+song+sara+bareilles&aq=0&oq=love+song+
Michael asks…
Good Beatles song to make a cover of?
I’m looking to make a cover of a Beatles song. I plan on singing it and in time, perhaps adding in my guitar with it. The song doesn’t initially have to have a guitar piece with it. At this stage, i’m looking for a slower song but it can be slightly upbeat.
Thanks guys, get listing!
ConnieManuel answers:
They’re all good. The best song is “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” The guitar part can be moderately difficult. “Paperback Writer” is the easiest. There seems to be one chord in it, though there are two or three different notes; you could slow it down some and sound original since it is usually done uptempo.
In between those two, “Please Please Me” seems to be right.
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