Quote:

... I guess my problem is I'm not educated enough in the musical arts to even know what kind of chord progression to write, or the melody to follow it. ... Gary



Gary,

Want to learn music theory quickly (at least the chord progression part)? Find your top 10 favorite songs and study the structures (verses, "lifts", choruses, bridges, intros and outros ...) and figure out the chords used in each section of those tunes (lots of help on the internet). Program the chord progressions into BIAB (come close, don't worry about trying to do a perfect "cover") and then write your own lyrics to those chord progressions. You will find that almost all of the songs conform to this progression chart: http://mugglinw.ipower.com/chordmaps/part3.htm (scroll down to Concept #6 - The Simple Map) or, if you get complicated with substitutions galore, then look at this chart: http://mugglinw.ipower.com/chordmaps/part5.htm (2nd map, in C). Writing lyrics to existing songs and melodies is called "Ghost Writing". I have done it a few times and I have found it very easy to change the melody/phrasing to make it a unique song.

Note: When you find chords and lyrics for your favorite songs on the internet, make sure you check a few sources -- there are lots of errors out there.

Kevin

Last edited by Kemmrich; 01/01/12 10:09 AM.
Now at bandcamp: Crows Say Vee-Eh @ bandcamp or soundcloud: Kevin @ soundcloud