Trevor Wong Music

Songwriting, Riffs, And Part Writing: A Few Things To Think About

Added 2021-07-20 20:00:34 +0000 UTC

Hey everybody,

Here are some writings that cover my thought process when writing riffs and songs. Generally, I try categorize what I've written so that I can figure out what the role / function of my idea is. If you are stuck / want to get better at songwriting, read this! I've also included a bullet point, cheat sheet version.

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(A). My General Philosophy On Writing:

My philosophy for writing centres around context. When I write parts and ideas, or when I plan out what to write next, I try to reflect on what I’ve written so far. By reflecting, I aim to gain clarity on a part’s musical context.

Gaining clarity is important as there are different kinds of riffs, parts, and ideas that one can write. By reflecting, we can try to decipher the function of our idea or the role that the idea plays in a larger piece of music.

For instance, a part might be written to provide support to a melody, or it could help to build tension. Songs are comprised of many different kinds of ideas that will fulfill different roles.

With that in mind, reflecting on this concept of context and roles is important because it will give a sense of direction. It will save us energy as it will help us to write with purpose and clarity. It will save us time as it will guide us to write exactly what is needed.

Below are three categories of concepts that you can use to organize your ideas. Which categories do your ideas fall under?

Section (Where does your idea belong in the overall form and structure of the music?)
Feel (What is the general feel?)
General Texture And Listenability (How are you managing the listener experience and creating interest?)

(1). What Kind Of Section Does Your Idea Belong To?

Is your part an….

INTRO: To me, an intro is a short piece that serves as musical appetizer. It’s distinct from the body of the music and has a clear beginning and end. Typically, the intro will foreshadow harmony, rhythms, and other musical themes that will occur later. All songs have beginnings, but not all songs have an intro. Personally, I like intros that are based around a big resolving melody, shots, or an arpeggiated chord. An intro can be simple or complex, but the main thing is that has a sense of resolution and acts as a “set-up” to the body.
OUTRO: A distinct section that is meant to give a sense of finality to the music. An outro is sort of the musical equivalent of a concluding paragraph. It can summarize what you’ve already heard. Or, perhaps, an outro could be something that takes what you’ve already heard and gives it a greater sense of finalizing emotional context. In any case, with outros you generally want them to have an obvious sense of looming resolution. The outro should feel like it is pushing towards something.
Transition/Fills: Is your idea a transition or fill? These types of ideas are purely meant to lead you to somewhere else. The complexity of the transition is up to the songwriter, but the main thing to note is that your transition should have a clear sense of trajectory, by leading to something that is about to happen. Transitions are great as they help to smooth the shift from one section to the next, and they can even help bridge sections that sound quite different. Personally, I like transitions that cut to a single instrument in the band. A transition/fill can be done on any instrument. Not just drums!
Pre-Body Section: In the same vein as a transition or fill, this is a lengthened version of that concept. This is a section that has a sense of trajectory, but is also a fully formed musical arrangement. Think “pre-chorus”. This kind of section has a sense of groove, but also may contain more chord changes, faster subdivisions, and a pacing that is clearly going somewhere or seeking resolution.
Body Ideas (Verse, Chorus, etc): This is the main material that you listen to in the song. A song can have many sections that are part of the body. For me, the main thing is that body sections are repeated, groovy, and don’t have a sense of finality in their trajectory. Odds are, a lot of the ideas that you’ve written are body ideas. The verse/chorus concept is simply just the idea of a strong A section and a strong contrasting B section. Personally, I tend to view a lot of riffs that I write as body ideas.
Bridge: Loosely speaking, the bridge is another body idea; it’s a section that is meant to provide clear colour contrast to some of the other body sections. A bridge is usually a nice way to shake things up by either changing the pace (uptempo, or downtempo), and the harmony (major to minor). I tend to think of bridges as material that occurs at the 2/3 point in a song. A bridge is a great place to have the climax of your song, or the emotional and musical apex.

(2). What Is The ‘Feel’ Of Your Idea?

Another way to figure out the function of your idea is to comment on the feel. This also helps you figure out what kind of section it belongs to.

Is your part…

A Groove: Do you think it sounds good when repeated? Does it make you want to bob your head? Is it rhythmic and catchy? Does it easily carve out a time signature? Is it basically a beat but with notes? If you said yes to some of these, your idea is probably a groove, and it likely belongs in the body. You could also make this work for an intro or outro, depending on your accompaniment.
A Start/Stop Idea: The opposite of a groove— an idea that stops and starts. This kind of idea will keep the listener on their toes and help generate interest. Start/stop ideas generally use silence and staccato articulation to create a sharp, jagged feel. These can work great in intros or transitions/fills. If you place a start/stop idea in the middle of the song, pacing wise, it will send a message. The music is probably changing or going somewhere.
Build-Up: An idea that is clearly transitioning you to somewhere else by slowly increasing the energy. Build-ups can be achieved through dynamics, harmony, and rhythm. I like my build-ups to be simple and direct.
Break-Down: A section that usually comes after a transition. The break-down is a way to change the pace of the music. Generally, a break-down has a feeling of slowing down by usually halving the subdivision of the beat. A break-down can also be a way to reinterpret a section. For example, you could have a groove that is 8 bars long, perhaps in the final 4 bars, you subdivide the beat by half/go into ‘half-time’. This is a great way to make the same idea more dynamic.
Downtempo: An idea relating to energy. A down tempo idea is mellow, easily digestible. Maybe a bit static in that it doesn’t have a sense of direction. A down tempo idea could be a breakdown in some sense. If you wanted to change the mood or the energy, shifting to a downtempo section can create a dramatic emotional effect. You can write entire pieces of music that are downtempo as well.
Uptempo: Another idea related to song energy. An uptempo idea is usually fast, energetic, and maybe even a little erratic. If an idea is uptempo, be careful not to overdo it so you don’t exhaust the listener. Thinking about the energy is important as you’ll want to write parts that match the energy of the song, or provide appropriate contrast.

(3) Things To Manage Overall

Once you’ve started to string together ideas, here are some things that you should be thinking about for your next sections and parts. Generally, in my opinion, you want to have a healthy balance of each of these aspects.

Pacing: The song is a journey; the pace determines how fast you move through each leg of it. If the pacing is too fast, it can be overwhelming. If the pacing is too slow, it can become boring. If the pacing is too static, it can cause a listener to lose interest by making the music too predictable. Thinking about pacing is a great way to emotionally manipulate the listener. A sudden change of pace usually denotes a significant musical event.
Internal Dynamics: Loudness and quietness. This concerns how one manages being loud and quiet in a song. Again, if a song is too loud, it becomes emotionally monotonous. Or, if it’s too quiet, it gets stale. Dynamics create a greater sense of shape to the music which leads to more colour and overall musicality. Dynamics are intertwined with pacing, in that they go hand in hand. When you change the dynamics, you change the pacing.
Diversity Of Texture: Management of different timbres and techniques used in the music. I think it’s nice to have a variety of textures. Textures are a non-harmonic way to add colour and expression. By having a multitude of textures, this can help to create interest, and make your sections clear and distinct. For example, a section that involves strumming, versus a section that involves tapping, will create a clear contrast. That being said, be careful with how diverse your textures are. Too many differing textures can create a sense of randomness. You want to find a healthy balance where you avoid monotony, while keeping a sense of cohesion in your song.
Emotional Diversity: Try to have some different moods in your song. Though, try to make them naturally progress in a way that tells a story. Emotional diversity can be achieved through harmony (changing chords at the right time), but it can also occur through things like dynamics, changes from uptempo to downtempo, etc. Personally, I think emotional diversity is really important as it helps to tell a musical story. It also just makes the song more interesting and emotionally gripping. If you have too much of the same mood, be it happy or sad, those emotions probably won’t be as impactful as they could be. Contrast creates shape and context.
Listenability: How easy is it for a new listener to keep up with your ideas? This is something that often gets overlooked in Math Rock, and can be something that makes or breaks a good song. It’s not necessarily a matter of simplicity versus complexity, but rather, a question of how well-designed your arrangement is, such that the listener can comprehend your ideas. You can create listenability through developing some sense of melody, hooks, or even just clear, direct movement in your riffs. When you write something, be sure to listen back to it many times. Is it exhausting to listen to? If so, you should consider making tweaks so that it’s easier to follow. That being said, not all sections need to be simple and listenable. This is a comment about how you manage listenability in your song as a whole. Can the listener make it to the 1 minute mark without turning it off because you’ve tired them out? Again, using a contrast of pacing, moods, and texture, can help make something easier to digest. Also, remember that when you write something, it’s easy for you to comprehend because you’ve heard it many times. A fresh listener Is hearing your ideas for the first time.
HOOKS: Small, simple, easily digestible lines that you can sing. Hooks are a hack to make complex ideas easy to listen to. You might have a riff that is completely un-singable, save for a small 2-3 note melody embedded somewhere. This little melody is the hook, and it allows you to write complex lines while providing a singable part. I tend to try and infuse hooks into my most complicated riffs if possible.
Technical Density: How is technical complexity managed in your song? How many sections contain clear displays of virtuosity? Dense sections full of technique and “shredding” can sound great but they can also be exhausting and even boring to listen to if used too much. In order to create a more dynamic and interesting listening experience that also also makes your technique seem amazing, try to manage how often you write technically dense sections. By carefully choosing when and where you display your “chops”, you give them greater impact.
Themes And Repetition: How often do things reoccur in the music? All aspects of your music, be it harmony, rhythms, and textures, should probably recur at varying points in order to glue the song together. Repetition creates groove and also gives your listener an opportunity to digest your idea. Moreover, it allows you to get a lot of mileage out of something you’ve created (since you can reuse an idea!).
Rhythmic Interest And Rhythmic Density: What kind of rhythms do you use and when do you use them? Pay attention to rhythm as it’s 50% of the music. Rhythm alone can dictate the shape and pacing of your music. Also, try to be attentive to what kind of rhythms you use as they can be exploited as a theme. Moreover, pay attention to how dense your rhythms are; try to balance how you use small subdivisions and large subdivisions. For example, If your song uses too many eighth notes, that might not be very interesting.
Where Does The Song Fit In Your Setlist?: Albums are made of varying kinds of songs. You might want to think about the kind of song your album needs. Does it need a drawn-out, epic ending track? Does it need an uptempo track that serves as the core of the album?