writing songs?

[mikey41]

ok so i have been playing guitar for about 2 years on and off. recently i have been taking it more seriously and have interested in writing my own songs. I know power chords like the back of my hand and a few open chords. i have never studied music theory or taken basic lessons so im not too familiar with scales/keys and chord families. my goal is to write a good sounding punk rock song using power chords but im having trouble. when i try to write my own songs i cant seem to get the (power) chords to "fuse" with one another.
is there a way to know what power chords go with each other similar to they way scales help you play open chords that sound good together?
And do power chords fit into keys? for ex. are there power chords in the key of G? is so how many?...
and is there a website or something i could use as a reference to writing songs with power chords?

[BrandonCorey]

I think the best thing to do is just listen to the gutiar parts in your favorite songs. Figure out what chord progressions you like and don't like. Theory will only teach you so much. And if it's punk rock you wanna write then just screw theory and play what sounds good to you.

[Ken]

You can follow theory or say fuck theory and do whatever sounds good to you. If it sounds good, it is good.

Otherwise, after one year of playing I have a very very basic understanding of musical theory so I will try to answer your questions.

Yes, power chords fit into key. "Regular" chords (major/minor) have 3 notes, power chords use 2 of those 3 notes. Power chords can be major or minor, depending on which key. For example, a major F chord includes the notes F (1st string, 1st fret), C (2nd string, 3rd fret) and A (4th string, 2nd fret). A power chord F only uses the notes F and C. You can read all of this on Wikipedia lol.

Also, do you really just want to write punk rock/power chord music? Its gonna sound really boring.

[mikey41]

yeah i agree fuck theory...

and when i attempt to write a song i usually make the intro by picking open chords and then the rest is power chords but anyway greenday doesnt use that many open chords, or they used to not, and the vocals and drums help it not be boring
oh and thanks for the wiki reference lol

[Jeremy Kill]

Whenever I write songs I usually come up with a main riff first, record it and then base the song around that riff. I just play whatever I have recorded over and over again until I get a feeling of where I want to take the song, then I figure it out by just playing. I don't know any theory at all, but I'm sure it'd make things a hell of a lot easier for me.

[Dylan]

I've written two full songs, on guitar (I write songs on bass aswell) , that I like and both times I just fiddled around with different power chords and played whatever came naturally. My first song was like that and I love it. Expirement with different parts of the fret board aswell, sometimes a high F power chord sounds better than a low one.

I do know some theory about guitar, but it's best to let the song come out naturally. One thing I've noticed though, is that a verse or chorus chord profession is usually four chords or four bars of chords. You could have two different chords in one bar.

Explaining this stuff is hard because I'm not sure if you know what I'm saying, haha. But good luck with your song.

[Jeremy Kill]

A lot of solos in songs are based off scales. That's why songs I write don't have solos because I don't know scales, haha.

[samueeL]

I think knowing theory is pretty important if you wanna get better songwriter.

But at first, like Ken said, fuck theory and play whatever sounds good!

[Dylan]

A lot of solos in songs are based off scales. That's why songs I write don't have solos because I don't know scales, haha.

major and minor scales have a pattern that can be placed anywhere on the fret board. Except on the B and high E strings because B is shifted down one. If you google major scale pattern/progression, you should find it.

[jaw knee jak]

Use F, G, Am and C, most common progression in the history of music, because it works well. You can shift it up or down the fret board if you want to change keys

[Ken]

Use F, G, Am and C, most common progression in the history of music, because it works well. You can shift it up or down the fret board if you want to change keys

Gaslight Anthem baby!

Also, you have to understand that power chords are the same as open chords except for one note. That one note is called a minor third, and it determines whether the chord is a major or minor chord. Thus, the A power chord is the same as the Amajor and Aminor chord (but the Amajor and Aminor chord are not the same)

[Boni]

Use F, G, Am and C, most common progression in the history of music, because it works well. You can shift it up or down the fret board if you want to change keys

Gaslight Anthem baby!

Also, you have to understand that power chords are the same as open chords except for one note. That one note is called a minor third, and it determines whether the chord is a major or minor chord. Thus, the A power chord is the same as the Amajor and Aminor chord (but the Amajor and Aminor chord are not the same)

A power chord doesn't have a major or a minor sound. It's just the 1st and the 5th of the chord and then the 1st played an octave higher again. It's the 3rd of a chord that determines if it's Major/Minor/Augmented/Diminished.

EDIT by Ken: I'm pretty sure I said that, I wasn't counting the note on the 3rd string as its just an octave higher.