Last week I came up with a groovy little chord progression, built around tight clusters of notes on the top three strings of my guitar. Very unsettled, jazzy, and fun to play. But it needed just a little something. Something was missing. I needed a little hook or a sting or something to make it pop. And I spent all weekend trying to find just the right little tweak. I tried adding a bass line, a second guitar. Some snappy percussion. And then I found it! I needed this one little five note lick at the end. DeeDeeDee Dee Deeeee.
And then a vocal line popped into my head! Holy crap. And then words!
And then... a voice.
It was Bono's voice.
I'd accidentally figured out a Muzak version of the closing bit from the Red Rocks version of 11 O'Clock Tick Tock.
I wrote this heartfelt little song about a pair of friends’ break up. Way back in the 90’s. I needed a little change at the end. Some chords to ride out. Hey, I’ve got it! This is nice. Good little progression.
Then, after performing it for months it hits me. “Ooh I need your love, babe/Guess you know it’s true…”
Good chords, definitely.
i was in a band a long time ago where it seemed like every other thing we’d come up with sounded like someone else’s song, to me. and the rest of the band got sick of me pointing it out…
Rock music has such narrow parameters generally.
4/4
80-120 bpm
Doesn’t modulate
Generally diatonic, seldom chromatic
Guitars, bass, drums texture
Dynamically static
There’s only so much you can do. After 60 years a lot of the good real estate has been claimed.
true true
CORRECTION: *voice* guitar, bass, drums texture