I’ve really enjoyed diving deep into music theory and songwriting.

But all good things must come to an end.

The amount of work I have to put into the channel can no longer be justified. The views on the videos are coming down and with it so is my enthusiasm.

Plus the onset of AI is having a big impact on how people access information.

But this isn’t the end for me.

My true passion is for playing the guitar. And in recent months I’ve been playing again after a long break.

This has inspired me to start a new channel. One where I share not only guitar lessons, but also my own personal reflections on the learning process. This includes what I find difficult and how long it really takes to learn things.

This is not only to keep me accountable by creating a personal record of my progress on the instrument, but also as an antidote to AI by providing real, nuanced human thoughts about playing music and being creative.

So I want to help the returning guitarists out there. If you’ve played guitar in the past and have just started back on the instrument. Or maybe you’ve been thinking about it but keep putting it off. Then this is for you. Also, if you’re just curious about what I do next or how bad my guitar playing is (!) then you are more than welcome.

So join me over at Matt Learns Guitar by clicking here.

You can also sign up for future emails from me by going to mattlearnsguitar.com (or clicking here).

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted here for a while.

I’ve not had anytime to dedicate to the podcast as I concentrate on the YouTube channel.

This isn’t likely to change so there won’t be anything new posted here for the foreseeable future.

If you would like songwriting ideas and channel updates then head over to https://writeasongnow.com/ and sign up for my new weekly newsletter.

If you have any ideas for what you might like to see or hear here in the future then feel free to get in touch.

This website will stay online so you can can read, watch and listen to any existing content.

Thanks,

Matt

The first tip for turning riffs into songs is to use tried and tested song structures.

By using tried and tested song structures you have an instant framework to fit your riff into. This will get you most of the way towards a complete song and allow you to focus on what needs completing.

If you’re new to this then the best approach is to keep it simple, with a structure like:

Riff - Verse - Chorus - Riff - Verse - Chorus - Bridge/Solo - Chorus x 2 - Riff

This structure allows for multiple repeats of the riff, whilst minimising the additional writing that is required to complete the song.

This is even easier if you reuse the riff for the verse in a simplified way. For example you could strip back all the other instruments and just get the bass to play the riff. Or take out additional brief notes and articulations and reduce the riff to a skeleton.

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Put your riff on the scales

The next thing to do is work out what notes are in your riff. If you’ve composed the riff on the guitar and aren’t familiar with the notes on the fretboard you might need to look them up.

For example, imagine a riff with the notes : A E D G and C

I could have written this using the A minor pentatonic scale. But what if you wrote this without any scales in mind? And what other scales do these notes feature in?

There are many plugins, apps and websites that can help with this task. For example, you could try this website out : https://www.scales-chords.com/scalefinder.php

You can see that I’ve got a range of options for potential scales. This gives you a whole palette of notes to choose from to shape and colour your song or alter your riff with.

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The Clues In The Riff

You can look to your riff for more ideas for your song.

A common and easy thing to search for are chord notes.

Many riffs are built on arpeggios. This is a type of broken chord in which the notes that compose a chord are individually sounded in a progressive rising or descending order.

For example take the previous example with the notes A E D G and C.

The first three notes A E and D are the notes in an A sus4 chord. If you add the G then it becomes an A7sus4 chord.

If you want to hunt for chords hidden in your own riffs you can use the following website: https://www.scales-chords.com/chordid.php

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Make It Harmonious

If you play chords whilst the riff plays then you are harmonising it. This means that you are hearing a new selection of notes, which provides a different feel to the song.

You can think of each moment of a song like a big chord which all of the instruments and voices are contributing to. If you pause at any time and look at all of the notes being heard then you can work out what chord is being played.

The most harmonious chords to use are unsurprisingly those which contain the riff notes. Luckily this is something I showed you in the previous section!

You can look to notes in your riff that stand out. Change chords when these notes are played and it will highlight the importance of them and can add real drama. It also brings in some of the riff rhythm to link the riff and harmony.

Here are some chords from the previous riff notes that could be used to harmonise the riff.

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If you want to learn more you can click here to watch a YouTube video exploring these ideas.

The first chord is the major 7th chord.

They have 4 notes , written as 1 3 5 and 7.

They have a smooth, relaxing sound which has strong associations with jazz.

In major keys you can naturally play the I chord and the IV chord as major 7ths.

One of the most popular way to use these chords is just to play them together as I and IV. Gently moving between these two chords creates a smooth, warm , comfortable feeling that has graced many a soft or yacht rock ballad, sailing off into the sunset.

Here's how that looks in the key of D major.

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Minor 7th Chord

Next up is the Minor 7th chord.

If you take a minor triad and add a minor 7th interval to it then you create a minor 7th chord.

This is a chord with the notes I ♭3 5 and ♭7

This is like a calmer, more relaxed minor chord. It’s not quite as sad as the stark minor triad.

They are easy to use and versatile. You can substitute any of the 3 diatonic minor chords in major or minor keys with minor 7th versions without any issue.

Now you know about major and minor 7th chords, you are free to use them anywhere in your progressions. Because they can be used as 5 of the 7 diatonic chords in major and minor keys, you can easily substitute them into your existing progressions. This can be great for adding some depth or interest and is something you’ll see all over popular music.

For example, look at this I vi ii IV progression in the key of C major. On repeat I’ll swap out all of the chords for their 7th chord equivalent.

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Dominant 7th Chord

The next chord is the dominant 7th chord.

The dominant 7th chord is like a hybrid of the previous two 7th chords.

You take a major triad and add a minor seventh interval to it.

This is written as 1 3 5 ♭7.

They have a unique major tension that is grittier and more unsettled than the standard major triad.

Dominant 7th chords feature diatonically as the V chord in major keys. You may know that the V chord in major keys is also called the dominant chord. This is where the chord gets it’s name and primary use from.

This V dominant 7th chord is used in major and minor keys to generate tension that wants to resolve with the tonic I / i chord. This is known as a cadence.

Here's an example of this in the C major key.

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The Half Diminished Chord

Finally it's the half diminished chord.

This is a chord with the notes I ♭3 ♭5 and ♭7

It is represented by the degree symbol with a line through it. You may also see a 7 after this symbol.

This chord can also be arrived at from a different angle.

Minor seventh chords are constructed with the notes I ♭3 5 and ♭7

If you drop the 5th note by half a step, then you create the half diminished chord.

For this reason, you’ll often see these chords called minor 7 ♭5, which is useful as the name describes the chord formula.

In major keys you can use these chords as simple substitutes for the V chord. For example in the key of C major

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If you want to learn more you can click here to watch a YouTube video exploring these ideas.

The first level is the diminished triad.

Diminished triads use the minor formula but with a diminished fifth interval.

You’ll see this written as 1 ♭3 ♭5

Diminished 5th intervals span six half steps.

This is where the triad gets it’s name from.

Diminished 5th intervals are also known as augmented fourth or tritone. This is because 6 half steps or semitones are equivalent to 3 whole tones.

If you know what a perfect fifth note is you can drop it by half a step and arrive at the diminished fifth.

Diminished triads occur naturally in major and natural minor keys.

In major keys the vii chord is diminished and in natural minor or aeolian the ii chord is diminished.

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Level 2

Level 2 is the half diminished chord.

This is a chord with the notes I ♭3 ♭5 and ♭7

It is represented by the degree symbol with a line through it. You may also see a 7 after this symbol.

This chord can also be arrived at from a different angle.

Minor seventh chords are constructed with the notes I ♭3 5 and ♭7

If you drop the 5th note by half a step, then you create the half diminished chord.

For this reason, you’ll often see these chords called minor 7 ♭5, which is useful as the name describes the chord formula.

Here's an A minor key example of this chord in action, creating a smooth lead to the V chord.

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Level 3

The third level is the full diminished 7th chord.

There’s an interval, called a diminished seventh which you can also add to the diminished triad.

Where the minor 7th interval was 10 semitones in size, the diminished 7th is 9 semitones or half steps.

It is written as ♭♭7 to indicate this.

You might know an interval of this distance as a major sixth. This is correct, but in this context it is called a diminished seventh interval.

Add this to the diminished triad and you have the chord formula - 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7

This constructs a diminished 7th chord. Diminished seventh chords are notated with the small circle or degree followed by a 7. It can also be written as dim7.

There is an interesting and powerful aspect of the diminished 7th chord. It is completely symmetrical.

By that I mean that the distance between each note is the same. It is a minor 3rd interval, or 3 half steps.

Diminished 7th chords do not occur diatonically in Ionian / Major keys or Aeolian / Natural Minor keys.

They do feature as the 7th chord in harmonic minor.

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The Chameleon

There are only 3 unique sets of diminished 7th chord notes.

This chameleon nature of the diminished 7th chord means that they are powerful when looking to change key or modulate.

If you take any diminished 7th chord, and drop one of the notes by half a step, then you have the notes for a dominant 7th chord.

To change key all you need to do is play the diminished 7th chord before one of the four dominant 7th chords that it shares 3 notes with. This acts as a tunnel into the relevant key.

For example, say I have a simple I IV V progression in the key of C major. If after this I then play the Bdim7 chord, I can now choose one of the remaining 7 keys to modulate to. Say I want to move to A major. The V chord in A major is E7. So if I play that after Bdim7 and then play the tonic I chord of the new key, the key change is established quickly and smoothly.

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If you want to learn more you can click here to watch a YouTube video exploring these ideas.

Borrowed chords are taken from parallel keys. Parallel keys have the same tonic note.

The most common approach is to borrow chords from the parallel natural minor key and use them in major keys.

For example, you could take a chord from the C minor key and use it in a C major key chord progression.

A popular example of this is the minor iv chord. So all you need to do is BMF. Borrow the Minor Four.

This can also be borrowed from parallel Phrygian and Locrian modes.

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The minor plagal cadence

A cadence is a chord progression of at least 2 chords that ends a phrase or section of a piece of music. It ends with the resolution of tension, providing a feeling of completion.

The classic way to do this in major keys is to play the I chord after the V chord.

You might see this being called the perfect or authentic cadence, often with the V chord played as a dominant 7th chord.

If you replace the V chord with the IV chord then this becomes a plagal or amen cadence. This has a softer or more gentle sound.

If you use the borrowed minor four chord in a cadence then it is called a minor plagal cadence.

This has a stronger more emotional feel to it. You can see the movement of the notes in this cadence below. The two notes resolving by half a step or semitone create the strength in this cadence.

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The MMT Cadence

The most common way to use the minor iv chord in major key chord progressions is in the MMT cadence.

This stands for Major, Minor, Tonic. You play the standard major IV chord, followed by the minor iv chord and then the tonic I chord.

This is found in a lot of popular songs because of it's strong emotional sound and simplicity to play.

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The Hollywood Cadence

If you want to enrich the sound of the MMT cadence then you can play the minor iv chord as a minor 6th. This involves adding a single note to the chord but gives the cadence a distinct, grand edge.

This is known as a “Hollywood cadence,” named after its brief appearance in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

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If you want to learn more you can click here to watch a YouTube video exploring these ideas.

Watch the related YouTube video :

FREE Major Key Chord Guide : majorkeychords.com

One Hour Song Course : onehoursong.com

Watch the related YouTube video :

Learn more about the Circle of Fifths :

FREE Major Key Chord Guide : majorkeychords.com

One Hour Song Course : onehoursong.com

Watch the related YouTube Video :

FREE Major Key Chord Guide : majorkeychords.com

One Hour Song Course : onehoursong.com

Write Your First Song In One Hour : onehoursong.com

In this weeks podcast I discuss how to inject some emotion into your songwriting.

Click on transcript if you would like to read this podcast!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes then leave them in the comments, available at writeasongpodcast.com.

Thanks for listening!

Write Your First Song In One Hour : onehoursong.com

In this weeks podcast I discuss what a riff is and a few ways to go about writing riffs.

Click on transcript if you would like to read this podcast!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes then leave them in the comments, available at writeasongpodcast.com.

Thanks for listening!

Write Your First Song In One Hour : onehoursong.com

In this weeks podcast I ask the question : Why does everyone hate writing lyrics?!

Click on transcript if you would like to read this podcast!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes then leave them in the comments, available at writeasongpodcast.com.

Thanks for listening!

Write Your First Song In One Hour : onehoursong.com

In this weeks podcast I discuss what chord progressions are, why they are popular and also why they can be a limitation on your songwriting.

Click on transcript if you would like to read this podcast!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes then leave them in the comments, available at writeasongpodcast.com.

Thanks for listening!

Write Your First Song In One Hour : onehoursong.com

In this weeks podcast I discuss what melody is, why people struggle with them and two broad approaches to writing melodies.

Click on transcript if you would like to read this podcast!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes then leave them in the comments, available at writeasongpodcast.com.

Thanks for listening!

Write Your First Song In One Hour : onehoursong.com

In this weeks podcast I discuss a simple framework for writing a song. This was inspired by my new course “How to write your first song in one hour”.

Click on transcript if you would like to read this podcast!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes then leave them in the comments, available at writeasongpodcast.com.

Thanks for listening!

Write Your First Song In One Hour : onehoursong.com

In this weeks podcast I discuss the role of technology in shaping songwriting. This was inspired by a conversation on the Write A Song YouTube channel.

Click on transcript if you would like to read this podcast!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes then leave them in the comments, available at writeasongpodcast.com.

Thanks for listening!

Write Your First Song In One Hour : onehoursong.com

In this weeks podcast I answer a question from the YouTube community. What is a song?

Click on transcript if you would like to read this podcast!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes then leave them in the comments, available at writeasongpodcast.com.

Thanks for listening!

It’s such a shame, imagine all the songs that will never exist.

The main reasons why they fail are:

• They don’t know how to create the different parts of a song

• They don’t know how to bring the parts together to make a whole song

• They don’t know how to make their songs sound professional

The good news is I have a great new course that shows you exactly how to solve all those problems - fast and easy!

Click here right now to get it - onehoursong.com

As a thank you for signing up to the Write A Song podcast, I’ve also created a special discount just for you!

Use the code WRITEASONG50 at checkout and you’ll get $50 off the normal price! No questions asked!

This is limited to just 50 coupons so act quickly as it’s first come first served!

Just go to onehoursong.com to redeem your exclusive discount.

I’ll see you over there.

Thanks,

Matt

Click on transcript if you would like to read this podcast!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes then leave them in the comments.

Thanks for listening!

Click on transcript if you would like to read this podcast!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes then leave them in the comments.

Thanks for listening!