Tue, 07/26/2011 - 02:14
So I'm reckoning that most of the time, most of you do chords first, then derive a melody from that.
It works pretty well, but of course with limited progressions, and a tendency to fall into familiar chords and rythmns, it's easy for thing to get a bit samey. I'm not not knocking this method. Guy Chambers in the recent BBC TV documentaries did just that, and if it works for him! (Multi million-selling writer)
Melody first, then Chords is in principle a very cool way to go as well. Have you tried it?
I have, and I find I can't just sit down and come up with a melody very easily (usually I am singing the melody rather than playing), however melodies pop into my head at random during the day and I record them on my phone or camera for later evolution ...
How does it work for you? Any tips? 
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 02:25
#2
I find I'm about 50/50 chords or melody first. That's not to say that even when I get the melody first I don't end up with predictable and samey chord sequences though 
There could be an idea here for a fun 'common melody' challenge. Someone writes lyrics, then someone sings them to a new and hopefully interesting melody. This is then freely available for people to add weird and wonderful chord sequences to / different arrangements? I'd be happy to sing the melody for this.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 02:30
#3
I tend to "hear" melodies first (either as a lead or a bass line). I generally jot these down then look for "key centres" that will give me a starting point for the chords. Then I juggle with chords to get the "feel" that i think the melody needs from the backing.
I guess this is because I'm really a bass player and only just starting to be a guitarist. My chord work on the six string is still pretty sketchy, so I don't usually think of chord progressions first.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 02:42
#4
Actually @Dragondreams, going melody > bass and then filling in the gaps is the traditional way of harmonising - takes me back - Bach chorales for A Level anyone?
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 02:42
#5
'Only just starting to be a guitarist' -- ha! Well, I know what you mean as I am a bass player too and I still have a fundamental distrust of the guitar's B string ... But, yes that's really helpful as when I write on bass I often find myself singing the bassline as a melody and stop myself but I realise from your post that it *is* the melody and I just need to write another different bass part to be the bassline. Clever! Thanks!
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 02:46
#6
@themiller - yes, groan. I would have enjoyed harmonising Bach chorales if it wasn't for all the rules you had to follow to make it sound like Bach. I wanted to create something more atonal. At least, that was my excuse. 
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 02:48
#7
Actually I may tune one of my guitars to E A D G C F again (well, a semitone down to lessen the tension) as I found it really much more intuitive to noodle melodies on.
Then add bass as themiller said ... and then play chords with a normally-tuned guitar ...
Great stuff folks! 
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 02:54
#8
Ooh, I like the idea of the "common melody" challenge @orinoco, similar to the common verse... Other option would be to provide a chord progression, an example melody in a sound file and no lyrics for people to do with they like?
Personally, I normally get a chord progression first, melody second, then lyrics. Then once chords + melody is done I'll add harmonies and things later. Which is why I like 50/90 cos I like to work with lyricists with the words first, work out what I think they sound like and try and find chords/melody that suit.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 03:04
#9
well as for what i "normally" do to write a song, a couple of years ago when i started FAWM/5090 i would have been able to say i usually start with xyz (probably chords right enough) and do melody and words after, but i've written so many songs for these challenges, and collaborated in so many ways with different people that i can honestly say every song is written in a different way than the last. my "Wishful Thinking" song last week was my attempt to write a song in a new way (two lines at a time, chords, melody, words, all written in one go, for two lines, then record those two lines, then write the next two lines the same way), but i'm actually running out of ways round to write songs!
To be honest i think if i ever went back to being able to say i "usually" write songs by starting with the chords (or the melody, or the lyrics or whatever) then i'd be disappointed with myself.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 03:18
#10
I quite often get an idea for a melody when I'm writing the lyrics, and I try to carry that over into the song when I start adding music, but it usually changes at that point as I find it really difficult to work out the right chords to fit my head-melody. I'm getting better at it though.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 03:27
#11
for a common melody challenge, i'd like to see a raw melody alone (no lyrics or other contextual clues), perhaps just as a simple midi file with just a default piano sound plinking away the melody. it'd then be down to each of us to interpret that as we will: maybe you hear it as A minor; maybe I hear it as C major. maybe you hear it in 6/8, maybe I hear it in straight four, someone else might swing it. starting on the downbeat, upbeat, or somewhere in between. syncopated or not, etc.
last year (fawm) i started most of my songs with a combined lyric/melody "hook" yoinked from the ether, and filled out chords and other lyrics from there. this year i seem to be starting more often by writing a drum pattern and bass line, and building upwards from that. though i'm consciously trying to *write* a melody for a track i'm working on (rather than just waiting for inspiration to hand it to me in a neat little package), which is an interesting experience in itself.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 04:32
#12
@Third time lucy - you're right, actually - a midi melody would probably be better (available as a Wav for people that don't work with MIDI).
@Vom - I often find the same thing, that my melody changes as I start working with the chords. Sometimes it's really annoying if I can't match it up how I want to!
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 05:19
#13
I didn't want to complicate it with lyrics in my OP, but of course there are 6 combinations:
Lyrics - Chords - Melody
Lyrics - Melody - Chords
Melody - Chords - Lyrics
Melody - Lyrics - Chords
Chords - Melody - Lyrics
Chords - Lyrics - Melody
As Vom said, LMC is quite cool as the words define a rythmn and the rise and fall of pitch and can be a great start for a melody.
Looking back, I reckon I have been 80% CML or LCM and am impressed with you folks who seem to have done a lot of melody-first stuff -- I will be trying it out more!
+1 on the midi + wav common melody challenge.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 06:52
#14
orinoco said: "I often find the same thing, that my melody changes as I start working with the chords. Sometimes it's really annoying if I can't match it up how I want to!"
I'd be up for a common melody challenge, but i would definitely want to know that it was okay to do what orinoco said. Let's not limit our creativity needlessly!
@songsville, there are more combinations than that, as many have said they will often do two of those things simultaneously, so there's never a time when the lyrics are finished and the melody needs writing or vice versa, but both are done in tandem, and as i mentioned earlier, i have a song where i attempted (in my opinion very successfully) to do all three simultaneously. So i would say there are seven additional possibilities:
Melody+Lyrics - Chords (this is the one some people seem to do more often than the others)
Chords+Melody - Lyrics (this is popular too)
Chords+Lyrics - Melody
Chords+Melody+Lyrics (this is what i tried last week)
also:
Chords - Melody+Lyrics
Lyrics - Chords+Melody
Melody - Chords+Lyrics
Also, harmonies. And contrapuntal backing vocals. MOST of the time these come after the melody (or do they?), but sometimes they can come simultaneously, and i bet there are some songs where the backing vocals or harmony was actually written before the main melody or lyric line* and sometimes you might write a whole new set of lyrics for the backing vocal part, and sometimes you might not actually write or record the chords, but the melody just strongly suggests certain chords to the listener (or not, even!), so then what model do all of these things follow? I expect the list of potential combinations to reach a three figure number if these are all factored in.
PS - and i'm working on a collab at the moment where i wrote the bass line as an accompaniment for the rhythm of how i was reading the lyrics (which i had got from my collaborator initially), and then wrote the melody by singing the lyrics along to the bassline, and now i am thinking it wants a guitar part, but i don't think i'm going to put any actual chords in there (though obviously it has some, i just won't be playing them, or even working out what they are). So which of the above models does this come under?
---
* don't reject this out of hand, imagine coming up with some excellent backing vocals with lyrics that fit a melody/chords song that you have written, which doesn't have lyrics yet. The lyrics for the backing vocal could give you the idea for what the main lyrics will be about. I bet there are some classic hit singles where this has happened, this also counts for revisions of songs where the lyrics were changed dramatically, while the backing vocals remained as they were written.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 06:41
#15
@themiller But all the harmony, put a melody to a figured bass, put a figured bass to a melody, write a melody starting with these two crapulous bars, modulate to something impossible etc must have done something. Or perhaps I was too young at the time I did the equivalent to A level to have been really offended. Other than I always had a soft spot for consecutive fifths, sounded fine to me on a piano. (much much later did I discover the issues they create in vocal work).
COme to think of it, glad I'm not back there.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 07:02
#16
"i bet there are some songs where the backing vocals or harmony was actually written before the main melody or lyric line"
This is how I do acapella (sp?) songs. I'll build up the tracks with layers of backing vocals and put the main vocal in last, so the lyrics and melody come after the backing.
I think I sometimes write chords first and sometimes melody. I have written words first, but this is a very rare occurrence and usually someone else writes the music for them.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 07:03
#17
LEARN TO PLAY A MONOPHONIC INSTRUMENT (OR JUST TURN POLYPHONY OFF ON A SYNTH) AND START IMPROVISING.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 07:05
#18
... you all scare me.
I just- get a first lyric line or a phrase in my head with music to it. And I scramble frantically for pen and paper and put it down before lyric-and-melodying at the same time. Or I lyrics-only if I'm dry and melody on it after. Why YES I'm mainly a lyricist HOW COULD YOU TELL.
and because I can't play instruments chords aren't an issue? 
Not until I stick harmonies in over the top, and then the chords just... form themselves. Out of the ether and all, yeh.
I would be keen for the common melody challenge, though! Might give me a reboot up the butt.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 07:07
#19
"and because I can't play instruments chords aren't an issue? Laughing out loud Not until I stick harmonies in over the top, and then the chords just... form themselves."
But you could start with the backing vocals and thus form chords before the melody.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 08:10
#20
Paul Simon does all the backing for a song before doing the song itself.
I am boring.. I write the best stuff when melody and words come together..
However, for me chords naturally follow the melody..
Occasionally I try to mix them up a bit and use more interesting chords.. but I'd never think to start with a chord progression..
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:08
#21
I APOLOGIZE, CHACHIBEAN DOES NOT AIM TO ALIENATE OR OFFEND. I WAS WRONG TO ASSUME PEOPLE PLAY THINGS. THAT IS JUST WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:12
#22
Ok, so I'm different...
With me it's tempo first. What speed do my feet want to tap at when I hit record? Having decided, I set the tempo track in my DAW and just play riffs until I'm happy. Are they chords or melody? I really don't know... a bit of both, all at once? Really though, if the rhythm is right and it's driving things along at the right pace then it's working. I stick riffs together in a format that makes some kind of structural sense and then get to work on the drum programming. Again, different patterns define different moods and sections of the song. If you know my stuff then you know that rarely do my vocals ever get near to melody, so I suppose that happens if I want to add lead guitar parts, or similar twiddles. To summarise in songsville's notation:
Tempo - Rhythm - A tiny bit of melody
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:35
#23
This is one of the things FAWM and 50/90 have changed for me.
Before, I was 95%+ words->melody->chords. I'll still *most* often get words first, but then it's likely to be everything else in a mad jumble or no predictable sequence. At the moment I'm in possession of two chord progressions that I like, each with an accompanying rhythm, and no idea where they'll get used. Not long ago this would have been an inconceivable luxury!
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:51
#24
i love sapient's comment about tempo. for me tempo is very important but it decides itself, as soon as i start playing, or within the first few bars of playing, and by recording time, i know it to +-6bpm.
re: riffs as well, there i was going on about chords, and then i got a message in my inbox from a collaborator (i had sent a rough run through mp3 of a song with their lyrics) saying "do you know the chords for this?" and i listened to what i'd sent, and the whole thing's riff based instead of chords. i hadn't even noticed at the time.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 14:16
#25
I've been pretty slavishly chords->melody->lyrics all these years. I had never had much luck setting lyrics to music before, but my collab with McTown turned out pretty well, so I'll be trying that more often.
As far as starting with melody, my brain won't work that way. If I hum a melody, I'm hearing harmonies and chords and all kinds of stuff with it. I have to consider that when I throw down a quick demo for band consideration - I'm hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, while they're hearing me wheezing with the TV and the dogs barking in the background. They are not impressed.
I've tried shutting off that part of my brain, and I've tried killing it with alcohol. Nothing works...
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 14:36
#26
@RC -- I always find Grapefruit juice is pretty psychoactive, good for releasing different parts of your musical consciousness, and chili before bed helps musical dreams, just keep a taperecorder by the bed to capture those 3am mutterings ... 
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 07:45
#27
I do what sapient does sometimes, set a drum track and then just go. If I stumble on a riff, often everything follows from that. Or if I just noodle on guitar, pretty soon I find I'm playing in some key and making up usable melodies. Just "coming up with melodies" in a vacuum has never worked for me though--I've tried but when I've sat down and tried to work with them, they're always banal. So I'm mainly chords-first. Sometimes deliberately making fucked-up (a technical term) chord choices forces the melodies to be more interesting.
I do feel like I'm hitting a creative wall in some ways, and I think it has to do my chords-first approach, coupled with not being very proficient on my instrument. I need to be able to do more interesting things, instead of just deepening the rut I'm in. Sometimes playing a different instrument (drums, keybs) will help with that.
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 16:57
#28
I actually don't think I've ever written a song that didn't go lyrics -> melody -> chords because I generally have a melody in mind when writing lyrics. Sometimes the melody changes a little if I can't get the chords to go right, but I can never never just come up with lyrics to fit into a melody.
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 07:13
#29
@acciohaaley -- that's funny as I'm almost always nudging and tweaking my lyrics so that they flow with the melody better.
@calum -- I would say that in general starting with a bassline falls pretty much under the chords first category, as a bassline generally has the root, and a 3rd, 5th and 7th where appropriate -- but yeah -- bass first is a dead cool thing to do! Especially riff-based basslines as you say.
So we can now recommend being a BOFFIN -- Bass Only For FiftyNinety INspiration ...
Overall, I'm astonished at the diversity of approaches here, and clearly switching them around from time to time can unlock a whole load of new stuff, which is very handy for 5090!
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 07:32
#30
If I have a decent set of lyrics (ie lyrics written by someone else for me), I usually write the melody and chords at the same time. I play the chords on the piano and sing along to find a melody.
If I'm writing for fun I will usually either go for chords, or a lead riff, then build the rest of the song around that.
Never done vocal melody first.
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 19:11
#31
(BASS: Michael Jackson had a number of huge hits which I suspect were built up from the bass line: Billy Jean, The Way You Make Me Feel, a.o.)
I long time ago discovered by chance that I have the ability to fit lyrics to music, I just do it. It's a popular Danish sport, we take a popular melody, and we fit new lyrics to it, usually pertaining to a person we are celebrating (e.g. on a birthday). It is very familiar.
I thought that creating music for lyrics was a really spooky thing, until suddenly one day I just did.
Here's the thing. You can go either way, but both of these abilities rely on something more fundamental: The ability to decide how well music and lyrics fit. And if you can do one or the other, then that underlying ability must be intact. Rejoice. That means you can rely on it.
This underlying ability is something you were born with (I propose), whereas how you use it (which way you go) is a skill that can be excercised. In fact, many skills can be built upon this ability. You can say some words, try a chord, hum a few notes, add another chord, write a line, a small melody that fits, etc., switching between different approaches. And finally you have a song. You will be working like a painter with three brushes in each hand.
Fri, 07/29/2011 - 11:21
#32
What about advice for creating melody? I've been almost exclusively chords - melody for years. Recently, I've been trying to come up with melodies first to avoid writing the same songs. I don't find melodies in my head during the course of a day (Or, at least I don't notice them). How do I create a melody out of thin air?
Fri, 07/29/2011 - 11:53
#33
@bck15 - that's exactly what I want to know!
I've been humming / singing to myself whilst going about my day, usually starting with a famous tune and then improvising around it like a jazz singer would, coming up with new lines, usually just 'la la la' for the words, and that works quite well -- worth a try!
Fri, 07/29/2011 - 12:52
#34
re: tempo - I like to have a rhythm first, but seldom does tempo (only) first work or even occur to me. Several demos I put up need to be adjusted after posting and hearing them a few times. Almost always, when adjustment is needed, I played/recorded the dang thing too slow.
re: what's first.. If I get a lyrical idea first it almost always has a melody along with it. Even if it's just a title or a half a line or whatever. I usually start with some sort of music first, chords or guitar line or riff or something.
If I do lyric first songs (not nearly as often as music first) I'm usually singing the lines, making up a melody until something works, often with a guitar in my hand so they work hand in hand (music and melody) as they are being created. But then I might change to chords first for the chorus or whatever. It changes while writing different parts of the song.
The last song I posted (I need you).. those two lines came, with melody, to me up stairs. When I finally got down here, it took me more time than it should to find that simple V VI I progression that made it work. If I have a full fledged melody sometimes it's cake to find the progression that works under it, but sometimes it's pulling teeth. I have a song from years ago that still isn't finished because I have NO idea what the last chord in the chorus is. I've transposed it etc etc.. my limitations on theory really hurts sometimes.
Fri, 07/29/2011 - 13:27
#35
I'm with bck15 too--as I said above (I think) I can "make up melodies" but by themselves they always sound banal. It's only against the harmony that they have any interest.
I do a lot of wordless singing while strumming--maybe do a little two chord vamp and sing. At some point, it will feel obvious where the chords and melody should go next. There's such a sense of things "clicking" it's almost audible. This is kind of a dangerous moment, because often the logic that says "do this chord next" is the experience of many years of listening to music telling me to do the expected thing, and suddenly it's all just a cliche that I've heard a million times. I often have to deliberately look for something different to do at that point--use a relative minor or a secondary dominant or something--and that is also dangerous, because too much of that and the song becomes all tricky and cluttered and precious.
All this danger! It's a wonder I'm still alive to tell the tale. "Argh, matey, I heard the siren song o' the D7, but I steered her hard toward the Am! Suddenly I heard a cracking noise and my DAW came crashing down to the deck!" (to be continued (not))
Fri, 07/29/2011 - 13:53
#36
I'm always interested to see what process people go through when recording their music.
I've found that I work in all sorts of different directions with varying degrees of success. I would say I most commonly start with melody, then flesh out the chords that work with it. Then I'll record the whole track and then listen to is on loop for a while until I get some good lyrics in my head. That said, I've probably got a song in my archive that represents every possible starting point and order.
Writing order and recording order are different.
I always need to start by laying down the percussion track. Otherwise nothing else will be in time (I find a metronome more distracting than useful). Once the percussion is there everything else is up in the air. Guitar, bass, and keys can go down in any order depending on which instrument I came up with the melody on. If harmonica does make a rare appearance in my music it gets recorded last.
Fri, 07/29/2011 - 18:38
#37
How to create a melody out of the blue?
I don't know. My first 5090 was a song without lyrics. It was probably chords-melody hand in hand. I have not created a melody out of the blue. But chords-melody together is good practice.
Recently I wrote a song and had a melody in my head at the same time. It all took 15 minutes. I could not record it until I got home. When I came home I recorded it acapella. I will finish it later. Developing melody-lyrics together is good practice.
Lyrics provide a rhythm, of course, and that helps in writing a melody. But then it's not really melody first. But writing a melody for lyrics is good practice.
I don't think you can force it, but you can train your skills, which means it's easier for that flow of creativity to result in something worthwhile. Even when you are not producing any music that meets the standards you set you would still be practicing your skills.
So, the trick to producing a melody out of the blue is to remove every obstacle. Go with what works, and say: "Maybe tomorrow I will go melody first, who knows."
-- Oh, and melody is king. It's difficult to write a good melody, and that is why it is so rewarding. You patent a melody, not the chord structure.
Fri, 07/29/2011 - 20:53
#38
I'm a bass player, really, and I like the idea of the bass part preceding the chords. I need to try that.
Usually it's words first. Sometimes it's a chord progression first, but I'm a kinda limited guitar player, and there aren't a whole lot of genius chord combinations in my repertoire.
What I try to do when I can get it together is lyrics-->melody before I pick up a guitar, since my habitual 3-4 things I do with guitars end up taking over pretty quickly. If I have a melody in mind, the guitar playing has to support that.
But starting with a bass line, which should be easy since that's my main instrument, I need to try that.
Sat, 07/30/2011 - 18:50
#39
It really is interesting to see how many different ways people go about crafting a song. It seems to be dependent on your instruments, experience and willingness to give it a go.
What if we tagged our songs with the order they arrived/were derived? LMC/LCM/MCL/etc...? I, for one, would be keen to see/hear if there's a distinction in the songs sound in the end based on how they were written. Anyone keen?
Speaking of which, I got a new melody this morning. Must remember to flesh it out some...
Did we get anywhere with a #CommonMelody challenge?
Tue, 08/09/2011 - 17:32
#40
I usually start with a melody, and find chords quite difficult.
My theory is weak, and I'd like an opinion on this melody: http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/9a0ddd04f783d84fc5df36f7b81ce17306... (hear it by clicking the red arrow in the bottom left corner) The rhythm is a bit clunky, but the notes are all in the right order.
(also posted here: http://fiftyninety.fawmers.org/songs/9731)
I think this is atonal, since the melody has D sharp, D natural, G sharp, G natural, F sharp and F natural appearing regularly: I can't make that fit any scale I know. This melody needs chords, but I don't know where to start. Any help would be appreciated. If you want to take on the whole thing and do the chords yourself, let me know. I'll add you as a collab.
Back on topic: This is an interesting discussion on how everyone works. My knowledge of music theory is growing just from lurking in these forums! Sorry to hi-jack the thread with my cries for help. 
Wed, 08/10/2011 - 16:15
#42
@Outasync - its C minor - all of you written G sharps should be A flats - all of you written D sharps should be E flats. The F sharps are chromatic notes. Its quite normal to use notes from outside the scale, especially in the minor.
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 01:34
#43
@themiller: Thank you! It was the F sharps that threw me, but with the enharmonic changes, it makes sense.
Between you and downburst, I think I have it almost sorted. Demo should be up in a couple of days.
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 02:47
#44
@outasync little theory note about the word atonal - even if you create a melody that really uses every chromatic note and doesn't fit into a scale it still might not be atonal. For it to be atonal it needs to have no clear tonic note - no root note (or maybe a root note that constantly shifts from place to place). Depending on the piece, chromatic music can still have a root note.
@songsville creating melodies out of 'thin air' - I find I get a lot of mileage out of playing with interesting little cells of notes. Eg in C major F E C is (in my opinion) an interesting little cell. Others: F B C, or something dorian: C# B G E.
When composing melodies I find I often start by messing around with something like that before trying to create question and answer phrases with them - ie. first half ends unresolved on a note other than the tonic (question) second half ends on tonic (answer).
EDIT: I gone done a little podcast to illustrate: http://www.songwright.co.uk/2011/08/11/indiesongwriter-ep-2-melody-from-...
Sat, 08/13/2011 - 14:58
#45
@Tom Slatter, that is so totally great! Best 6 minutes of music theory I've had in ages!
I'd been wondering lately about how the second phrase of a melody often is like a mirror image or something of the first, and if there was a name for it, and so there is: question and answer. That end on the tonic part demystifies it too ... (Hey, I didn't even know what a tonic was until coupla weeks ago ... )
The podcast is here http://soundcloud.com/indiesongwriter-net/indiesongwriter-ep2-writing if if doesn't load for you on the blog like it wouldn't for me.
A must listen, folks!
Tue, 08/16/2011 - 23:36
#46
Since Fawm 2011 I have been writing using chords then melody. Before I joined Fawm I would write in my head only. Since my injury I can't count on the old noggin to remember that well. Sometimes the melody, sometimes lyrics and then melody, ( I have never written just an instrumental song, I have always added lyrics) then once I had the song totally finished in my head, to where I could sing it, I would figure out the chords. Only then would I write it down on paper. I figured out the other day, that if I can complete the 50/90 challange, I will have written more songs between Fawm=14 & 50/90=50 for a total of 64, than I have my entire life in which I have written 62 that's in 36 years. So thanks to Fawm and 50/90 for showing me that inspiration is writing what inspires you and not waiting for something to inspire you.
Pretty new, so it's a learning process. I am amazed every time I find a new method that works. I have tried
All of them are just techniques that can be used interchangeably, in my opinion.
That said, chords->melody was the major break-through for me. I learned about chord progressions, and then I wrote my first song. Chord strumming can trick your mind int hearing a melody.