So you're basically building a song around a melody and adding the notes to accompany that melody. That way you can accentuate whatever arrangement you'd like around your original melody and it gives your song a stronger presence and you can fill in the song that way. Probably best for those who never read music but know a good feel and vibe for a song and build around that sound and make it more fun for the songwriter. Very nice
I love this. I am a bassist, and the stuff I can learn from this is fantastic. It's like figuring out how to find a new root note. If it goes well as a 3rd or 7th, then I can base everything around that sort of dynamic and it'll lend itself to the root it wants.
that's what i've always done. When i started learning guitar, i wasn't taught the usual basic chords right away so i kinda grew up with them as less of a priority. When i compose, i hum a melody in my head and them try to get it right on guitar or piano. I get all kinds of weird chords i never studied or never even knew existed but it sounds good in the end.
This is a legitimate way to write music, this is how music came to be. I’ve recently started taking music theory more seriously, and one of the things I’ve found is that music theory is not a set of rules to define how to write music, but rather a bunch of observations and attempted explanations on why music sounds good. Music came before music theory.
That makes sense. it’s one of the cases where we actually know the egg came before the chicken but we still consult the chicken constantly to advise our songwriting
@@Scottjyeager exactly. music theory is descriptive, not prescriptive..... you dont need any music theory knowledge to write a good song, and if you dont have what it takes naturally, no amount of music theory will help you write interesting music. if you dont/cant hear it in your head first, music theory wont help you.
I've been playing guitar for over 10 years and I've never found a video like this which is so simple yet it shows a clear and alternative perspective on chord writing. I reckon you should do a part 2 exploring this idea with modes and borrowed chords too. Big ups
This is true. Sometimes we get lost in the chord analysis, while we know that we can change the chord to almost anything as long as the melody remain the same, it's just matter of taste and style.
@@ygrekproject8038 It's simple theory, intervals, chord building, chord progression and note placing, we're not even using measures or rhythms into composition and it's a basic melody, not scales at all or defined riff, just a couple of chords and barely using melody in base of the chords by placing some notes separately (that's why the major pentatonic and only white notes bc the chord progression)
Thank you …I wrote 80 songs and recorded on UA-cam, Spotify etc. ..half written on piano half on quitar . The chords you are playing are lovely. I tended toward seventh chords . I wrote my songs and taught the chords to the studio session quitar player . There are different ways to play the same chords . It depends on the musician..thank you !
Wow...this made a lot of sense. I kept trying to look at it from a "you need to know this standard chord progression" technique, but this is just building on what you can sing!
great stuff, I asked this on a forum recently. I've had a nice vocal melody knocking around my head and I've been wanting to put chords to it. This explains it perfectly!
Thanks David, yeah it's Jargon heavy for sure. I'd recommend even just google searching when you come across a confusing term. But something that might help is to check out my videos on "Building Major Scales" and also my video on "Diatonic Functions", that should help clear some stuff up. Some of that information is presupposed in this video to a degree
New subscriber! This is exactly what I was looking for! I ALWAYS start off with a melody - that's what I have stuck in my head. I've gotten really good at finding that melody on guitar. Now the struggle has been to find the chords to go with that melody so I can harmonize it. I see my mistake - I was trying to use chords using the melody note as the root where I should have been using the third or maybe even the sixth. Gotta go - gotta put this to use!
thank you!! i started watching a few of your videos when i was first picking up guitar and the concepts were way over my head, now i think i’ve learned enough to put some of this in to practice. lovely sounds and great explanation as always!!
Damn that's a good idea! Usually I like to come up with chords first, but then alternate one or two notes per chord before each chord change to create my melodies.
I’ve probably watched like 1000 music YT videos but I think this is the most useful one yet, lol. I’m pretty average at writing music and my chord knowledge is hella basic so this seems like it makes the most sense to me, to reverse engineer progressions.
i believe this is the best way for a rhythmic approach to a chord progression, rather than thinking of cadences or modal harmony i see mathrock bands like delta sleep doing this a lot, they take 2 or 3 7h chords, and the rest is pure rhythmic stuff
@@TrevorWongMusic you're welcome! Your content has given me a lot of brilliant new ways to approaching music writing for and with my band :) hope this isn't too cheeky but it would be really cool if you could give our EP a listen? we're called the Karma Violets and the EP is called A New Low, I would love to know what you think of it and any critique would be very much appreciated :)
Hey Wesley, I'm listening to the EP now. It sounds great! I think the feedback would depend on what you guys are going for. I like the changes in texture in the song "the city". If there's one thing I think might help to support the tunes it might be using some back up vocals. I think adding in some extra vocal harmonies in certain parts could really add some extra excitement. Other than that though, really solid! Thanks for sharing.
@@TrevorWongMusic yeah I definitely agree, the band and I have been texturing out the vocals a lot more with the new songs we're writing :) I think the vocals are better towards the end of the EP definitely, we recorded At Peace in the drummers lounge haha, think that's the vocally strongest one as we all sing our own verses and harmonise
thanks man, in the clutter of youtube guitar lessons, this one is a shining example of no faff all value! keep such videos coming. new subscriber here!
I don't know a thing about music theory and don't play any instruments, but I've been doing this thing where I've been using music software to transcribe traditional Celtic melodies by ear, and then I create chord progressions to go with them purely through trial and error. It sounds to me like I'm getting good results, but I'm curious what someone who knows music theory would think if them.
This topic can be hard at first, but feel free to watch this video as much as you want, to understand it. The most important thing to remember here is from the Title, which is: MELODY FIRST. Think melody, then add notes to the melody (chords)
Good video. It's just that the caveat of that method is that you might end up with just a thickening of the line rather than an harmonic footing to actually contextualize the melody.
This is so old school. If you had harmonized the melody with a counter point bass line first, then harmonized the two inner voices as per the tonic center utilizing inversions to maintain good voice placement , you’d have invented Baroque music theory. Congratulations, it is a secret and a lost art, taught only in junior college music programs. I’m not kidding, a lot of musicians don’t know this stuff, just some classical and academics.
Great stuff - recommend turning up your guitar volume relative to your voice - listening in a barely noisy environment on airpods, easy to get blown out by the voice after cranking it to hear the guitar.
I wanna make an album and call it “Everything I Learned From Trevor Wong” and it’s gonna be sick
Do itt
Oh my god please do it, that sounds rad!
You cant go wong with that...
Have you done it
LMAOOOO
FACT. This is everything, and something we guitarists often overlook. Thanks Trevor!
My favorite chord progression is Amaj7-Emaj7-F#m7-F#m11-E7-Emaj7. I made it up myself and I think it flows quite nicely.
So you're basically building a song around a melody and adding the notes to accompany that melody. That way you can accentuate whatever arrangement you'd like around your original melody and it gives your song a stronger presence and you can fill in the song that way. Probably best for those who never read music but know a good feel and vibe for a song and build around that sound and make it more fun for the songwriter. Very nice
Thanks for your videos and this one in particular. I wish i knew your channel waaaay earlier
Thanks for sharing! Another tool to add to the toolbox
I love this. I am a bassist, and the stuff I can learn from this is fantastic. It's like figuring out how to find a new root note. If it goes well as a 3rd or 7th, then I can base everything around that sort of dynamic and it'll lend itself to the root it wants.
that's what i've always done. When i started learning guitar, i wasn't taught the usual basic chords right away so i kinda grew up with them as less of a priority. When i compose, i hum a melody in my head and them try to get it right on guitar or piano. I get all kinds of weird chords i never studied or never even knew existed but it sounds good in the end.
Humming a melody or beat boxing a rhythm first are for-sure the only good music writing tricks in my arsenal lol.
This is a legitimate way to write music, this is how music came to be. I’ve recently started taking music theory more seriously, and one of the things I’ve found is that music theory is not a set of rules to define how to write music, but rather a bunch of observations and attempted explanations on why music sounds good. Music came before music theory.
That makes sense. it’s one of the cases where we actually know the egg came before the chicken but we still consult the chicken constantly to advise our songwriting
@@Scottjyeager exactly. music theory is descriptive, not prescriptive..... you dont need any music theory knowledge to write a good song, and if you dont have what it takes naturally, no amount of music theory will help you write interesting music. if you dont/cant hear it in your head first, music theory wont help you.
This guy has helped me more than any other youtuber. I am grateful that you chose to share your knowledge with us.
I've been playing guitar for over 10 years and I've never found a video like this which is so simple yet it shows a clear and alternative perspective on chord writing. I reckon you should do a part 2 exploring this idea with modes and borrowed chords too.
Big ups
Wow, this is such an awesome concept. Thank you for posting this!!
this video has helped my (piano) playing instantly more than any other i've ever watched. thank you
Man i must say you have transformed my playing with your chord ideas and scales. Thanks man
I’m so grateful for your passion for music and for sharing
this is a really interesting approach to writing a song, and honestly melody is the most important thing in a song
This is true. Sometimes we get lost in the chord analysis, while we know that we can change the chord to almost anything as long as the melody remain the same, it's just matter of taste and style.
After practicing for about a year, I feel really nice being able to understand 80% of the video
how the fuck did you understand that much with just a year, good for you bro
@@ygrekproject8038 It's simple theory, intervals, chord building, chord progression and note placing, we're not even using measures or rhythms into composition and it's a basic melody, not scales at all or defined riff, just a couple of chords and barely using melody in base of the chords by placing some notes separately (that's why the major pentatonic and only white notes bc the chord progression)
Thanks man, been looking for help on this 🙏🙇♂️
This is great for any genre of song writing, not just math rock. You're up there with my top guitar teachers on UA-cam
Really wish I had stuff like this back when I first picked up my guitar in middle school.
Thank you …I wrote 80 songs and recorded on UA-cam, Spotify etc. ..half written on piano half on quitar . The chords you are playing are lovely. I tended toward seventh chords . I wrote my songs and taught the chords to the studio session quitar player . There are different ways to play the same chords . It depends on the musician..thank you !
Wow...this made a lot of sense. I kept trying to look at it from a "you need to know this standard chord progression" technique, but this is just building on what you can sing!
Quality. Every upload. Thanks brother!
thanks joshua!
even I, a self studying pianist learns a lot from this got yourself another subscriber!
Smooth. Great guitarist that looks like a great human being. Thanks trevor.
Really interesting video ! Thank you for sharing !
great stuff, I asked this on a forum recently. I've had a nice vocal melody knocking around my head and I've been wanting to put chords to it. This explains it perfectly!
Thanks for the video!
It helps to write the chord names you're playing to better understand
I never understand any of the vocabulary or music theory you’re talking about but goddamn I love these videos
Thanks David, yeah it's Jargon heavy for sure. I'd recommend even just google searching when you come across a confusing term. But something that might help is to check out my videos on "Building Major Scales" and also my video on "Diatonic Functions", that should help clear some stuff up. Some of that information is presupposed in this video to a degree
Trevor Wong thank you so much man I’m gonna check it out when I get off work 💕
Same here, but my emo music got better since I'm watching him 😉
Your pfp and username. Gives me nostalgia
i wanna buy the t-rex please
I just founds gold here excellent explanation, it makes everything easy to digest. Keep it up!
Just discovered your vids and probably gonna watch several
New subscriber! This is exactly what I was looking for! I ALWAYS start off with a melody - that's what I have stuck in my head. I've gotten really good at finding that melody on guitar. Now the struggle has been to find the chords to go with that melody so I can harmonize it. I see my mistake - I was trying to use chords using the melody note as the root where I should have been using the third or maybe even the sixth. Gotta go - gotta put this to use!
Very underrated channel giving us great content for free. Thank you sir.
Bro this is the best guitar content!
You can seriously teach, I’m kinda blown away :)
God that is so amazing. Thank you for sharing. Really encourages me to focus on theory too.
You're all right Trevor! Good video. Not too much at once and keep it loose. Nice.
Oh my god, this is amazing, you have no idea how much you've helped me.
thank you!! i started watching a few of your videos when i was first picking up guitar and the concepts were way over my head, now i think i’ve learned enough to put some of this in to practice. lovely sounds and great explanation as always!!
Thankyou for sharing a good lesson 👏🏻👏🏻
Lost me at “be aware of the key you’re playing in” 😂
Lmfao same but I kept watching anyway
its way past my level but i think im learning something
Me too man lmao
Idk if it helps but by key he means like key signature. There are 12 keys. The one he used is C major that doesn’t contain any sharps or flats.
yep, same
Took me two years with a guitar teacher, but I finally understand this video a 100% now
Yep, 7th chords are my friends.
They are everyone's friends. Most just don't know it.
Just discovered A7 and how it really makes a dope melody contribution.
@@Jillady try A9 now! Been experimenting with this one
@@cameronfoy3662 I’m on it like flies on shit.
@@cameronfoy3662 at sixth fret or barred on 11th?
OMG this is life changing.
This was very informative. Thanks so much.
Excellent. Thank you
Fantastic! Love it. Thanks you.
Very strong concise video lesson!!!! Thank you!!!🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Damn that's a good idea! Usually I like to come up with chords first, but then alternate one or two notes per chord before each chord change to create my melodies.
Very good video, thankyou!
Excellent instruction. Thank you!
I’ve probably watched like 1000 music YT videos but I think this is the most useful one yet, lol.
I’m pretty average at writing music and my chord knowledge is hella basic so this seems like it makes the most sense to me, to reverse engineer progressions.
thanks for the vid. it helped me a lot
i believe this is the best way for a rhythmic approach to a chord progression, rather than thinking of cadences or modal harmony
i see mathrock bands like delta sleep doing this a lot, they take 2 or 3 7h chords, and the rest is pure rhythmic stuff
this needs a million views. im dead certain you just unlocked a fragment of my brain.
Thank you this was brilliant and really helpful, loving your content :)
Thanks Wesley!
@@TrevorWongMusic you're welcome! Your content has given me a lot of brilliant new ways to approaching music writing for and with my band :) hope this isn't too cheeky but it would be really cool if you could give our EP a listen? we're called the Karma Violets and the EP is called A New Low, I would love to know what you think of it and any critique would be very much appreciated :)
@@wesleyayres7017 Thanks! Oh yeah I'd love to give it a listen. I'll search it up!
Hey Wesley, I'm listening to the EP now. It sounds great! I think the feedback would depend on what you guys are going for. I like the changes in texture in the song "the city". If there's one thing I think might help to support the tunes it might be using some back up vocals. I think adding in some extra vocal harmonies in certain parts could really add some extra excitement. Other than that though, really solid! Thanks for sharing.
@@TrevorWongMusic yeah I definitely agree, the band and I have been texturing out the vocals a lot more with the new songs we're writing :) I think the vocals are better towards the end of the EP definitely, we recorded At Peace in the drummers lounge haha, think that's the vocally strongest one as we all sing our own verses and harmonise
Great teaching and fascinating information. Thank you!
DEFINITELY gonna try that melody on 1 string thing! That's genius.
Very nice... Well done. I subscribed.
mind blowing!
Even if it goes fast, I like the short video, you can get the overall idea within 5 minutes and then dig in. Thanks a lot!
Muchísimas gracias por este video !
This is gold!
thanks man, in the clutter of youtube guitar lessons, this one is a shining example of no faff all value! keep such videos coming. new subscriber here!
This is SO Good. Thank you sir
Saved - this is absolute gold. Such a great way to create progressions - you've earned a sub from me :)
Lovin the hand movement
Wow! Gonna write my new song using this technique for sure! Thank you so much🙏
thank you! very helpful
I don't know a thing about music theory and don't play any instruments, but I've been doing this thing where I've been using music software to transcribe traditional Celtic melodies by ear, and then I create chord progressions to go with them purely through trial and error. It sounds to me like I'm getting good results, but I'm curious what someone who knows music theory would think if them.
Thank you, greetings from Argentina
Nice melodies 🔥 i've been playing jazz a few months and i've always wanted to get into this sort of lofi sound without it sounding out, thanks!
Amazing lesson, thank you!
Wow!! thank you!!
This topic can be hard at first, but feel free to watch this video as much as you want, to understand it. The most important thing to remember here is from the Title, which is: MELODY FIRST. Think melody, then add notes to the melody (chords)
Super well explained man. Love it.
great video, super helpful!
Just found this channel, great explanations. An in depth video about all the kinds of chords shapes you can use to stack a note would be awesome!
I didn't understand 100% of the terminology but felt like I understood the concepts perfectly. Your tutorial is impressively direct. Cheers
Great video, man. I hope to understand all of it one day. Keep it up, Trevor! (Also, that's a SWEET ax!)
This was so helpful
Great video, Sir.
Thanks you so much bro...
Cool video! You always inspire me! I've wrote my own version of your example. 😁
Awesome! I'd be excited to hear that, definitely keep experimenting with this technique as the sky's the limit
Great video. Thank you
Good video. It's just that the caveat of that method is that you might end up with just a thickening of the line rather than an harmonic footing to actually contextualize the melody.
Awesome bro, tnx
Nice vid, Trevor! Cheers 🍻
Absolute gold
This is so old school. If you had harmonized the melody with a counter point bass line first, then harmonized the two inner voices as per the tonic center utilizing inversions to maintain good voice placement , you’d have invented Baroque music theory. Congratulations, it is a secret and a lost art, taught only in junior college music programs. I’m not kidding, a lot of musicians don’t know this stuff, just some classical and academics.
Thank you for your video!
Great 😊 lesson
Thank you- I’ll give that a go as I grow.
You make this look easy 😩
This is amazing.
MY EARS HAVE BEEN BLESSED?!! Wow
Superb tutorial dude. ✌️
Thank you Trevor!
Thank you!
a melody is so much more fun than a chord progression to create, its freer, 10000 times more creative and inspiring,, and even simpler.
Unless you're a jazz cat
Great stuff - recommend turning up your guitar volume relative to your voice - listening in a barely noisy environment on airpods, easy to get blown out by the voice after cranking it to hear the guitar.