Songwriting 1 Lead

ActionTab

Quick Reference

This handy chart tells you what every dot in the ActionTab system means. If you don't understand some of them don't worry - we have video lessons that explain them in the members section.

Fretboard & Capo

The fretboard is the area of your guitar where you play

Some songs require a capo. A capo is just a clamp which you can place on any fret. This effectively moves

the 'nut' of the guitar, allowing you to play 'open' chords higher up the fretboard. In ActionTab the capo is represented by the black bar on the left.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Space, K	Pause/Play
Home	Rewind
End	Go to End
	Step Forward
	Step Backward
M	Mute/Unmute
F	Fullscreen
H	Toggle Help
S	Save Settings
R	Restore Defaults
O	Toggle Loop
D	Toggle Delay Start
X	Toggle Light Strings
W	Flip Fretboard
C	Fretboard Color
T	Tablature
N	Normal Speed Window
B	Bookmark Position
,	Set Loop Section Start
.	Set Loop Section End
/	Clear Loop Section

Strumming Hand Dots

Fingerpick

Fingertap

Downstroke

Upstroke (Palm muted)

Pinch Harmonic

Color Codes

Applies to both hands

Thumb

1st (index) Finger

2nd Finger

3rd (ring) Finger

4th (little) Finger

Fretboard Hand Dots

Hold finger here

Bend note down

Bend note up

Hammer On

Pull Off

Slide dot this way

Prepare note

Mute note/string

Harmonic

Vibrato

Open string note (no finger)

Song Notes

This is from the Jamzone where we are talking about melodies and songwriting. There's a lot of useful stuff there, so make sure you read it first. And download the finished tune (if you haven't already):

So far we've created our backing music and the next stage is adding melodies. There are 3 melodies and a solo in the song. That's all. Here they are:

Melody 1 - Main Verse Melody

Melody 2 - Main Chorus Melody

Melody 3 - Alternate Verse Melody

Solo - A nice rock n' roll lick up the neck.

Here's how these are used, in order:

Intro - No melody
Verse 1 - Melody 1
Chorus 1- Melody 2
Verse 2 - Melody 1
Chorus 2- Melody 2
Verse 3 - Melody 3
Chorus 3 - Solo
Verse 4 - Melody 1
Chorus 4- Melody 2
Outro - Melody 2 (repeat to fade)

Think like a singer when creating your main verse / chorus melodies. Singers need to use words, so give your notes time to register, like you would when singing lyrics - don't blast through 1000 notes per second. Leave that for the solo. Slow-moderate melodies work best, and the shorter / more repetitive they are, the more likely they will have an impact on listeners.

The melodies are also arranged like a proper song. The bread and butter of the song is Melody 1 (Verse) and Melody 2 (Chorus). These are the main melodies, comprising 80% of the tune.

Melody 3 and the Solo are the only different parts. These occur right in the middle of the song, over the 3rd verse and chorus. Because they are different they stand out more.

If you like the song, listen to it (normal speed audio) a few times and see which parts stick in your mind the most. Those are the hooks. When writing, try and keep in mind that not everything can be a hook. If you find you are really looking forward to a particular part of a song, or that you keep humming a particular part of the tune (it can be any part) - that's a hook. It probably only works because of the 'less interesting' melodies surrounding it. Or repetition. Or it just sounds great to you. Don't get hung up on trying to make everything sound catchy - that's not practical. It's a bit like any good joke - there's the context and then the punchline. They both need each other, but the punchline tends to be the part that makes you smile. On it's own it probably isn't so good.

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