Composing LCDetail

Learning Center, Composing and Song Writing

Creating Songlets. Songlets are little melody fragments or phrases that you create yourself, working from random notes (no musical experience required!). The instructions further below show you how easy that is.

Songlets are a great way to start composing songs and melodies. Easy short phrases can combine to create whole original melodies.

Songlet Demo Here is a video that demonstrates Songlets.

Writing a Valentine (or other) Song Blog Article

This article takes you through creating a song melody using songlets to start with. The words are up to you! tell a story, describe a feeling, paint a picture. 

Songlets Written Instructions from the Strumstick Instruction Book.

Lesson 4: Songlets Soon we will go on to playing regular songs. Before then, it would help to be very comfortable with fingering and strumming the Strumstick in general. You can get that experience by playing random notes and strumming, but you can also get it with a fun and useful exercise we call Songlets.

These are little bitty song pieces (that you create!) that can even grow up into real songs. They are small enough to be easy, and interesting enough to be really fun!

Step A:
• Play any fret you like, and strum it three times, 1, 2, 3.
• Then play a different fret and strum it three times, 1, 2, 3.
• Go back to the first note and strum it three times, 1, 2, 3.
• Then play a third, different fret and strum it three times, 1, 2, 3.
Repeat this same sequence several more times. While you play them, listen to the little song they sing. You just made up a musical phrase! 

Step B:  Now make up another phrase, three notes, any three, go up or down the neck, whatever you want. Repeat this second phrase a few times. Listen while you play. Enjoy how this phrase sounds.

Step C:
• Now do the first phrase (Step A), followed by the second phrase (Step B), then the first phrase (A) again. A Songlet is born, great job!

You could play any or all of the phrases twice in a row if you want... A A B A, or A B B A, or AA BB AA,...you get the idea.

You can also change the rhythm, the timing of the notes if you want more variety.

You just created this songlet, a little fragment of a song. You made it up yourself, you figured it out, you learned it (by repeating each phrase), and then you put it together. This is composing, and it is also improvising. The Songlets are a great way to help you create fun little bits of melody while your strumming and fretting get more and more comfortable.