how do you start learning songwriting with theory?
- Thread starter dylan alessi
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I mean, in my experience, there is not really a one size fits all trick. It's about finding what will work for you. Songwriting can be really hard and theory can and will be helpful but you don't require a deep knowledge of it to do it.
A trick that I love to use is to take a song that I really vibe with and start thinking about it. What is the BPM, instruments used, chord progression etc... basically, breaking it down into different pieces. And then, I use those pieces and i move them around. I loved the speed of the song, it fits with the kind of emotion that I want to convey, let me take the BPM. But hey, I'd rather use a different drumbeat so let me use a different one. Loved the chord progression but don't want to copy, let me move around the notes within the progression so I'm using the same notes in a different order. Same can go with the melody.
By doing that, you can have 2 songs that will have some of the same elements but will start being different the more you work on your own as soon it will become it's own thing. And again, you can mix and match different songs.
In other words, the way I summerize this exercise is to take a song that I like and ask myself: How could I write it my own way! That's my little trick.
A trick that I love to use is to take a song that I really vibe with and start thinking about it. What is the BPM, instruments used, chord progression etc... basically, breaking it down into different pieces. And then, I use those pieces and i move them around. I loved the speed of the song, it fits with the kind of emotion that I want to convey, let me take the BPM. But hey, I'd rather use a different drumbeat so let me use a different one. Loved the chord progression but don't want to copy, let me move around the notes within the progression so I'm using the same notes in a different order. Same can go with the melody.
By doing that, you can have 2 songs that will have some of the same elements but will start being different the more you work on your own as soon it will become it's own thing. And again, you can mix and match different songs.
In other words, the way I summerize this exercise is to take a song that I like and ask myself: How could I write it my own way! That's my little trick.
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Radu's advice is on point here - you can always get great results by reverse engineering a tune and changing it as you see fit 
Also I'd say that it's amazing that you can write emotional stuff - I'd never downplay that because it's not fancy or shreddy. Emotional songs are usually the most popular among listeners, and they are actually really difficult to write!
If you want to learn songwriting with Theory, then I'd begin learning about the Chords in a Major Key - YouTube 'Rick Beato - Basics Of Music Theory' get a coffee, notepad & pen and enjoy a good study session Knowing your chords in a key gives you some starting colours to paint with, and you can take those same 'rules' and break them to suit your ear any way you see fit 
Also I'd say that it's amazing that you can write emotional stuff - I'd never downplay that because it's not fancy or shreddy. Emotional songs are usually the most popular among listeners, and they are actually really difficult to write!
If you want to learn songwriting with Theory, then I'd begin learning about the Chords in a Major Key - YouTube 'Rick Beato - Basics Of Music Theory' get a coffee, notepad & pen and enjoy a good study session
Knowing your chords in a key gives you some starting colours to paint with, and you can take those same 'rules' and break them to suit your ear any way you see fit
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If you want spooky riffs and melodies, this will depend on the chord progressions you use. As for the melodies, make sure to use descending chromatic halfsteps (I'm not sure how much knowledge you have in theory) at the most focal points of the melody to really give off that sound.
- Good chord progressions in minor for spookiness:
3-2-4-1 (in a minor key), 2-1-3-2, 1-5-6-2, etc etc
The idea is to jot down a spooky series of root notes and then work out the chords that fall under them given the key, the inversions that fit them, etc, although, you'd probably want to use barre chords, especially in drop d (where three notes on the same fret play the first and fifth degree)
- Use dyad chords with ghost notes (x) that skip a string for added spookiness. This is what makes 'God Hates Us' and 'Natural Born Killer' sound so spooky.
- Chromaticism (playing notes outside of the seven allowed by the key) in melodies creates huge dissonance.
For example, the intro of the Wicked End is full of chromaticism, as numerous notes are not in the key of D Minor (such as the G#/Ab).
The ideal prospect is to blend in the sad and emotional with the spooky as Syn does. Also, switching between relative major and relative minor smoothly is a really valuable feature of composition.
*Chromaticism isn't required per se for spookiness, but certainly helpful
- Good chord progressions in minor for spookiness:
3-2-4-1 (in a minor key), 2-1-3-2, 1-5-6-2, etc etc
The idea is to jot down a spooky series of root notes and then work out the chords that fall under them given the key, the inversions that fit them, etc, although, you'd probably want to use barre chords, especially in drop d (where three notes on the same fret play the first and fifth degree)
- Use dyad chords with ghost notes (x) that skip a string for added spookiness. This is what makes 'God Hates Us' and 'Natural Born Killer' sound so spooky.
- Chromaticism (playing notes outside of the seven allowed by the key) in melodies creates huge dissonance.
For example, the intro of the Wicked End is full of chromaticism, as numerous notes are not in the key of D Minor (such as the G#/Ab).
The ideal prospect is to blend in the sad and emotional with the spooky as Syn does. Also, switching between relative major and relative minor smoothly is a really valuable feature of composition.
*Chromaticism isn't required per se for spookiness, but certainly helpful
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