How would one go about getting an A7X style to my playing and writing?

[Fourwheelernut]

I am a new guitar player with a knowledge in theroy(to a degree) and those things from other instruments. I want to have my own style obviously although want to get an A7X'Y feel. IF that makes sense. I dont quite understand how or when one should put certain parts of a song together. I.E I have several riffs that sound fairly Early to mid A7X'x although as soon as I finish playing one Idk what to do. Should I write a verse? If so what makes it not boring. This whole repition is ok to a certain mesure is new to me as before guitar I was and still am a classical musicain. Any help is much apreatciated!!

 

[Ian _Invader]

Brother -

I have been chasing the A7x feel and sound. I have found listening to a lot of Danny Elfman and Classical piano and large thematic movie soundtracks help my creative flow.
For the last two years I have been almost exclusively listening to A7X and I still need more. Let me tell you, the more you listen and practice, the style sinks in till its all you can reciprocate into your playing.
Continue learning techniques and different styles of music.
SUROUND YOURSELF with the creepy Tim Burton style music and art (Visualize the feel of the music).
Listen to Syns influences (Syn if you want to drop your biggest influences pls do)*
Listen to Pinkly Smooth
Listen to early 2000's Rave music

Alright man that should help! But you just gotta completely focus yourself on what you want.

 

[TheRedMageGuitarist]

I am a new guitar player with a knowledge in theroy(to a degree) and those things from other instruments. I want to have my own style obviously although want to get an A7X'Y feel. IF that makes sense. I dont quite understand how or when one should put certain parts of a song together. I.E I have several riffs that sound fairly Early to mid A7X'x although as soon as I finish playing one Idk what to do. Should I write a verse? If so what makes it not boring. This whole repition is ok to a certain mesure is new to me as before guitar I was and still am a classical musicain. Any help is much apreatciated!!

Here's the thing, when it comes to writing, having other instruments (especially drums) can really carry a song when a part seems boring. If you listen to stuff like the chorus for Scream or the verse for Almost Easy, it's stupidly simple. Try to remember the "bigger picture" and think outside of the box from just guitar.
Pick a drum track on YouTube and write over it, that's how I wrote the bridge to a song of mine.

Everyone in A7X are multi instrumentalists, so they're able to think outside of "just guitar riffs".

@Radu-Cristian Perde just interviewed Fred Archembault, A7X's earliest producer and this would have been an epic question to ask him. See if you can rewatch the stream for any hints or tips.
Best of luck!

 

[Rad Synner]

To add on to what was said, I would actually suggest an exercise for songwriting. Pick any avenged sevenfold song and try to rewrite. Take the exact BPM, the same chords, same notes, same drum patterns or whatever and just move them around. You already have the song structure if you analyze it.

Often it's Intro/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus/outro. Can vary.

But the point is that don't worry for now about how similar or whatnot the end result will. The goal is simply for you to gain experience in songwriting. Soon you'll realize that you would do one thing there differently, another thing differently and before you know it, you'll find a groove.

 

[OskarF]

Ive played for about 15 years at this point, and i still have a hard time describing it, but i think that's because you probably can't really boil it down into simple terms. My perception of what personal playing style is, is that it has to be mostly feel and intuition. But to build intuition you have to understand the fundamentals to the point where it's second nature to you, and the way i personally do that is to learn to play a lot of different kinds of music, as well as analyzing how that music was written.
To understand how something was created you first have to figure out the key and then find where the notes fit into the "map" of notes on the neck in that particular key; that way you can then freely use the music you've learned in different scenarios, and i think that is when you truly understand a piece of music and it becomes part of your playing.

 

[Chris Johnston]

This is a great topic

if you're open to theory stuff, then a great way to get into the A7X sound is by studying the Harmonic Minor Scale.

I've noticed that Avenged tend to use the Harmony of Harmonic Minor for their songwriting - especially at the end of solos, leading back onto a final chorus (sitting on the V chord and eventually going into the i minor chord etc)

Another thing Avenged love to do is to use the b5 and the b9 in their riff choices.

Theory/Harmony aside, in terms of phrasing/feel, Syn seems to love to do long trailing slides between notes in a lead line to connect different arpeggios.

Theres so much more that you could look into but that's a quick overview from the top of my head