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[Kanno]

I figured some of you were in bands so here goes.  I always get stuck after writing one really good riff and can't figure out how to make good riffs to connect to it to finish out a song.  Any suggestions?

[Thrillho]

Think of variations on that same riff, changing it up just slightly.

Are you actually in a band? Cause one way could be going minamlist on it and just letting the bassist cover the riff during the verse while you either do nothing or just do some ambient effects, before you pile back in in the chorus.

Or, you could just triple the speed, make sure the song comes in under a minute and call it hardcore, which I've done on at least one occasion and it resulted in something pretty good.

[Chorbalan]

My advice is to familiarize yourself with some music theory it makes life a whole lot easier in terms of song writing.

[valley_parade]

Bargh, theory.

[imapiratearg]

Play as many notes as you possibly can in the shortest amount of time.  It doesn't matter if they are in the same key.  No one will be able to tell.

[Thrillho]

Bargh, theory.

Theory is useful for songwriting. Especially when you want to stand out, becuase you work out what chords are in what keys, and then you can start going non-diatonic, and that's where it gets interesting.

[The Joker]

Bargh, theory.

Theory is useful for songwriting. Especially when you want to stand out, becuase you work out what chords are in what keys, and then you can start going non-diatonic, and that's where it gets interesting.

Damn straight.

[sean]

If you are in a band go okay guys we are going to make noise in this key now and do that if you do not have stuff written.

I mean it seems to work for my band. But we play post-rock (as of right now, other types of noises may be getting thrown in)

[audiostudent]

When I write music (which, admittedly, I don't do often), I try to think about the different aspects of the piece (tempo, rhythm, dynamics, instrumentation, form, etc.) individually, and consider the options each presents, and look for where I can be creative in each.  Melodies and riffs come to me while making those decisions.  I don't know if that makes sense or helps or whatever...

[Johnny C]

Play the guitar every day, play it often and try to remember stuff you play when you're goofing off.

[Avec]

I have a style that leads me to almost switch the direction of my music. If nothing else works, I'd advise palm muting the chorus or as stated above, make small variations. You could always get a friend to solo while you're playing too.

[Johnny C]

Play the guitar every day, play it often and try to remember stuff you play when you're goofing off.

I should probably expand on this: the more you play, the more you'll wind up writing, and the more you'll discover parts that work with other parts you've written. The odds that you're going to be able to sit down and think of transitions exclusively and then play them are slim. Just have an ear for your own songs and then experiment tirelessly.