Playing a minor chord with a whammy bar dip and a lot of reverb is a good start

Go to True Fire and order the "Hodad No More, Surf Guitar Primer"

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As helpful as this lesson is, I find that listening to this guy talk drives me to drink.

If you close your eyes, it sounds like Andy Dick delivering a Dick Dale monologue about surf music.

~B~

okay, so it's video!

I watched 5 minutes, and as much as I could point out all the mistakes or stupidities.... I actually like this guy! he's fun to listen to, I bet you could learn a lot from that video. and he put's that on the web for free? awesome.

yep, I could hang out in a bar with this guy and get very drunk.

not a big fan of facial hair though

anyway, thanks for posting that.

WR

Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."

https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/

getting back on topic.....

The way to learn how to compose surf is like any other type of music - study it first. Spend a few months learning what bands you like, which types of songs appeal to you. Slowly learn all the parts, dissect them. Listen to how the instruments work together to create the rhythms and body of the songs behind the melodies. After you start that process, try coming up with your own tunes, keep them simple. Concentrate on the feel of the music, more than showing off your guitar playing. Your guitar playing will improve on it's own if you're consistent. Finally, find some others to play with, there's no substitute for that.

As for guitars, anything will work to start, but an outboard reverb is indispensible if you want to have the 'surf' sound.

Good luck!

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

I use special surf-music-writing drugs.

Hey! I have one of those, only mine is pyramid-shaped!

Jet B,
What he doesn't show is the two tiny electrodes hooked up to the back that send him the little electric pulses. He has his phasers set to "surf".

~B~

The MAIN reason for the foil hat is to keep aliens from reading your thoughts and ripping off your songs for release on planets where BMI and ASCAP do not operate.

Well, since I've been taking part in all the silliness of this thread, I will try to post a few minor pointers.

From my experience there are three styles of writing (at least three that I have used in my days):

1) Chord first, melody second -- I find that this is almost the easiest to work with. Especially if you come from a background outside of surf. Just write a chord progression that is particularly compelling to you, the clear benefit is that this type of writing will almost always keep you out of the 1-4-5 trap of chord progressions. Either play the progression until it's in your memory, or drop a little coin on a cheapo 4-track recorder (some are going as cheap as twenty or thirty bucks on ebay). Start by singing a melody to yourself, then see if you can play it. Or else you can just riff around over the pre-recorded rhythm track.
Also, don't forget that you can form melody simply out of making arpeggios from the chords you're playing over.

2) Riff-based writing -- basically, this is the tactic of "throwing shit against a wall and seeing what sticks". Just basically play around, don't worry about building a melody, or working out a chord progression -- just wait until your fingers do something natural, and see if you can keep doing it over and over until it fleshes itself out into something solid. Then work on variations, or moving the riff elsewhere for a prolonged riff.

3) Melody-based writing -- this, in my opinion, is the toughest, and relies on the most creativity, but it will generally lead to the most interesting, and often most intricate songs. Basically, it functions like number one in reverse. You build a melody, make it as long or as short as you want, and gradually stretch it more and more. Once you have a melody that is servicable, chords will build naturally over them.

A few other things... remember that simply switching things like vibrato or overdrive on over a melody, or even just palm muting a line you'd played open, can give the same melody a new twist. Also, moving a riff or melody up an octave provides a bit of a different sound.

Basically, you'll develop an idea of what does and doesn't sound right to your ear, and the more you write, the easier it gets. Basically, you can't force yourself to write, but if you develop a ritual, or better yet, a set schedule of writing time every week or month, you get much more comfortable with the writing process.

And to second Danny's advice -- playing with other people is nearly essential to developing as a musician. You don't have to make a "band" per se, just find some people to play with - they'll teach you as much as any teacher can. Just like drinking alone is no fun, playing alone isn't as much fun either.

~B~

Blastiid, There is also a great article in the archives that Ferenc of Pollo Del Mar wrote on this subject. You can find it in the Top Ten in the Main Menu. (Maybe Brian will post a link as I can't figure out how to ) but it's over there to your left on the screen.

-outsides-