New GarageBand Songwriting Template

by Mary Shaw | June 11, 2010 | One Comment

A lot of people come to Serve The Song looking for songwriting templates, so I’ve put together another one. My first GarageBand songwriting template was built using basic song forms. This new template uses very basic music theory featuring simple I, IV and V chords along with ii and vi minor.

What The Heck Does That Mean?

With all due respect to those of you who understand music theory, the Roman numerals I, IV and V (1, 4 and 5) describe the first, fourth and fifth scale degrees in any major scale. When you build major triads (three-note chords) from these points in the major scale, you always get major chords. Likewise, when you build minor triads on the second (ii) and sixth (vi) scale degrees you always get minor chords.

Use Basic Chords As Building Blocks For Your Songs

While there are dozens of chord combinations you could use, these 5 basic chord forms are excellent building blocks for pop songs in any key.

Download and use the attached zip file to get started. The template has a basic drum and bass groove and the chords are played on piano as straight half notes. There are also blank tracks available for you to add your own melodies.

Remember, this is very basic stuff. No bells and whistles. Just enough to give your creativity a boost. You are free to build on top of this in any way you choose. To change key in GarageBand simply change the key of your project and all the chords will transpose accordingly. Same goes for tempo.

Have Fun And Write Something New

The template is saved in both Garageband .band format and .mp3 so you can use it in whatever software package you prefer. Let me know if it helps you jump start your songwriting. Use some or all of the chords to give you a starting point for your next song. Use them in any key at any tempo. Stretch them out, chop them up, or put them in any combination you prefer. But most importantly have fun!

Download Songwriting Template

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