Kubla Khan set to chords:

This post explains what I did with the Kubla Khan poem to turn it into a song.  I figure I have about five hours wrapped up in it right now.  This process has been interesting for me because I usually come up with a few lyrics, then figure out the pacing and chords, and then organize the parts (verse, chorus, etc.).  But, for this project I had to work in an unfamiliar order to my process.  I started with all the words (which had to be verbatum- usually my words change from the beginning to the end in accordance with what will fit), then I had to organize all the lines into something resembling a structure of the parts, and then I could finally come up with the chords.

So, I started by writing out all the lines by the rhyme scheme while organizing them as best as I could by what might work as parts. This is the first of three pages I wrote out:

(Sorry I couldn't figure out how to rotate the image)

I annoted down the left margin the parts with either a (, [, <, or { to differentiate the different song sections.  So, ( became equivalent to a line of introduction, [ became the verse, < became a pre-chorus, and { became the chorus. Then I chose the chords to correspond to the parts while trying to construct a flow so the song would tell a story not just with the words but also with the musical changes.  I picked out the first 12 lines to preform because of the practice time constraints, and they are also a good representation of all four parts.

Then I wrote out the 12 lines with the corresponding chords and practiced it.

This process was really tricky for several reasons. First, these aren't my words so the story is hard to remember. Although, in these twelve lines you get the character Kubla Khan (line of intro), then the first verse describing what and where he wants to build (first verse), next he starts building (pre-chorus- builds up the song as well as turns the fertile ground into an enclosed space), and finally the majesty of the kingdom created is revealed (the chorus). 

All in all, I think it came out ok.  The rhyme scheme was probably the toughest thing to figure out.  The whole poem can be broken down to follow the parts I came up with, but the organization of the parts does not itself compose an orderly pattern in my estimation.  Still, I am optimistic that it will make sense as I work through the rest of the song. There is one particular section toward the end of the song where the rhyme scheme seems to break down which could be a really sweet bridge... I think.

I have been playing with a couple guys for about a year now, and I think that where I am getting caught-up right now in trying make the whole song interesting would probably be best sorted out by orchestration between the three of us. I am probably going to try and introduce it to the other guys over spring break, so I can let everyone know when we will perform it live if your interested.