The problem is, I don't know where to start, chords are always my base that I revolve the entire song around. Make a plan before you start recording things. In practice, the lines between songwriting, arranging, and production aren't always so clear. Write it all out with as much detail as you can, and figure out how to use those elements in your own song. Analyze them make notes about what timbres you hear, what rhythms you hear, the overall texture, anything you like about them that you want to capture in your own song. Listen to those songs that you linked to, and use them as reference tracks. Then, only after you feel like the song is basically complete, you can work on the arrangement. (For inspiration, listen to Prince's early demos of "Kiss" and "I Feel For You." He wrote them on an acoustic guitar!) You can still write with a strummed guitar or whatever instrument you want, but commit yourself to the idea that it's just a demo, to be used strictly for your own reference. Just focus on the melody, lyrics, and chord progression. Don't think about the finished product when you're writing. Make a distinction between songwriting, arranging, and production. Start with a loop like an 8 bar loop and go from there So like maybe you have 2 arp tracks with different notes but the same pattern like in 4ths or something. And then you can have tracks for harmonies. And then you can layer different synth sounds to support the lines so like your main melody can be played on 3 different instruments at the same time with different volumes effects and panning to layer together to become one new sound with depth and character. And then sing on top of that or have your main instrument ontop. Maybe some plucky arp as the fill every 4th bar and every 6th bar have a different arp as like a lick. So like Reese Bass synth playing the roots or 5th as the bass note, light Organs/Violin style pad synth tucked in the back as support playing the 3rd or 7th related to the bass note, then a lead synth melody on top. And you can vary the instruments of the melody And then you just write melodies (plural) on top. Think of arps like licks on guitar or piano. The more space in the arp phrases and more syncopated it is the less it feels like you're walking through a chord and more like a lick. Play with the rhythm of the arps and use mutes and different patterns to create variation. And you can use strong bass synth sounds that have the function of bass line and fill out the sound. Like if you use pad or organ sounds that fill the space the music won't sound empty. The big thing is thinking what is the function of the harmony. But like write a bassline, then write a counter line that compliments the bass line on a different instrument that fills space (we call that a pad), then add arpeggios (which are based on chords but not in the way you are trying to avoid) and you can change the arp pattern drastically, and add melodies on top of that. You can even still base it on a chord progression and just take out the chords or only use the bass notes.
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