Song writing query

[zedmando]

Hello, I hope this is the right place to ask...
I thought I'd check with those with much more experience at this than I have.
(And to share something I have found from experience about the differences between mandolins & guitars)

One of my goals in learning mandolin was to write my own songs using mandolin.
(I've also tried to arrange songs I wrote on guitar for the mandolin--both as for mandolin in pace of the guitar & as a complementary voice alongside the guitar.)

Primarily I was thinking of songs that would be for a group of musicians, as opposed to solo pieces.
So I came up with a cool chord riff--it's sort of a rock vibe to it, but definitely sounds more like mandolin than a little guitar.
I was thinking of having that riff be the intro (& probably the outro) to the song--most likely just mandolin, then maybe some bass towards the end of the riff.

I want the middle part/main part to be based on the same chord changes--but I used a couple of odd chord voicings (at least to a guitar player), and that makes it sound wrong when I try to add a guitar part--so do you think I would be better off:
1-Keep working on a guitar part to support the mandolin part--maybe using chords without 3rds in them?
2-Scrap the guitar and write a second mandolin part to add some depth to it.
3-Just use one mandolin and then maybe keyboards and/or bass (no fiddles for me--please--no offense if you like them)
4-Add in a different instrument other than guitar, second mandolin, bass keyboards or fiddle? (Preferably something I can play myself--so maybe a banjitar (banjo with a guitar neck)
5-Keep it as a solo mandolin piece with voice.
6-Something else?

Keep in mind this would be more of a rock/pop/maybe bluesy song.
At this point it could be a vocal piece or an instrument--with the melody/harmony on any mixture of instruments or just on one.

I have a rough idea of the middle section and it would be more chord strumming than riff based--but a riff could work over the chords.

thanks for any & all suggestions--including ones that think I'm crazy or worse.

[Dave LaBoone]

Try out several ideas and record them. Listen back, with or without a constructively-critical friend, and see what you like. Post a clip here, and you're likely to get some comments from us that you may find helpful. Have fun!

[zedmando]

Thanks--that's part of the plan--I'm also still deciding on tempo & rhythm--as a few different ideas are popping into my head as to how it should sound.

[Ky Slim]

It's kind of hard to say without hearing what you are working with but I think option #1 makes sense. I also like all the ideas about adding more instruments!! You mentioned that some "odd chord voicings" make it (the mando chord riff) sound wrong when you add the guitar part. Is it possible that these voicings could be implying different chords than what you thought at first? Sometimes a single mandolin chord shape can be used for several different chord applications.

[zedmando]

It's not they sound wrong when I add the guitar part, but when I play it on guitar--same notes, but reversed high to low.
So I am trying other voicings.

And I'm using a single chord shape--which is how the riff came about.

But it's fun, I'll keep at it as I am able.

Thanks,