Guitar: Writing Songs: An Open Learning Guide

Now that you've got some skill and control over the guitar, you want to start writing and performing your own songs. But all your famous artists have such amazing, complicated songs, it's hard to know where to begin.

Keep it simple. The most popular, catchy tune on the radio is probably the simplest, most oft reproduced melody in the world. But that doesn't stop you from humming it all day, does it? Never forget that when some people hear "a complex, thought-provoking piece", others hear "an over complicated mess."

Have confidence. Your song may not be the best in the world, but a gutsy, less talented performer is always more admired than an amazing performer that is too shy to get a single note out.

Keep trying. If you don't "figure it out" immediately, that doesn't mean that you never will. If something sounds terrible, try the opposite, or only use the second half of whatever your work on. The key is to keep trying different things until something clicks.

Don't get frustrated. If absolutely nothing is clicking, then just come back to it later. Record whatever you have, take a break, and play it again later. The song isn't going anywhere you aren't going, and it'll still be there the next day.

Ask someone else. You might be stuck in the same rut, but that doesn't mean anyone else is. Ask another musician (or even a regular person) what they think might fit well. Sometimes the advice will be surprising. With this method you have to be careful of copyright issues, especially if you make it big.

Often players come up with a catchy riff or two, and they're not sure how to develop it into more. Songs typically are built up in layers; for example, in a band, one guitarist creates a riff, and another adds a catchy lick over top, the bass player brings in something to support it and the drummer keeps time and adds some interesting rhythms. Even though the first guitar part might still be the same, it is ultimately the contribution of the other parts that turns a few chords into a song.

The most important thing to remember when writing a song is that very little sounds good completely on its own, and generally it requires at least more than one part to make things interesting. There are many ways to add a second part to a song. For instance, some players (especially those that can finger pick) can simultaneously play a bass line on the thicker strings and a melody on the thin strings. Really complicated riffs can also sound good on their own, however these tend to be difficult to write and you may not have enough technical skill for complicated writing.

Another player can also add depth to a riff. For example, a bass player can add another sound texture, and having two players allow them to bounce melodies off one another. The song Dueling Banjos from the movie Deliverance is a good example of how two players can create an interesting, purely instrumental song.

But if none of these options are available to you, or perhaps you only like to compose songs alone, there is always one other layer you can add to any progression; your voice. Amazing singing can turn even the simplest progression into a groundbreaking song

Source and licence

Text adapted from Guitar/Writing Songs by Wikibooks contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. This adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.