I’d always begin writing a song on my acoustic guitar, mainly because I think it’s way easier to organise chord sequences, work out melody, a good rhythm and get a good song structure without over complicating matters. I also think that if a song sounds good just stripped down to the very basics, then it’s generally going to sound good in a band situation, and to add others instruments and maybe move it on to an electric guitar is way easier. So my first tip would be to get the song sounding good on an acoustic guitar whatever genre or style you play.
Just consider any really great song by a top band or recording artist and I bet you’ve probably heard a great acoustic version of the song whether it’s by the original artist or a group covering the song. A good song will work when stripped down so starting writing a song like this is a good foundation.
Here is something that you may think is a little bit contradictory but less chords in your song won’t necessarily make it easier to write. Like most forms of artistic expression, the less complicated something is the harder it is to make it interesting so you have to work harder at it. Having written many 2 chord songs I’ve come up with a few methods that I use to add interest to my songwriting. You could for instance make the chorus a different rhythm or tempo to the verse or use notes instead of full chords.
No, for complete beginners to songwriting I believe that a 3 chord structure is the way to go, and it’s what the majority of songs use. You can’t just throw any chords together though so be careful. I’d suggest a nice simple sequence to begin with held together with a strong melody, so D, C, G or E, A, D would be a good start and many classic songs use these sequences so no excuses!
A method you can also use with 3 chord structures is what is called a ‘turnaround’. This is where you effectively change a 3 chord sequence into a 4 chord structure e.g. E, A, D, A. This again is frequently used by major artists…remember ‘Wild Thing’ by The Troggs?
This nest tip is a real beauty, and I use this all the time, maybe too often at times but I love the effect of it. It involves adding a false bass note to a straight chord. This technique can be heard in songs like ‘Use Somebody’ by Kings of Leon which uses an E bass note on a C Chord, or ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd which uses an F# bass note on a D chord.
Try some of these ideas to enhance your songwriting
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