How to Write your Own Guitar Songs

Well there really isn’t one right way to write your own songs.  If you were to ask 5 different songwriters how they do it, you will more than likely get 5 different answers.  Some will write the lyrics first and then the music, some do it the other way around.

I can share with you my process for writing a song. What I like to do is to first pick a key.  Lets say it was the key of C Major for instance.  The first thing I do is find out the guitar chords that are in the key of C Major.  There are a lot of chords within this key, but I usually try and stick with the basics that aren’t too difficult to play.  Here are some of the basic chords in the key of C:  C Major, D Minor, E Minor, F Major, G Major and A Minor.  The next step is to try and come up with nice sounding chord progressions in the key of C Major, perhaps something like C Major, D Minor, G Major, C Major for instance. Then I experiment with various strumming patterns and tempos until I find something I like.  I play it again and again until a vocal melody comes to mind.  I then try to come up with some lyrics.  I record this rough draft and presto a song is born.  I then let my musician friends listen to this rough draft so that we can all try and build upon it until we come up with a finished song.

This is just my process.  As I said, there is no one right way to write your own song. Check out the lessons below for more song writing tips and ideas. Enjoy! Read more