I always begin writing a song on my acoustic guitar, mainly because I think it’s way easier to

organize 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.

Think of any great song and I bet you could probably play a good version of it on an acoustic

with the vocal line. Writing on an acoustic also forces you to play simple clean chords which

again is a good foundation to build on, so work from the bottom up like building anything.

Now, the next thing may sound like a contradiction, but don’t necessarily think that less

chords will make writing a song easier. Believe it or not I recently wrote a song with just 2

chords, (B & Cm) and it was possibly the most difficult song I’ve ever written. The main

reason being that you have to add interest to the song in an alternative way to chord sound.

This can be done by a change of rhythm, tempo or accentuation but it really is quite a

challenge. A great thing to have a go at though.

I would suggest 3 or 4 chords is a much easier prospect for a beginner to work with. Of

course you have to make sure the chords work well with each other. Yes you could try and be

experimental and come up with some wacky chord sequences but I wouldn’t advise this as a

beginner. Write something simple, maybe around a 3 chord structure such as G, Bm, D or G,

C, D.

One trick with 3 chords is what’s called a ‘turnaround’, so the verse may consist of 3 chords

played in a sequence of 4, for instance G, C, D, C (repeating the ‘C’ chord is the turnaround).

You could then make the chorus just a two chord structure and play the chords in a slightly

different so maybe strum a D, let it ring out, then a G.

One trick I love to use in my songwriting is adding a false bass note which completely

changes the natural chord sound. An F# bass note with a D Chord is a nice example of this

and is used in many songs. Neil Young is a great exponant of this technique and it can be

heard in his classic song ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’.

So hopefully there are a few ideas there for you to introduce into your songwriting.

For more great songwriting tips visit: http://www.songwriting4guitar.com