How to Write Songs on Guitar
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www.GetPedia.com Page 1 How to Write Songs on Guitar Rikky Rooksby Page 2 EPIGRAPH: "THE NEXT BIG THING IS A GOOD SONG." BRIAN EPSTEIN How to Write Songs on Guitar A guitar-playing and songwriting course Rikky Rooksby A BALAFON BOOK First British edition 2000 Published in the UK by Balafon Books, an imprint of Outline Press Ltd, 115J Cleveland Street, London W1P 5PN, England. www.balafon.dircon.co.uk Copyright © 2000 Balafon. All rights reserved. No part of this book covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or copied in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews where the source should be made clear. For information contact the publishers. ISBN 0-87930-611-4 Printed in Hong Kong Art Director: Nigel Osborne Design & production: Phil Richardson Editor: Jim Roberts Print and origination by Colorprint Offset Ltd, Hong Kong 00 01 02 03 04 5 4 3 2 1 Page 3 Foreword 4 Introduction 6 1 10 Songwriting Methods 2 13 Chord Dictionary Part 1 3 30 Chord Sequences 4 56 Developing Sequences 5 64 Song Structures 6 74 Rhythm 7 83 Melody 8 91 How to Write a Lyric 9 107 Chord Dictionary Part 2: Advanced Harmony 10 124 Keys and Key Changing 11 135 Guitar Resources Part 1 12 142 Guitar Resources Part 2: Altered Tunings 13 153 Making a Demo Recording 14 160 A Gallery of Songs 15 169 Famous Songwriters on Songwriting 16 174 Recommended Albums for Songwriting Index of Songs 178 Page 4 Foreword As I write these words in January 2000, a young man has just strode past in the rainy street outside. He was singing the wordless refrain to America's 1972 hit 'Horse With No Name', a song that was recorded probably before he was born. Somehow, that says something significant about the popular song. The popular song, commercially distributed on vinyl, tape or CD, is a marvellous art form. For 50 years it has woven itself into the fabric of the lives of millions of people across the world. The hit record, originally on the hallowed 45rpm, has focused the emotions we've lived and given us glimpses of those we have not, could not, should not or perhaps one day will, live. After the sense of smell, nothing evokes another time and place more than a song. Despite its ubiquitous cultural presence, the craft of the writers, performers and engineers who have captured these musical visions continues to be lamentably underestimated. This is the magic medium in which whole worlds of experience and feeling are conjured up in a mere two or three minutes. In part, this is a book about the craft that goes into popular song at its best. Mainly, this is a book for songwriters, guitarists and people who write songs on the guitar. It is also a book for Page 5 anyone fascinated by popular song and will enhance your listening pleasure through awareness of what goes on in a record. It explains all the important parts of songwriting, shows how these concepts work on the guitar and illustrates them with references to recorded songs. There has probably never been a songwriting book with such a wide range of examples. This is not for the musically narrow-minded. Within these pages, you will find singers and bands from many styles of music from The Beatles to Nirvana, from Jimi Hendrix to Andy Williams, from Kate Bush to Bruce Springsteen, from The Sex Pistols to Madonna. You can learn some aspect of songwriting from absolutely everyone who has written a memorable song. RIKKY ROOKSBY, OXFORD MARCH 2000 THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MOTOWN BASSIST JAMES JAMERSON (1936-1983). Page 6 Introduction Like all great musicians, great songwriters are probably born, not made. No tutor, no book, no course, can make you write songs that embed themselves in the memory of a generation and achieve critical as well as commercial acclaim. Only a few people will ever compose songs of the stature of 'Good Vibrations', 'Strawberry Fields Forever', 'Walk On By' or 'Like A Rolling Stone'. Some of us grew up being told these were just pop songs, disposable artefacts to enjoy today and throw away tomorrow. Thirty years on they aren't looking quite so disposable, and we are beginning to appreciate that the artists who wrote and performed them are maybe not as common as was once assumed. Craft Even so, you can learn to write good songs, songs that will not only please yourself and your friends but may also please the ears of people in the music industry who need songs for their artists. If you already write songs, there's always something new to be learned about the craft, an insight or trick to help you improve or try a new avenue. Inspiration cannot be turned on like a tap. All songwriters with any experience know the difference between writing when inspired and writing to meet a deadline. It can be the difference between sailing a boat with the wind in your sails and rowing the damn thing. But there are certain tricks you can use to try to encourage inspiration, by cultivating a fertile expectancy. This could be a way of putting yourself in the mood, perhaps by listening to music that affects you. A good songwriter should be able to write a song on order. This can be done purely from craft, even if there isn't any inspiration at the start. And sometimes a song started in the spirit of trying to bolt one together without a strong inspiration can be transformed and become truly inspired halfway through the process. Unconscious and Conscious Elements When a song is taking shape, it is a delicate entity. For many writers it starts as a mood, a feeling. This feeling attaches itself to a chord, a chord sequence, a melody or a rhythm, or a phrase. Suddenly what was ordinary is "ensouled" in some way, like a charged battery. At this point a thousand possibilities hang about the embryonic song. As it is shaped, many subtler choices – some conscious, some unconscious – are made. These choices are part of the craft, and in this area knowledge about songwriting can make a vital difference to the finished song. A songwriter plays a curious mixture of roles, and different writers identify with these roles in differing amounts. In one way, the songwriter acts as a midwife, bringing into existence something that subjectively feels as though it already has an existence of its own. This is why songwriters, when interviewed, often express the feeling that in some way the song is not really theirs. They speak of trying not to get in the way, of listening for what the song wants, and of not imposing on it and forcing it to take on a form that is alien to it. It is as though the songwriter is a medium or "channel" for the song. In another way, the songwriter is someone who practises a craft, as a sculptor takes a block of stone and carves it away until a form is realised. This also has its truth. Looked at from this angle, knowledge of songwriting technique is a positive thing because it enables you to surpass your limitations. It will keep you from writing the same song over and over. You need an awareness of both roles. The "midwife" role will keep you in a frame of mind that is open and prevent too much conscious interference; the "sculptor" role will take a good inspiration and make it better. That's what this book is about. Page 7 The better informed you are, the better able you are to make these choices. This means that instead of doing something too obvious, you come up with a better idea. This is craft, this can be learned, and absorbed so that its operation becomes intuitive. You bring it to bear before the song sets in the mould. Making changes at a later stage can be difficult but listening to great cover versions can be a good guide to the ways in which songs can be changed. Think of Hendrix's 'All Along The Watchtower', Joe Cocker's 'With A Little Help From My Friends', Nilsson's 'Without You', or Tori Amos' 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. Compare Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' to the earlier version by Gladys Knight or The Beatles' 'Something' with Shirley Bassey's. This book states, or implies, many musical rules. It is good to know them before you break them, but always remember: Rule 1: There are no absolute rules. A great song may break a rule. Rule 2: When rules dominate, formula results. Too much formula is the enemy of invention. Mystery At its core, all great music has a profoundly mysterious quality. This is especially true of great popular songs be they pop, rock, folk, blues or soul. In large-scale works such as the symphony, there is usually an immense amount of architectural design and much development of ideas. Popular song is almost entirely about statement there is no time or desire or expectation of development. Most songs are between two and five minutes long. Because of its relative harmonic simplicity (though often nowhere near as simple as "serious" music criticism assumes) and its lack of development, popular song generally stands or falls on the level of inspiration in its initial material. Take, for example, a chord sequence such as G D Am, G D C.