Entertainment Articles

How To Write Songs
On Guitar

I was very fortunate to receive a copy of Rikky Rooksby’s Book entitled “How To Write Songs On Guitar”. Thank you so much Peneran… I owe you one J.

The first section deals with song structure. Ex… A song = lyric + melody + harmony + rhythm.

He breaks down all of the elements and then swings into how songs are composed. He shows examples of how some songs are created with the lyric first, and then how others start with a melody or a rhythm track.

He shares some insightful tips and strategies that may help your technique. (methods of writing that you may not yet have tried)

I was really impressed with sections 2-4 of his book. He went into great detail explaining chord structures (major, minor, dominant 7th,major 7th,suspended 4th,suspended 2nd…I think you get the picture) while also explaining the advantages of using chords over others to help you achieve the mood of the song you are crafting. This section of the book is an in depth chord dictionary for players from the beginning level to advanced. It’s not a section that you should just breeze through…I really took my time digesting and playing examples of the structures he had discussed.

Rikky even gets into the theory behind the song, specifically the chorus sections. He explains the importance of using major and minor chords depending on the type of tune you are crafting. He put together a brilliant table chart with chords and keys that help assist players of all levels work out their chord sequences. It lets you transcribe a song quickly once you know the initial key. You just look for the initial key on the chart, & voila! The possibilities are right there in front of your eyes, instead of having to fumble your way around the fret board searching for something that sounds like it belongs.

The chord sequence section that follows is again very insightful. Rikky displays chord sequences of songs that are used most often in popular music, rock, blues MOR and discusses the importance of modulation and final resolution, by dissecting the examples so that you can understand why that pattern works.

Sections 6 and 7 deal with rhythm and melody. He breaks down these sections by formulas and structures. He discusses the different riffs used by Fat Boy Slimms “Praise Him” and other approaches by popular artists.

And then for those of you who have always wanted to play around with altered tuning but have been afraid to ask, Rikky has written a section that deals exclusively with just that:

Open G Tuning (Keith Richards) Open D Tuning (Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan on “Blood on the Tracks”)

The book has chord charts with examples of each tuning and how the chords should be played. I can promise you I’ll be coming back to that section.

His charts on altered tuning are so detailed it’s impossible to get lost.

Near the end of the book he walks the reader through “Making a Demo Recording”. Then he does something very cool by including a section on “Famous Songwriters on Songwriting”. He compiled quotations from famous songwriters that range from Neil Young to Kurt Cobain (Nirvanna) on how they write their songs. It was very inspirational to read.

The last section that followed was a listing of recommended albums that songwriters should listen to. As he said, “they aren’t meant to be the greatest albums of all time” the albums he lists are there to show us the different approaches and directions that the songs headed.

All in all I can honestly say that I have NEVER read a book so detailed but yet so user friendly. It didn’t end up on the shelf because I got too frustrated trying to figure it out. My only complaint is I just wish I had this when I was first starting out. It would have saved me a lot of aggravation, sweat and tears.

If you want to check this little gem out, you can by surfing over to: www.books.mfi.com http://www.books.mfi.com

The ISBN Code is: 0-87930-611-4

Enjoy!

"When it comes to writing, I am truly obsessed. I will continue to grow, raising the bar as high as I possibly can, while making strong connections and friendships along the way."

Shelley Jacobson can be reached by E-Mail at; shelljac@nomin.norlink.net or check out her main website at; http://www.shellsong.com.