Create An Original Guitar Song – A Beginners Guide

If you’re a guitar player who’s new to the world of song creation, you may have questions. Creating an original guitar song can be daunting at first. That’s what we’re here to guide you through. 

Beginners to the art of songwriting and composition can be intimidated by all the work that goes into creating a tune. It’s important to never underestimate the production required! With a guitar in hand and a desire to make music, you’re in the perfect position. Work on coming up with some original sounds that feel totally unique and your own. 

All you need now are a few tips to keep in mind. There is no right or wrong way to make music that sounds good to your own ears!
So, do your guitar warm up exercises, get yourself a pen and paper, and let’s get to writing.

It Doesn’t Matter What You Create First

Lyrics, riff, tune, melody; if you were wondering, it really doesn’t matter what you create first. They’re all going to fit together at some point anyway, so what does it matter where you start? Spending time thinking about what you should work on before making any progress. As a result, you’re just going to slow yourself down. 

Avoid this headache by doing what you want when you want. If that means starting with the general sound, so be it. If it means writing out a full length, 3 minute set of lyrics, so be it. The main drive behind song creation is in discovering what it is you want to make. You’re here to have fun and speak some kind of truth. There really is no order to this!

Don’t Overcomplicate Your Chord Progression

Chord progression is the base part of making a song sound good. It allows you to explore the length and breadth of a key without worry that your song will become a sonic disaster. You’ll be able to add many other layers later on to complete the song, but deciding on your chord progression early on will make for a cohesive sound and a great starting point. 

Don’t get overwhelmed by the choice on offer here. Chord progression can lead to some varied and complex sounds, but the one thing we recommend above all else when you’re a beginner? Keep your chord progression simple. 

Pick a key to get started and then find the chords you want to use, although you don’t need all of the chords on offer to make a song work. You only need a few, and if you start and end on the same one, you’ll instantly create a recognizable rhythm that bounces throughout the track. 

Play around with these chords and have some fun testing out the different patterns!

Record Multiple Copies of the Original Guitar Song

Once you’re happy with the basics, it’s time to record the song. You’ve plotted out how to play it and where and when the lyrics match, but making a proper record allows for the best longevity. 

It also means you can share your song with other people, which tends to be easier if you don’t have to play it live and wait for their reaction! 

But don’t just record once and call it a day. We believe it’s best to record multiple copies of your song, especially if you can space these recordings out and make them on different days. 

Record on the same day you’ve finished writing and then give it a couple of days. Let these 48 hours pass to give yourself a clear, fresh mind to come back with. In doing so, not only are you more likely to notice things that could do with improvement, but you may find that each recording sounds quite different when played back.

Getting this full range gives you a much more personal perspective on elements like the song’s construction, appropriate tempo, lyrical suitability, and overall energy. 

Invest in a Monitor to Listen to Your Song at Every Level

If you’ve never made a song of your own before, you may believe it’s a case of throwing together some chords and lyrics and enjoying the way the sound wraps up together. And in some cases, this is absolutely fine! But attention to detail is everything in the production world and will help to make you a great artist. 

That’s where monitoring hardware comes in. Kit like a broadcast audio monitor is essential for anyone looking to fine tune their music right down to the low level background noise. The more you layer a song the more complex it’s going to become, something we would usually recommend against when you’re starting out, but with monitoring on top you can focus on each piece at a time. 

Plugging one of these into your recording software will allow you to get a closer insight into the song you’ve made and how it really sounds without making things difficult. Of course, it might take a bit of practice to get used to working with kit like this, but if you’ve dabbled in audio mixing and production before, you’ll soon get the hang of it. 

Let People Listen – You Need Honest Feedback!

We alluded to this earlier, but letting people listen to your music is a great part of the post production stage. If you’re going to keep on putting original songs together, you’re going to need plenty of feedback on what works and what doesn’t! And trust us, it’s very difficult to grow without a bit of constructive criticism from objective ears.

You don’t have to show your makings to anyone and everyone, but make sure you send out a copy to two or three trusted people. Ask them what they think of the general vibe, whether there’s anything they really like, and what brought them out of the song and could do with refinement. 

This is going to take courage on your part, but without this preliminary audience to ensure you’re putting the best work out there, you could run into quite a few walls when you start to release music. Namely, you might not get much attention in your genre, or when pitching to labels and the like, you won’t be putting your best foot forward. 

Take Your Time

You might hear that a lot of the greats created their songs in the space of 10 to 20 minutes. They had a riff they wanted to work into a full song, which when combined with the musical talent that made them famous, ended up producing a hit in under an hour. 

As such, you might feel you need to emulate this process. It might feel like it’s the only way to make a true hit! After all, if a song can be created in such a short time frame, surely that means it has true heart and soul, which is the one thing people listen out for? 

It’s important to remember here that your favorite artists have been in the industry for a very long time. They also have a full team of people on their side, including mixers, songwriters, and producers, who weigh in with their own talent and expertise. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that you’ll rarely ever see!

That’s why, as a beginner who’s setting out on a musical journey on their own, you should take your time. Don’t let the pressure of this expertise get to you. If you want to create an original song from the notes on your guitar, take as long as you need. 

We know this can be incredibly disheartening and make you feel like a terrible musician, but it’s essential to go at your own pace. Give it a chance! You might even find that your song turns out more satisfying and true to your original vision when you spend upwards of two to three days on it. 

Want to Make Some Music of Your Own?

Creating original songs on the guitar is quite the artform. It’s something people have been doing for centuries, thanks to just how approachable the instrument is and how much creative control it gives you. 

But when you’ve never really written your own music before, the next steps can feel like an insurmountable hill. You might feel like you’re just plucking strings and noting down random chords and notes. 

That’s why it’s essential to go into the process with an open mind and plenty of time. Keep your songs simple at first and build up from there. Invest in tech that ensures you can listen to each level of the song in minute detail. And then, be brave enough to share your creations with people who will be honest with you.