Four Good Reasons to Write Your Own Songs

As one who teaches both guitar and songwriting, I am always encouraging my students to start writing their own songs.  Every great songwriter has to start somewhere, and you will find that the more you write, the better your songs will get--and the easier they will come to you!Here's four very good reasons to write your own material:

1 – You Already Have The Ability To Turn YOUR Thoughts Into Actual Songs!Each one of us experiences, people, places, thoughts, feelings, and situations--no matter our age.  As they say “A good writer can portray a beautiful story out of the most everyday experiences.” Well, for us guitar players, with the guitar in our hands helping us through our way – this is easier to achieve and stay motivated than it is for anyone else who is not currently in the world of playing music.  Write about what you know--even the ordinary and mundane--and you will find that songs come easily. A rhyming dictionary app and notebook or iPad is all that you will need. And your guitar, of course!

2 – Writing Songs Develops Your Overall Comprehension Of Music To New Levels:Every great songwriter started somewhere--they threw out words, melodies and harmonies that, in some cases, have come to inspire and uplift millions of human beings. But sitting with yourself and trying to come up with your own words and music will slowly give you the ARTIST'S point of view on music. From this point of view, you will see a lot more, and I can definitely say that all of my enjoyment and appreciation from music has moved forward by leaps and bounds since I started writing songs myself.  Write constantly--you may only use 10% of what you write down, but that's enough to make some great songs!

3 – Writing Music To Your Lyrics Dramatically Develops Your EAR and your grasp of music theory.Suddenly you will start getting the feeling of how a transition from a V (the “fifth” chord of a certain key) chord to a I (1st – Root) Sounds like. You will start noticing the unique feeling of a VI chord and the sense of a IV chord that is building the tension before the V and so on. You will start literally hearing and seeing things that you have never heard or knew existed in ALL the music you will listen to, and it will all come back ten-fold in a very practical way.  And remember: a LOT of really great songs have been written around three chords.

4 – Songwriting Develops Your Creativity This one is self-explanatory. I also believe that creativity is something that can be seen as a whole, and when you engage your right brain and work on it through songwriting, it takes all your ideas and thoughts in life to new heights. Not only in music, but in all other areas of life as well.I talk more about this in the video below; enjoy, and Happy Pickin'!

Video--Writing Your Own Songs

Ear Training--The Sound of Music

One of my favorite scenes in "The Sound Of Music" is when Maria (Julie Andrews) is teaching the von Trapp kids the song "Do-Re-Mi."  Not only is it a great Rodgers/Hammerstein song, but it is a great training exercise in what are referred to as MUSICAL INTERVALS (or the spaces between notes).

Learning to hear and being able to identify the different notes in a musical scale will not only help you be a better player, but it can help you be a better singer as well.  And it can also help you to figure out how to play songs by ear!

This sort of ear training becomes especially important when students are learning chords, because chords are made up of notes from musical scales.  So are melodies and solos!  Think to yourself, "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do!"

Major chords, for example, are made up of the 1st note of the scale, plus the third note, plus the fifth note--on other words, the "Do" plus the "Mi' plus the "So." Being able to hear that will ultimately help you to understand how chords are built, and why you finger them the way you do on your guitar's fret board.

Now--it does get a little more complex when you start talking about minor chords and minor seventh chords and so on--but knowing and being able to hear the intervals in a major scale is a GREAT place to start!

In the video below, I talk a little more about this--but in the meantime, thank you Maria, and Happy Pickin'!

Video on Scales and Intervals

Strengthening Your Fretting Hand

One of the things I hear most often from students--young and older alike--is that their fretting hand tires easily, and aches after playing a song.  And that's to be expected at first--there aren't many times in life besides guitar-playing where you will find your hand and fingers in some truly unusual positions!

But like anything else--running, playing sports, yoga, dancing, etc--with proper strengthening exercises and the passage of time, you will find that your fretting hand will become stronger and stronger, and you won't even feel tired after hours of playing!  You will also develop calluses on your fretting fingers that will serve you well as you progress in your playing.  (p.s. Wear those calluses as a badge of honor!  You're a guitarist!)

One simple warm-up you can do before you practice is simply to spend a few minutes gently squeezing a tennis ball, or a small piece of citrus fruit such as a Clementine orange in your hands for a few minutes.  This will warm up your fingers and joints as well as the tendons and muscles in your hand that control finger movement.

Another thing you can do to strengthen your weaker fingers (your ring finger and pinky) is simply to start with the first string of the guitar, and put your first finger on the first fret.  Play that "F" note.  Keeping your first finger in place, add your second finger to the second fret play the note, then add your third and fourth fingers to their frets.

I demonstrate this exercise in the video below, and you will find that by doing this exercise both forward and backward, you will not only strengthen those weaker fingers, but you will acquire accuracy and dexterity that will help you make cleaner chords, play better solos, and so on.

Please watch the video, try these exercises, and above all--enjoy the music you are sending out into the Universe!  Happy Pickin'!

Video on Strengthening Your Hand

Finger Pickin' Good!

Ha! The post title is a terrible pun, I know--but finger picking really is a great way to become a better guitarist, and a better "chord maker" on the guitar. Strumming with a pick is a wonderful thing--don't get me wrong!--but being able to finger pick adds a whole new dynamic method to your arsenal of guitar tricks!

I've had a previous post or two on finger picking, but I really want to just show you a very simple pattern today that will help you make better, cleaner chords. Because when you finger pick, there really is no way to hide buzzing strings or other fretting mistakes.

This "triplet pattern" in 4/4 time is one that is used and can be used in many songs.

Essentially, you will be using the thumb, index finger,middle finger, and ring finger on your "picking" hand to pluck the notes in a forward--backward sequence. Sometimes, you will see online that these fingers are referred to as PIMA, which is an abbreviation of their Spanish names ( thumb-Pulgar; index-Indice; middle-Medio; ring-Anular).


One important thing to remember about finger picking is that, generally speaking, you will always want to try to play the root note of the chord on one of the bottom three strings strings with your thumb.

In the video below, I will show you this pattern and demonstrate why it will make you a better guitarist in the long run.

So give it a shot, and Happy (Finger) Pickin'!

Link to Video on Finger Picking Exercise

Tips for Chord Transitions

So many of my students have been working hard on playing their guitar chords cleanly and quickly--and I can sympathize with them.  It's a hard and painstaking process--but if you put the time and effort into it, you will get there.  I promise!

Just a few quick tips as you work on the transitions:

1. Keep your fingers as close to the fret board as possible.  Let your fingers "hover" over the fret board, just above your strings. When that pinkie and third finger start flying out in space, it takes longer for them to come back down to a new chord.

2. Build your chords from the bottom string up.  For some reason a lot of students get into the habit of building chords from the highest string down--for example, they will finger a C major chord starting with the 2nd string, then 4th, then 5th.  The problem with that method is your pick is going to hit the bottom strings first, so get those notes placed first!  Find the root of the chord on the bottom three strings, and aim there first!  That extra split second will give you a chance to get the last top bits of the chord in place.  I know it seems like a negligible amount of time, but you’ll be surprised how it can improve your guitar playing.

3. When moving from one chord to the next, move the finger that has the farthest to go first.  For instance, in moving from G major to C major in the open position, your first finger has to move all the way from the 5th string to the second.  Lead with that finger and you’ll find that your other fingers naturally pull along behind to end up close to their intended frets as well.

4.  Stay relaxed and let the natural movement of your hands help you get to the chord.  Believe it or not, the guitar is actually designed very well to accommodate the natural movement of the human hand.  When you use tip #3 and lead with the farthest finger, your other fingers will follow along behind it naturally and you can get them to settle in the right place.  If you tighten up they won’t move as naturally, so stay loose.

5. Keep your right hand moving.  The way your brain works has a lot to do with how your hands react.  As a beginner, your brain is giving you permission to stop in between chords and rationalizes it as “we’ll get it eventually.”  It’s normal and happens on a subconscious level.  You can easily change that by setting up a dissonance in your brain--in other words, presenting your brain with a problem it needs to fix.  Here’s the way it works:  You brain loves when your hands are moving together.  So if you force your right hand to keep strumming, no matter what happens in your left, your brain will want to solve that dissonance by making your left hand move faster to keep up with your right.  Exactly what we’re looking for.

Good luck--and Happy Pickin'!!  Enjoy the video below:

Video--Tips on Changing Guitar Chords

Basic Fingerpicking--3 Fingers

Greetings pickers!  Today, I simply want to introduce you to a basic finger picking pattern that is outlined in the video link below.

While this technique is a little difficult, it is well worth learning, as it will bring a whole other dimension to your playing, your repertoire, and your guitar skills!

You will be using your thumb, your index finger, and your middle finger for this pattern, and this is a pattern that fits nicely into almost any song that is in 4/4 time.  With so many genres (rock, country, pop, classical) using this pattern, you will have no trouble finding songs to practice on!

In essence, your thumb will be playing an eighth note pattern, utilizing the root of the chord along with the next adjacent string, while your 1st and 2nd fingers will be doing a dotted quarter-quarter-dotted quarter type of rhythm.

It's probably best just to watch the video below--so enjoy, and Happy Pickin'!

Video Link to Basic Fingerpicking

Tips For Cleaner Chords

One of the greatest challenges of playing the guitar is learning to play clean-sounding chords--chords where all the notes are sounding, with no fret buzz or accidentally-muted strings.  It's always a challenge, especially for newer players and those working on barre chords, but it is also a challenge that can be overcome with time and practice!

Here are a few tips that I can offer for helping produce these clean chords:

1) Remember that your thumb is a balance/fulcrum point for playing chords; at times, you will be using it as a "counter-force" to help your other fingers press the strings down, and at other times, you will be positioning it out of the way of your other fingers.

Everyone's hand is a little different in terms of size and finger length, so it's important to spend the time figuring out how to use YOUR thumb to help make clean chords.  If your strings are buzzing because you're not completely pressing the string against the fret, re-positioning your thumb is a good place to start the chord-cleanup process.

2) In the same way, the wrist on your chording hand is able to flex up and down as well; people with longer fingers sometimes find that they have to flex their wrist out a bit away from the guitar neck in order for their fingers to be more perpendicular to the fretboard.

3) I should also mention that when playing chords, you do not want to use the pad of your fingertips--rather, you should always be using the tip of the finger just below the nail.  You will eventually get calluses there--wear them as a badge of honor!

4) Finally, when fingering chords, you want to make sure that you are as close to the fret as possible without being on top of it.  It takes a little work, but the closer you can get to the fret you are trying to finger, the cleaner the note will be.

In the video below, I show a little bit of the thumb and wrist positioning.

Video on Playing Cleaner Guitar Chords

Enjoy, and Happy Pickin!