How to Write a Song on Guitar: Guitar Chords and Songwriting Tips From Tom Morello and Herbie Hancock

A song generally has five major elements:

1. 1. A melody
2. 2. A chord progression
3. 3. A rhythmic pattern
4. 4. Lyrics
5. 5. An overall structure

Except for lyrics, all of these elements can be created using a guitar. In addition, a guitar can be used to craft the song’s arrangement: the supplemental elements (like harmonies and riffs for other instruments) that can be layered onto an existing song.

Some guitar genres tend to value complexity. For instance, progressive rock (e.g. Genesis, Yes, Rush) and heavy metal (e.g. Iron Maiden or Dream Theater) often feature multi-part suites with endless chord changes and rhythmic shifts. Jazz fusion songs, meanwhile value polyrhythms (more than one rhythmic pattern playing against one another) and challenging harmonies.

Nevertheless, a great song can be remarkably simple, and this simplicity is often considered a virtue in genres such as folk or blues. Indeed, countless folk songs have consisted of merely three chords.

To kickstart your songwriting inspiration, try experimenting with these simple guitar chord progressions. (All are in 4/4 time, with one chord per measure.)

1. 1. G | D | C | C |
2. 2. D | A | Bm | G |
3. 3. Em | D | C | B |

Most popular songs contain some or all of the following structural elements:

• Intro (and Outro): This section is usually instrumental, and may incorporate elements of the chorus.
• Chorus: This is the foundational element of a song, and typically repeats at least once both musically and lyrically. Often, the chorus is more intense than the verse in terms of emotion and musical elements.
• Verse: This section moves the story, thoughts, or ideas of the song forward. While all verses may use the same melody, each verse usually has distinct lyrics.
• Bridge or Middle Eight: This section typically employs a unique melody and lyrics that contrast with the rest of the song.

While there are many ways to structure or arrange these components into a song, one of the most common and classic pop song patterns is “ABABCBB.” After an intro, this song structure proceeds as follows:

• Verse (A)
• Chorus (B)
• Verse (A)
• Chorus (B)
• Bridge or Middle Eight (C)
• Chorus (B)
• Chorus (B)

To start writing your own song, you can begin with any of the elements listed above: melody, chord progression, rhythmic pattern, lyrics, or overall structure. Then, follow these three steps.

1. 1. Improvise. You don’t need to know advanced music theory to begin writing music on guitar. In fact, many songwriters start by improvising. This could mean strumming chords on an acoustic guitar while fashioning a vocal melody to fit over those chords; creating a riff on an electric guitar and choosing chords that complement the riff; or scribbling down lyrics and improvising a melody that sets them to music.
2. 2. Add variety. The best songs tend to have at least some variety in their chords, riffs, vocal melody, or all of the above. Instead of using only major scales or major chords, great songs also feature minor chords, dominant 7th chords, and even diminished and augmented chords. Melodies tend to progress in stepwise motion (i.e., successive notes no more than one tone apart), with occasional leaps to higher or lower notes. These leaps are often the most memorable passages, but take care not to over do it.
3. 3. Get creative. Many great songs have three or four sections, and sometimes even more. Consider a song like The Beatles classic, “I Am The Walrus.” The song begins with an instrumental intro in the key of B, then modulates to the key of A for the verse before modulating yet again to the key of E. The verse and chorus repeat before the song shifts to a different feel and returns to the key of B for a fourth section, the bridge. Verse and chorus return before the song concludes on a fifth section — an outro featuring wordless lyrics and tape samples. In just 4 minutes and 33 seconds, the song covers immense musical territory. Obviously not everyone can simply pick up a guitar and write an original song like “I Am The Walrus,” but take note that it partly succeeds on account of its continual variety from start to finish.

Guitarist Tom Morello, who has contributed his distinctive guitar style to Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, The Nightwatchman, and more shares his insights on songwriting:

• Harness inspiration. Inspiration can come from anywhere at anytime, and Tom believes it's important to document and preserve ideas whenever they occur. Inspiration is as simple as choosing to make a sound or play specific notes a certain way.
• Hone your craft. Craft is the process of arranging sounds and notes to create verses, choruses, and all the other building blocks of a song. The arrangement gives a song its form and structure, but it’s the inspiration—the creative choices you and you alone make—that transform the arrangement into something original and new.
• Recycle your ideas. Never throw away or censor a songwriting idea. For instance, Tom wrote the main riff for Rage Against the Machine's "Bombtrack" when he was 19 and playing in a cover band, but years passed before he found a home for it. While your ideas might not result in a full-fledged song right away, you may find a use for them down the road.
• Be authentic. What Tom discovered is that there’s no great mystery to songwriting. If you can hold a guitar and play a couple notes, you can write a song. In his view, it’s not even necessary to know the names of the strings or the specific notes you’re playing. What’s more important is authenticity: if the song comes from inside you, then it’s personally and artistically a success.

Herbie Hancock is a pianist by trade, but his bands have featured guitars, along with the requisite rhythm section, woodwinds, and brass. Hancock reflects on his own songwriting process:

• Be vulnerable. For Herbie, the songwriting process is about sharing your own life experience with others through music. Honesty is of the utmost importance. This can be a difficult way to work because it’s not always easy being honest with others about who you are and where you come from.
• Look at the big picture. Songwriting is about more than money and fame. Instead, songwriting should be part of your process of growing as a human being and leading a fulfilling life.
• Start with your feelings. Not sure what to write about? Try focusing in on a feeling, image, or experience before you sit down with your instrument. As you start to write, work toward creating musical interpretations of what’s inside of you. That’s how Herbie wrote his best known song, “Watermelon Man.” The funky piano rhythm represented a sound from his childhood: the wheels of the neighborhood watermelon seller’s cart.
• Work through writer’s block. The process of writing a song for guitar or any other instrument can be intimidating. Everyone, even Herbie, suffers from writer’s block. If the blank page daunts you, just put a couple notes down. It doesn’t matter if they sound awful—the trick is to get yourself started and let those notes lead you to something better. Eventually, a song you can be proud of will start to take shape.
• Treat the song as a living being. The process of composing a song doesn’t have to end after you’ve performed or recorded your songs. Let your compositions evolve over time: you never know where they might take you or who they might reach. Always imagine your songs as having infinite potential and being able to speak to everyone.

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