Guitar for Songwriters


Book Description

Whether you're a beginning guitarist/songwriter or have been at it for a while, you'll find a wealth of tips and techniques for exploring and expanding your musical creativity in GUITAR FOR SONGWRITERS. Guitarist, composer, and teacher Leo Cavanagh is your guide on this tour of chords and chord progressions that will help you expand your use of guitar for composing and accompanying. The more you know about chords and how they go together, the stronger a songwriting tool your guitar will become. From basic chords through power chords, bar chords, and jazz chords, this book uses common progressions and good voicings to demonstrate the possibilities of the guitar. It includes the harmonized scale, chord construction, and various accompaniment styles. Whether you want to play in different keys, find a jazzy sounding progression, or just add that one special chord to a song, GUITAR FOR SONGWRITERS can help.




How to Write Songs on Guitar


Book Description

Explains how to create songs to be played on guitar, including advice on such basics of songwriting as structure, rhythm, melody, and lyrics.




Guitar Pull


Book Description




Creative Songwriting on Guitar


Book Description

Grab this songwriting book to learn how to write a better song! Creative Songwriting on Guitar is the ultimate songwriting tool for guitarists. Are you tired of using the same ol' chords and progressions? Have your reached a roadblock in your songwriting and are looking for inspiration and a creative spark? Creative Songwriting on Guitar can help you reach that next level of songwriting. This book is jam-packed with 16 practical tips for sparking ideas, spicing up chords, and taking your riffs to the next level! 125+ Playable Music Examples! This hands-on essential songwriting book is divided into 16 chapters, each featuring an important guitar concept for songwriters who want to learn how to write music. From Troy Nelson, author of the hit books Guitar Aerobics and How to Play Guitar in 14 Days, this book will help you become the prolific songwriter you've always wanted to be. Find inspiration in new ideas and enhancing the songwriting tools and music composition you already have at your disposal. The 16 chapters in this book are full of great songwriting tips and will teach you how to: Create Melodic Hooks Freshen up Old Chords Spice up Stale Progressions Pick the Best Key for Your Song Set the Vibe with Major & Minor Keys Build Parts Around Bass & Drums Write for Multiple Genres And Much More! The 16 chapters in this book include: The Power of a Single Chord The Cliffs on Riffs Melody Is King! Let Vibe Be Your Guide Using "Unexpected" Chords Chord Embellishment Open-String Drones Octaves and Double Stops Arpeggios 10th Intervals Harmonic Rhythm Genre-Specific Guitar Parts Picking a Key Major or Minor? Building Guitar Parts Around a Bass Line Building Guitar Parts Around a Drum Groove Experience the Troy Nelson Music difference: You will always know who our authors are--we are proud of them & call them by name. Nothing to hide here! Contact our authors any time, with any questions about what you are learning, and we will quickly get back to you with an answer. We want you to have the best learning experience possible! Contact our Customer Support via our website if you have any questions about audio files or need any other support. We are here for your entire songwriting journey. All music examples are presented in easy-to-understand fretboard diagrams and rhythm tab so you, the songwriter, can quickly apply the material to your instrument! This songwriting guide includes quick-and-easy access to audio tracks via download or streaming--right from troynelsonmusic.com. No signup required! About Troy Nelson: Over the past 25 years, Troy Nelson has authored over 30+ instructional guitar books and edited over 100 more, helping millions of guitar players and beginning songwriters play (and write!) their best. A 30-year guitar player, Troy is the former editor-in-chief of Guitar One magazine and holds a degree in music. REMEMBER: Free access to instant streaming or audio downloads from troynelsonmusic.com is included. Thanks for the 5-star reviews! Troy Nelson has garnered 1,000s of 5-star reviews via the breakthrough series How to Play Music in 14 Days and Strum It! Pick It! Sing It! Experience the Troy Nelson Music difference with each and every book you purchase. Get this book--and the Troy Nelson Music support system--today!




A Guitar and a Pen


Book Description

Nothing tells a story better than the story-songs of country music. A Guitar and A Pen presents, for the first time, the literary work of some of the best storytellers in the world: the songwriters who cut and polish tales down to sparkling three-minute gems. A blend of humor and poignancy, these tales range from Kris Kristofferson's charming tale of how an explicit natural rock formation causes chaos in a small farming town, to the domestic drama of a Kentucky family with six daughters, to Charlie Daniels' character-driven fable of money and unhappiness, to Gary Nicholson's riveting tale of an albino African American singer/songwriter who inspired him to be a musician. A celebration of music and storytelling, other contributors include Hal Ketchum, Janis Ian, Mark D. Sanders, Tom T. Hall, Marshall Chapman, and Robert Hicks, among many other notable Nashville luminaries.




Zen Guitar


Book Description

Unleash the song of your soul with Zen Guitar, a contemplative handbook that draws on ancient Eastern wisdom and applies it to music and performance. Each of us carries a song inside us, the song that makes us human. Zen Guitar provides the key to unlocking this song—a series of life lessons presented through the metaphor of music. Philip Sudo offers his own experiences with music to enable us to rediscover the harmony in each of our lives and open ourselves to Zen awareness uniquely suited to the Western Mind. Through fifty-eight lessons that provide focus and a guide, the reader is led through to Zen awareness. This harmony is further illuminated through quotes from sources ranging from Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix to Miles Davis. From those who have never strummed a guitar to the more experienced, Zen Guitar shows how the path of music offers fulfillment in all aspects of life—a winning idea and an instant classic.




The Guitar Player's Songwriting Bible


Book Description

This hardcover book with internal wire-o binding is 6.5in x 8in is a perfect size for readers to keep handy and reference often. The stylish design of the book, along with the interior photographs, illustrations and diagrams, make the learning process fun and simple for beginners and well-read enthusiasts. Readers can learn how to combine chord sequences, melodies, and riffs to create your own music in any style, and this book makes an excellent gift for beginners or practiced songwriters. The book describes melodies, major and minor scales, and a full chord directory can help readers find just the right sound. Chapters on organizing song fragments, adding pieces, stripping them away, and customizing them can help fine-tune the process. The truth is, you don't have to be a great guitarist to be able to write songs for the guitar. Only a basic knowledge of guitar is required, and you will build up your skills and understanding as you progress through the book. More experienced players will find plenty of unexpected, habit breaking chord progressions. You will find exercises to help put theory into practice, and an inspirational catalog of essential playlists from the greatest songwriters of all time. The Guitar Player's Songwriting Bible includes an audio CD.




The Complete Singer-songwriter


Book Description

Written as an artistic, business, and technical guide for singer-songwriters, this book is full of advice and encouragement for aspiring troubadours looking to polish their craft. The book offers tidbits on performing, recording, booking, and working with managers, agents, lawyers, and record executives. The guide is rounded out by excerpts from interviews with seasoned artists such as Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Jewel, and Ani DiFranco. At times the book's advice only skims the surface such as its coverage of choosing, maintaining, and insuring gear, but the tips on songwriting and performing should be taken to heart by writers and performers at every level. Rogers is an author and freelance writer who has written for Mojo and Acoustic Guitar magazines. Of all the paths available to today's musicians, the life of the singer-songwriter remains one of the most alluring and popular. From songwriting and solo performing to recording and promotion, singer-songwriters wear many hats, and with all the challenges they face come extravagant creative rewards. The Complete Singer-Songwriter is the ultimate guide for the modern singer-songwriter, full of real-world advice and encouragement for both aspiring and accomplished troubadours. Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers draws on his own experiences as a performing songwriter and interviews with artists such as Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, and Paul Simon to offer an invaluable companion for the journey from idea to song to stage and studio.




Guitar for Girls


Book Description

(Guitar Educational). Finally, a guitar method designed specifically for girls that teaches how to play using real songs by the world's most popular female artists and songwriters! This fun and easy-to-use book/CD pack will get you strumming chords and singing your favorite songs in no time, without even having to read music. Whether you're an absolute beginner or a budding songwriter, you'll gain many valuable tools as you progress through the book, which is loaded with inspirational quotes and words of encouragement. Topics covered include: guitar basics, tuning, basic chords, strumming techniques, chord alternatives, power chords, tab, single-string picking, palm muting, using a capo, creative songwriting ideas, and more! Songs include: Angel * Back on the Chain Gang * Beautiful * Come to My Window * Girls with Guitars * I Love Rock 'N Roll * Landslide * Mean * We Got the Beat * You Oughta Know * and more.




Chord Progressions for Songwriters


Book Description

Each chapter of Chord Progressions For Songwriters provides a comprehensive self-contained lesson on one of twenty-one popular chord progressions that every songwriter should know inside and out. Lessons cover ascending, basic (I-IV), blues, circle (VI-II-V-I), classic rock (I-bVII-IV), combination, descending, doo-wop (I-VIm-IV-V), ending, flamenco (Im-bVII-bVI-V), folk (I-V), introduction, jazz (IIm-V-I), minor blues, one-chord, pedal point, rock and roll (I-IV-V), standard (I-VIm-IIm-V), and turnaround progressions as well as rhythm and Coltrane changes. You will learn how key, duration, substitution, variation (adding or subtracting chords), and displacement (rearranged chord orders) are used to vary the sound of each progression. You will also take a look at the author’s songwriter’s notebook and work through exercises to reinforce key chapter concepts and get you started building your own progressions.