Quick Start Guide

There are many ways to write songs, here is just one of them to get started.

The One Liner Turnaround

Have you ever had a single line pop into your head out of nowhere and thought that it would make a good lyric? Consider Woody Guthrie’s song, “The Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done.” This is a simple structured song that consists entirely of strophic verse which means that the music doesn’t change. Each verse consists of three unique lines followed by “and that was about the biggest thing that man has ever done” which acts as a turnaround line and a point of summation for each verse.

To get started you will need:

1. Turnaround line. (Make up your own if you can, if not try “I can write songs all day long”).

2. Some simple chords. Pick you three favorites and spend some time with them. If you don’t have any favorites, use my favorites G, C, and D.

3. A lot of folk songs share melodies. Don’t be afraid if your songs kind of sounds like another song. The goal right now is to get the creative energy flowing and we can discuss the merits of originality at a later date.

4. Start building three line verses that resolve to your turnaround. Some thing like:

   I pick up my guitar and strum a simple chord

   I listen to the sound and make up some words

   All my troubles are now gone

   I can write songs all day long

5. That’s really all that it takes and we have no doubt that you’ll come up with something better than our example.