Songwriting Tips & Approaches
You can find all downloadable resources at the end of each curriculum in Guitar Super System, or altogether for use outside the app at https://musiciswin.com/resources
Various genres, eclectic approaches, and basic fundamentals allow me to tackle the extremely subjective topic of songwriting. I'll provide the tools you need to express yourself without imposing my own musical tastes too often. After all, not everyone likes electronic-jazz-djent-core-fusion.
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Exploring Your Songwriting
When I sit down to write music, I like to explore various elements of the music. Typically, I'm a riff-writer first, meaning I come up with riffs more often than I come up with lyrics or melodies. As a result, it leaves a lot up to interpretation on how I construct the music that surrounds the ri...
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The 5 Most Important Chord Types
For downloadable PDFs and backing tracks, use the Resources Tab in the navigation bar of Guitar Super System.
These five chord types will take you as far as you want to go! Including Open Chords, Barre Chords, Power Chords, Triads, and R-3-7 Chords, you'll find everything you need to follow along... -
DADGAD Chords, Scales, and Uses
DADGAD is neither major nor minor, and that ambiguity allows for some very rich harmony with some fairly simple shapes. With this tuning, you’ll find these minor second intervals are particularly beautiful. That tension is easily accessible in a lot of places throughout various scale positions in...
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Accidental Inspiration
Moments of true inspiration are rare and usually obvious. It's the "accidental" inspiration which truly lights a fire in our creativity and unlocks the secrets of your fretboard. Sometimes you’ll be inspired by a song, riff, or even a single note that reveals itself in different ways.
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Hip Hop Jazz Techniques
This melting pot of guitar genres will add a new dynamic to your guitar playing that you may not have considered before! The trick with this style is to relax in many senses of the word–rhythmically, physically, and mentally… feel the groove, man…
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Reggae Tips and Essentials
The relaxed nature of the Reggae genre can be broken down in to a few very distinct parts in order to execute it effectively. From quick, chordal jabs in the upper registers of the guitar to a varying grip based on the way the harmonic rhythm moves, you’ll find all the basics and essentials of Re...
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Thrash Metal Riff Tips
No matter who you believe the ultimate thrash band is, a lot of the the most notable ones share common approaches to their riff writing. Prepare yourself for some of tips to accomplish the most aggressive and angry thrash riffs you've ever played.
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How to Write Modern Prog Rock Riffs
Progressive rock has evolved since its inception in the 1970s, and today we can take the framework to a modern height.