Songwriting skills part 2

What does songwriting skills include, should you know how to play an instrument?
If you want to write lyrics you have to know the language. What if you are about to write melodies and chords? I know people who can´t´play a single chord on an instrument, but they have an incredible instinct for a good melody and they can come up with great melody lines.

Despite this, if you are thinking about getting serious about writing melodies and chords, I highly recommend you to learn some basic skills on a chordal instrument such as piano or guitar. (If you don´t, you have to find someone who does and have them helping you writing the chords:)

You don´t have to become a master or a new Paganini on the instrument, just learn the basic chords. In fact, many great songwriters aren´t great musicians. The skill they need is to know the craft of songwriting, which includes basic chords.

It also helps if you know some basic chord theory. If you learn the functions of the different chords in different keys you will easier know how to create useful chord progressions.

Some people like to say things like; "I don´t wanna learn the music theory or how to play instruments. I wanna think outside the box, create fresh melodies, and this knowledge will stop me from doing so".

I don´t think it works this way. If you learn the rules, you know how to break them and you can easier manipulate the traditional ways of writing. If someone who don´t know a language should try to write a novel, I´m shore it would be outside the box, but I don´t think it would be a bestseller:)

Monthly Songwriting Tips?

Resources

ABC Learn Guitar
Free beginner guitar lessons, plus tips and resources on buying a guitar, songwriting, recording, and creating a music career.

Learn Guitar Online | How to Play Guitar | Free Guitar Lessons - GuitarPlayerWorld.com is a website that provides free quality guitar lessons online using Guitar Pro as a learning platform

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