The guitar is such a commonly used musical instrument in modern music, that it seems almost mandatory to incorporate it into your song writing style. The guitar as a rhythm instrument lends itself nicely to many forms of music. The piano, on the other hand, is probably the easiest to put song ideas down on, but for someone with very basic knowledge or skill with the piano, the rhythm element is almost missing. Guitars work very nicely with medium to fast tempo songs, whereas a piano is great for slow ballads to medium tempo songs.
Like I said, we're talking about people who's piano or guitar playing is in the beginning stages. An accomplished pianist can work wonders on the instrument, so this definitely wouldn't apply to them. Guitars are great for rock songs, but that's so obvious I didn't need to write it.
Simple songwriting rules OK
The effectiveness of simple songs makes it easy for a beginner guitarist, or even someone who's never played guitar before, to start using it as an effective song writing tool. All you need is to get a few basic beginner guitar chords under your belt, and some strumming technique, and you're on your way. Not an impossible task at all. Let me give you an example from my own life of the effectiveness of a simple song. When I was about 13 years old, I wrote a song on the guitar and played it for my cousin.
It was a simple song, with very simple chords and a basic rhythm. I had been playing guitar for less than a year then, so I wasn't that hot on the fretboard. Six hours after I played him my tune, he complained that he couldn't get the chorus line out of his head. If only I could remember how the song went. It was more than 30 years ago (Giving my age away again). Anyway, here's my point. A simple song can make you a multi-millionare, and you don't have to be a maestro to write it.
All it takes is one song and you're set for life. Here's a Song-writing Tip that I wish someone had given me when I started out - Record everything, no matter how stupid you think it might be, just do it. Sometimes it's just one little catchy line that makes a whole new song, and potential hit.
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