How to Write Songs on Guitar: A Guitar-Playing and Songwriting Course (Paperback)

by Rikky Rooksby (Author) "In this section, we will look at the function of harmony in songs..." (more)
Key Phrases: indicate chord relationships, one guitar part, altered tunings, The Beatles, Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A useful source of knowledge for those just beginning with either writing or guitar." -- Dirty Linen

"An extremely valuable source book for wannabe songwriters as well as a highly readable journey of the popular song." -- Guitarist

Product Description
Rikky Rooksby helps you transform your guitar-playing skills into creative songwriting techniques. Using well-known songs as examples, plus lots of easy-to-read graphics, he explains and demonstrates how lyrics, melody, harmony, and rhythm work in a song. Rikky's straightforward style will have you up and writing on your guitar with easeâ€"even if you never have before.

You'll learn how to write words to melodies and vice versa; how to understand, develop, and embellish a melody; how chords create harmony; and how tempos and time signatures differ. The book also analyzes classic and unusual song structures and their elementsâ€"from intros to bridges to codasâ€"and discusses the benefits and problems of writing songs on different kinds of guitars.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Miller Freeman Books; 1 edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879306114
• ISBN-13: 978-0879306113
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,132 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

210 of 214 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this and you will write songs!, November 22, 2001

By	K. Pace (Idalou, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I wish I had this book 5 years ago. I would be so much further along.

This book is similar to a boy scout manual. Turn to any page and you *will* find something vital to making music. The author never explicitly supports any one way of playing guitar or writing a song. On the contrary, the book teaches "if it works, and you like it, then who can say something is done wrong." The one criticism I can recall is when the author lambasts singers, esp. Whitney Houston, for endless and mindless scales decorating every other word in their songs.

If you have the patience to really STUDY and DIGEST this book, it will teach you the following:

*Basic chord shapes (many of which are left out of other books)

*Non-Basic chords (but later in the book and only the ones that you will actually use. WooHoo! No more Fm13b5b7 chords cluttering the world!)

*All of the chords in each key (You had better make a copy of this page and use that or you will wear out this page and lose it. I promise. Substitutions for the blues and hard rock are also included and explained.)

*Exhaustive 'study' of the basic chord progressions (e.g., I VI IV V, I V IV III, etc. and many examples of songs from the 50s to Fatboy Slim so you know what they sound like. The 'study' part is mostly left to you. This makes practice much more interesting. Play "Message in a Bottle" or "Smells Like Teen Spirit" instead of "Greensleeves". You are given the progressions for thousands of songs. Find the right key and the words and commence to rockin'.)

*Lots of tips on creating non-standard progressions (if it sounds good and you like it...)

*How others go about using inversions and keychanges in the real world (worth the price just for this info)

*Tips on lyrics (Don't sing "I Love You", rather sing "I Love You But You're Broke". In other words, it sends you on tangents and helps you develop your basic thoughts into more interesting lyrics. "I Love You But You Ran Off With A Monkey On My Birthday")

Like the other guy said, if you have ever felt like you could write a song but you are clueless as to how to go about it, this book will pull a song out of you.

Since I bought this book a year ago, I have it open every time I practice. My mouth waters every time I touch it because I know I will find something new and very useful. It is absolutely the most information I have found in one place.

I really can't say enough about this book, but I'm tired of typing and I think I've gotten my point across...

Oh yeah, buy this book.

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best songwriting book for guitar!, February 18, 2003

By A Customer

In order to benefit from this book, several things should be true:

1) you should be a guitar player (duh) although the progressions apply to all instruments

2) you should already have some knowledge of chords and basic theory.

3) you should be somewhat caught up with and interested in current popular music from the 1950's through the early 2000's, since the author cites songs as examples of certain types of chord progressions. If you haven't heard the songs, the examples will be pretty meaningless. A companion CD would be great addition.

The book is logically organized and is printed on high quality color stock. I sat down and played through ALL the material once so I could associate certain patterns with the way they sound. I also refer to the book a lot when writing, since it has all kinds of useful charts and tools. If my studio burned down, this would be one of the first books I'd replace.

If you are a guitar player and are interested in expanding your knowledge of songwriting, this book is GOLD. Other books that I would put in the "indispensable" category with this one would be "Fretboard Logic" by Bill Edwards (learning the fretboard inside out) and "The Advancing Guitarist" by Mick Goodrick (playing philiosophy, motivation, advanced concepts). The later book is primarily geared towards the accomplished guitarist and tends towards jazz and fusion playing so may not be suitable for everyone.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration handbook as well as songwriting companion, December 11, 2000

By A Customer

This book is full of inspiration and great ideas. This book is also written in a format that allows you to flip to any section without being confused. Some of the chords in the book I have never seen before and have added twists to my music. This book suggests several different songwriting techniques to use as well as songwriting quotes from 60's rockers like Paul McCartney and more modern writers like Kurt Cobain. After reading this book, I was inspired enough to write three great songs within a couple weeks that I have played for my band, who like them. An important note is that this book will instantly transform you into a songwriter. This book is more of an inspiration handbook that suggests things for everyone. It is a book of suggestions and allows you to set the standards, so you don't get stuck in a rut. There are also no formulas in the book to write songs so you can write for any style such as rock or the blues.