A Songwriting Tip from Pete Seeger (via Woody Guthrie)
Explore what Pete Seeger, citing Woody Guthrie, called "the genius of simplicity."
These lessons are excerpted from Songwriting Basics for Guitarists. The complete guide has everything you need to get started writing your own songs or to take your craft to the next level.
The Secret Sauce in J.J. Cale’s ‘Cocaine’: Use the Flat VI Chord in Your Blues Rock Songs
The bVI chord is most often heard in edgy rock tunes. One function of the bVI is to lead to the V, before resolving to the I. You can hear this in J.J. Cale’s “Cocaine.”
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How to Use Familiar Songs as Songwriting Templates
One good way to defamiliarize a familiar song is to switch the key, putting it into a different register and zone on the guitar.
Video Lesson: How to Unlock I-IV-V Chord Progressions
The chord trinity known as I–IV–V is one of the most useful theoretical concepts for any musician. The I–IV–V is a skeleton key for countless songs in folk, country, rock, blues, and beyond, revealing the basic similarities of, say, “Louie Louie,” “Ring of Fire,” “Man of Constant Sorrow,” and “I Fought the Law.”
Play like the Allman Brothers and Neil Young with Flatted III, VI, and VII Chords
If you’re working on a song that uses the I, IV, and V, try substituting the bVII for the V to give the progression a different feel.