Songwriting lesson and composition on acoustic guitar songwriting – 13:26 min

In this lesson Dave Nassie gets into some basic acoustic guitar songwriting techniques and devices that you can really get creative with. Dave first goes over some basic strums and rhythms that you can try with a basic G, C, and D major chords. Then he gets into the chords that are in the key of G major. This is called harmonizing the major scale – all the chords in the key are built from the notes in a G major scale G,A,B,C,D,E,F# – a chord for each note. If you want to learn more about this bne sure and visit some of our other lessons on chord construction, building chords from the major scale, and chords in each key – lessons on these in the written lessons section of the site as well as the writing songs section of the site. Dave then gets into some different ways to embellish the chords with arpeggiating and hammer ons to add interest and melody. Use some of the other devices that you have learned in previous lessons to add color and embellish the chords. Have fun and get creative with these techniques and try to write some of your own songs and progressions – and have fun! 

Guitar songwriting and composition lesson on blues rock song writing – 14:15 min

In this lesson Dave Nassie talks about songwriting and composition in a blues rock format. Dave covers some simple guidelines in a blues rock style starting with tone and structure. In this lesson Dave uses the key of G and the G major scale and goes over the scale and the chord harmony. Dave harmonizes the G major scale and goes over the chords built off the scale. Dave then gets into the structure of the song and building the parts and tieing them together. Start off with a cool chord and add some notes as Dave demonstrates. You can try this with other keys and build the chords and embellish them. Use the key chart in the written lesson section of the site to help check your work. Get creative with this and try to write some of your own progressions and melodies and have fun with them. 

Using the DIMINISHED in your arpeggios, songwriting, and chords – 8:07 min

In this lesson Dave Nassie teaches some unique spins on the Diminished. Here you will learn all about the diminished and ways to use it in your arpeggios, in your songwriting, and with your chords. The sky is the limit and Dave just scratches the surface with funs ways of learning and understanding why the diminished is your friend and a very useful device. Remember to surely get creative with it and put your own spin on it and mainly…..have fun with that guitar! Keep on rocking! 

Learn EZ chord melody building with rhythms – build progressions! – 8:04 min

Chord melody made easy by Dave Nassie. Learn how to make chord progressions and come up with some wild chord shapes. Dave teaches this lesson in the key of G. He first shows you one shape of the G major scale and also teaches the notes in the scale – G major = G,A,B,C,D,E,F# – Dave then pick notes out of that scale and how to embellish these notes and chords. Basically you will learn how to come up with melodic ideas based off the notes and chords in a given key – here we use G major. Dave teaches this with very little theory so anyone can learn from this lesson and this lesson gets the creative juices flowing and gets you playing music fast. Try these ideas and chord extensions and use this lesson as a template to springboard other chord, progression and song ideas – enjoy and keep on rocking!

More songwriting tips on guitar with Dave Nassie – part 2 – 12:26 min

Use scale shapes and extensions to embellish your chords – part 1 – 12:44 min

Endless chord progressions – learn chords in key of C major – write your own songs 9:18 min

In this lesson David Taub will teach you all the chords in the key of C major. Learn all the chords and a little about music theory and the major scale as David takes you through the chords and why they work together. Then you will learn to take the chords and start coming up with progressions – and you can put them together in an endless stream of practice progressions to work on your chord changing, strumming and possibly even get ideas for writing songs. Enjoy! 

How to write a hit song part 2 From singer songwriter Zosia  6:45 minutes

In this module on song writing Zosia breaks down how to write a hit song. Part 2 of a  2 part series

How to write a hit song part 1 From singer songwriter Zosia – 9:00 minutes 

In this module Zosia breaks down how to write a hit song. She diagrams some songwriting techniquesw out on the whiteboard and makes song writing fun and easy – try some of these tips and you will be writing your own music! This is Part 1 of a  2 part series.