Compose good ballads yourself on the guitar
Regardless of whether you are a beginner or an advanced guitarist, good ballads can also be composed with just a few fingerings. With enough creativity, this often works easier than you think.
Create the basic structure of a good song
- Play different chords in any order and listen to the sounds. If you like something, write down the handles and continue from there. Many good ballads get by with just a few chords. Five different chords are a good average - depending on your own preferences it can be more or less, whereby it should not be less than three.
- A ballad should sound a little sad. Guitar fingerings in the minor key are particularly suitable for this.
- If you don't want your song to get too melancholy, use other keys as well.
- Create your first basic concept based on your gut feeling.
- The verse and chorus always sound different. That doesn't necessarily mean that completely new chords should be played. A different rhythm, a different chord sequence or a new fingering is enough. But the listener has to realize that a new passage requires. The pace can also vary here.
- Most ballads have something called a bridge. This is a very short passage of text that is played before the chorus. This is not an obligation for the structure, but it is a nice change.
- If you are an advanced guitar player, you can also build in a small guitar solo. This is particularly suitable for rock ballads, such as "I don't want to miss a thing" by Aerosmith. A solo is particularly authentic with a distorted electric guitar. You can also play a smaller solo with the acoustic guitar by plucking individual strings and chords.
Simple songs for the guitar
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Rhythms and lyrics from ballads
- Now you can still play with the rhythm. If the ballad is to be knitted very simply, the strings are only struck from top to bottom. If it can be a little more complicated, use a change of tense as a stylistic device.
- For a good ballad, however, the music shouldn't sound too dynamic. Even simple rhythms make the song sound good.
- If the lyrics are still missing, play the chords and hum some lyrics. Often the words come by themselves. Many artists also sing in a kind of "Kauderwälsch", a mixture of English and German or coarse empty words, until the right sentences come to mind.
- If you already have a finished text, you can adapt it to your piece. The lyrics can also help to find the right rhythm for the chords.
- The length of each song should not be longer than four minutes.
- If you are writing ballads for yourself that are not intended for commercial sale, Of course, there is always only one rule: Do what you like best - it is Your song.
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