Back to: Compose – for Guitarists
In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of.
Robert Schumann
Welcome to this short course on getting started with composition for the guitar.
Using the manuscript pages that you’ve printed out (or which you may have in a practice diary if you’re a student in school):
- Draw some Bar lines (8 bars is a good start, you can add more if you need)
- Draw a Treble Clef at the beginning of each line. The examples on the next page will help show how to draw these – they can be tricky! Don’t worry if they don’t look neat at first, they take some practice. If you are having difficulties move on to the next step
- Choose a Time Signature (e.g. 4 beats or 3 beats in a bar)
Here’s how to draw a treble clef (there’s lots more detail in our Basic Music Theory course):
And here’s a time signature and bar lines:
Now you’re ready to get creative! We’ll take you through the steps you need to write a guitar piece….