Writing Great Songs

Three chords and the truth may be more than enough for some, but as songwriters improving your skills on your instruments will give you more tools and depth to take your songs to new places. Here are a collection of sites that offer a variety of teaching methods. Some are free, others are subscription based. Most have a free period, so you can try before you buy.

• Guitar World http://www.guitarworld.com/ – Online home of the magazine
• Justin Guitar http://www.justinguitar.com   – Over 800 free guitar lessons from Justin Sandercoe. Recommended by Steve Vai, Brian May, Mark Knopfler
  Guitar Jamz http://www.guitarjamz.com  – Free and paid guitar lessons for all levels by Marty Schwartz. There’s even a series of videos on Songwriting!
• Jam Play http://www.jamplay.com/    – Subscription video based online guitar lessons
• Guitar Tricks http://www.guitartricks.com/ – online Guitar lessons
• Guitar Habits http://www.guitarhabits.com/ – a lifestyle design guitar blog featuring anything related to guitar playing, songwriting, recording, practicing, lifestyle, motivation and inspiration. The blog is full of tabs, scales, exercises, tips, tricks, music theory and free guitar video lessons.
• Alternate Tunings: http://sethares.engr.wisc.edu/alternatetunings/alltunings.pdf  Download a 96-page pdf about alternate tunings.