Creative Guitar Challenge

how to finish your guitar composition ideas
Creative Guitar Challenge  ·  The Guitar Blog
How To Finish Your Guitar Composition Ideas

Do you have great ideas for the music you want to compose on the guitar, but get stuck somewhere along the way? This article (and video) is exactly for you!

I asked my guitar composition group (you’re welcome to join here if you haven’t yet) which topic they want me to do a live session on next. The poll’s winner was “finishing your guitar composition ideas”. 

One of the members’ suggestions, “Modal playing,” came in close second place. So, in my next video, I’ll cover how to use modes for guitar composition! Subscribe here not to miss it.

I’ll share below three secrets that help my guitar composition students and me, secrets I have never seen anyone talk about.

1. Where did it come from?

    Knowing where the music originated will help you find a way to finish it. Let me explain. When my students ask my advice on finishing their guitar compositions, we discuss the meaning behind their initial idea. I’d ask them questions like:

    • What were you thinking/feeling when you created it?
    • What is this music about?
    • What are you trying to say with it?

    Then we go deeper and deeper into the emotional ingredients of their ideas. Once the meaning becomes clear, any question on how to finish their music becomes almost irrelevant. The story behind the notes dictates what should come next.

    For example, I created a musical Haiku on the Guitar (listen to it below), where the ideas behind it were already set and intentional. These include the emotional and visual contexts and the structure, similar to having a template of the 12-bar blues for creating a guitar composition.

    2. Make a decision

      I’m sure you already have ideas for continuing and finishing your music. But perhaps these ideas don’t sound good to you, or you have too many to choose from. 

      Imagine a tree seed. At every moment of its growth, there is a decision to make: extend upwards, to the left, to the right, etc. A tree doesn’t stop growing; it grows and flows.  

      Apply this simple principle to your guitar music, and decide where the music should flow next until completion. For example, your choices are:

      • Should I repeat it an octave higher?
      • Should I make a variation?
      • Should I move to something completely different?

      The idea is not to get stuck and decide on only one way so that you can move on to your next section. If you have too many options, use your gut feeling. If some are equally good, test it out with one of them.

      You can also add the other options later as a variation or redo it. The point is to finish a draft, which is an overall structure. 

      For example, my track “To a New Home” from the album “Love Blue Electric” (listen below) begins with my initial idea. Then, I decided to repeat it with a variation, and it felt right to move it from A to D (something called sequential modulation to the subdominant). Finally, it made sense to return to the opening phrase and move on from there. This was a series of decision-making after every phrase, playing it and listening to where it wants to go.

      3. Don’t start with the background 

      A common way to compose guitar music and how others try to teach how to write is to start with the background material. The two standard options are a chord progression or a guitar riff. If your idea is also based on background material, this might be why you get stuck.

      Here’s an example. Tom (see below) told me he gets stuck when moving on to the second guitar part. When I asked what he meant by “guitar part,” he replied that it was a chord progression or a riff. In short, background material.

      finish guitar composition ideas
      How To Finish Your Guitar Composition Ideas 3
      finish guitar composition ideas
      How To Finish Your Guitar Composition Ideas 4

        Yes, giving yourself a framework to work with is helpful. Then, it’s “just” creating the lead guitar parts. But if you get stuck, consider these points:

        • Because this is a common way, it will likely sound too familiar, and you will think it’s not good enough. 
        • What’s more important: the plot of a story or where it happens? If you agree that the plot is more meaningful, does it make more sense to focus on it first?
        • From a technical perspective, if you’re occupied with playing chords or a riff, you’d need to create the lead parts with your voice and then find the notes on the guitar. Or you’d need to loop or record it. This affects the natural flow you could’ve had when doing everything on one guitar.

        That’s why my composing method (which I teach) begins with creating the lead part. Then, either afterwards or simultaneously, I add the background elements using fingerstyle on solo guitar.

        Below is a track from my latest album (Winter Guitarscapes) that began with this opening melody. I added the bassline and everything else later.

        One Time Offer

        Reading articles and watching videos about guitar composition is not enough. For example, I work with my guitar composition students in real time, guiding them through the creative process to avoid the pitfalls and challenges, decisions to make, meaning to uncover, etc. Also, every guitar composer and every piece differ in style, genre, and intent. 

        Nothing beats working with an experienced guitar composition teacher who mentors others to create beautiful and touching compositions. If you want to explore this option, I invite you to book a free trial session here at no cost or obligation here (it’s a direct link to my calendar). I’ll help you find ways to take your ideas to the next level.

        May 2, 2025

        A robot AI is a guitarist - CREATIVE GUITAR PROMPTS for songwriting composition and improvisation
        Creative Guitar Challenge  ·  Guitar blog posts  ·  The Guitar Blog  ·  Tips for guitarists / guitar students
        5 Creative Guitar Prompts to Improvise and Compose New Music

        Looking for creative guitar prompts?

        The word “prompts” became common these days because of chatGPT and other AI apps. But instead of outsourcing intelligence, how about using and upgrading NI? 

        The good things about NI are that its creative capacity is unlimited, it can search for the most updated information on the web, and can even connect and have meaningful chats with humans. 🙃

        NI can also create beautiful music by using the smart algorithms of MI and mainly because of its extraordinary emotional expression capabilities. 

        So here are 5 creative guitar prompts you can challenge your mind with to improvise, write songs and compose new musical creations…

        1. Write the next release of your favourite musician.
        2. Your middle two strings broke. Use the other four to write a song.
        3. Compose a monophonic guitar piece.
        4. Write a soundtrack to the last video on your phone.
        5. Play a famous guitar riff but with different notes.
        CREATIVE GUITAR PROMPTS for songwriting composition and improvisation
        5 creative guitar prompts

        It’d be great to hear your variations on these creative guitar prompts! Would you like to share your attempts on my Electric Fingerstyle Improvisation Guitar Group on Facebook?

        Prompt the Promt

        Then I thought, what if you write “creative guitar prompts” as a prompt into an AI app? I did, and chatGPT gave me these 10 ideas:

        1. Play a piece in a different time signature, such as 7/8 or 5/4.
        2. Write a song that tells a story, and create a guitar riff to go along with it.
        3. Try playing a piece of music in a different genre, such as rock music played with a classical fingerstyle approach.
        4. Use alternate tunings, such as Drop D or Open G, to create a unique sound.
        5. Incorporate percussive elements, such as slapping and tapping, into your playing.
        6. Create a medley of your favourite songs, blending them together into one piece.
        7. Write a piece using only one chord, exploring the different melody and rhythm possibilities.
        8. Play a piece in reverse, starting with the last chord and working your way backwards.
        9. Experiment with different guitar effects, such as reverb, delay, or distortion, to create new sounds.
        10. Improvise a piece based on a specific emotion, such as joy, sadness, or anger.

        I asked it to regenerate and got 10 more creative guitar prompts, and some are quite similar and variations to the first 10.

        1. Write a song using only three chords
        2. Create a soundscape by playing with different textures and effects pedals
        3. Write a piece in a different time signature than you are used to
        4. Use a specific emotion as inspiration for your playing
        5. Write a piece in the style of a genre or artist you admire, but put your own spin on it
        6. Experiment with alternate tunings
        7. Write a song with a narrative structure, like a story
        8. Improvise a solo over a chord progression you’ve never played before
        9. Collaborate with another musician and write a piece together
        10. Create a medley of different songs, seamlessly blending them together.

        But this time, it also added an important closing sentence. “Remember, these prompts are meant to inspire and challenge you, not limit you. Feel free to interpret them in your own way and let your creativity guide your playing.”

        Conclusion

        This was a great experiment, which I believe proves my initial point. AI is based on common knowledge and on the information we know so far. It cannot yet generate ideas that haven’t been thought of. When I thought of producing 5 prompts of my own, I wanted to come up with new ideas and skipped the ones the chatGPT suggested. I thought they were a bit obvious and predictable.

        For example, writing the next release of your favourite musician is an idea I for from the visual arts, to draw the next painting by Picasso and so on.

        The conclusion is: feel free to experiment with all of these 25 creative guitar prompts. And here’s another challenge: create your own prompts!

        February 15, 2023

        Musical expression on the guitar - Guitarist Gary Moore RIP
        Creative Guitar Challenge  ·  Guitar blog posts  ·  Music  ·  The Guitar Blog  ·  Tips for guitarists / guitar students
        How to enhance musical expression in your guitar playing

        For improvisation, songwriting, and composition on the guitar in particular, these five ideas can help you be more expressive

        The idea for this “musical expression on the guitar” article began with an answer I gave to a question in a guitar Facebook group. The question was, “How do you improvise on the guitar in a more musical way?”

        My reply was: “The key is to develop your inner voice and ear and make it a whole-body experience, which is more than just “thinking” with your fingers. It’s about connecting all the different elements and components of a musical experience.”

        Then, as I gave the question some more thought (and discussed it in my group “Guitar Songwriting & Composition”), I became aware of its problematic wording. What does “more musical” mean? The intent behind the original question was probably “how to be more expressive on the guitar” or “how to play the guitar with more musical expression.”

        So I thought I’d break down my answer into five effective concepts that help me and my guitar students. 

        Five Ways to Improve Musical Expression on the Guitar

        1) Get Up, Stand Up

        Most of us sit while playing the guitar. But standing up can already make a big difference. You can then move more freely by, for example, swaying your hips and gesturing with your hands and head. This also helps you get into the rhythm and immerse yourself in your playing. This is what I meant by making it a whole-body experience. It’s like the difference between practising and performing. When you stand up, it can feel like a live gig, even if the crowd is the furniture around you. Also, sitting too much is not very healthy.

        • If you play classical / flamenco guitar, you can still move while sitting. But you can also try to stand and rest your foot on a high stool.

        2) Sing

        Using your voice—either your inner or actual voice—can help a lot with being more expressive on the guitar. For example, when you “scat” (sing what you play at the same time), your playing can sound more human. In other words, you will use speech-like phrases. It’s because when we speak, we say a few words, pause or take a breath, and say a few more words, and so on. When you do that with the guitar, the result can be similar. You’ll play and sing a few notes on the guitar, breathe and rest, then play and sing a few more notes, and so on.

        • If that’s tricky, you can also play something and then sing it, or the other way around, such as singing something and then playing it. 

        Watch these two short videos about guitar scatting:

        Guitar scatting part 1
        Guitar scatting part 2

        3) Listen to the Music

        Playing the guitar expressively is not just about playing one phrase, the next one, and then another. Instead, think about it as a conversation between you and the guitar. It’s bi-directional. So after playing a phrase, listen to what you’ve just played before automatically playing the next one. Ask yourself, “Where does this phrase want to go?” This way, your phrases will stimulate you to respond and create other related phrases. 

        • This concept is particularly crucial when playing with other live musicians. The ability to listen to those around you is probably the most important aspect of music expression and creation. 

        4) Surprise Yourself

        If you “think” too much with your fingers, your playing might sound too mechanical. For example, it can happen when you automatically play over a scale you know, like the pentatonic minor scale. Especially when repeating previously practised exercises, like scale sequences. It can be much more exciting to improvise and come up with new note combinations you’ve never tried before. 

        • To break the patterns, pay attention to how you play. Are you mostly using the same order of fingers? Mix it up.

        5) Silent Notes

        We tend to focus too much on what notes to play. But it’s equally (or even more) important to focus on how we play these notes. For instance, adding interesting dynamics and tone can be much more expressive than a constant stream of notes. This way, you can repeat the same phrase while diversifying it by playing with other elements of music. 

        • Learning the power of the elements of music also helps with finding your sound and your own style on the guitar. It can make your music and your playing more unique and original. 

        Musical Expression on the Guitar – Summary

        To sum up, to play the guitar with more musical expression, think about it as a whole-body experience by standing and moving your body, singing, listening to your playing, surprising yourself with new note combinations, and focusing on other elements of music.

        I’d love to hear your thoughts on this article! Comment below. Also, if you’ve implemented these concepts, it’d be great to hear how they helped you!

        After Note

        While working on demonstrating these ideas in a video, a new guitar tune came out. So, instead of a video that explains and shows these concepts, here’s that tune that I came up with. I thought it was important because, ultimately, the idea of musical expression on the guitar is about creating new music that excites you. Need help applying these principles to your music? Let’s have a guitar chat!

        https://youtu.be/O_oVVk7Fp60

        Photo of Gary Moore: Jan Reif

        Did you like this article about musical expression on the guitar? Comment below.

        January 24, 2023

        creative guitar mindset for guitarists
        Creative Guitar Challenge  ·  Guitar blog posts  ·  The Guitar Blog  ·  Tips for guitarists / guitar students
        5 easy ways to adopt a creative guitar mindset

        Why guitarists focus more on the technical side of guitar playing while struggling with the creative aspect + 5 easy and proven ways to enhance your creativity on the guitar

        Creative guitar mindset: why do we need it? It may be trivial, but I think it’s important to stress the impact that our mindset has on our guitar playing and music creation. Out of the different types, I’m going to focus here on the creative mindset, which is fundamental for music as a creative art form.

        Although this is quite a simple concept, I don’t think that many guitarists think this way. But I can understand why. One of the reasons is related to the way we begin learning guitar. The first thing we do is treat guitar playing as a physical activity. It’s understandable because controlling our fingers to do something they’ve never done before is a challenge. We weren’t born to play the guitar. 

        So our initial focus is to see the guitar as a tool for finger exercises. This way, we might get the wrong impression that this is what the guitar is about. We may adopt a sports-like mindset, believing that we should focus primarily on techniques. This is heightened when we want to sound like the great, technically incredible shred guitarists.

        Guitarist’s creative mindset

        Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against honing our technical skills on the guitar. But my guitar philosophy is that music is about conveying emotions, and the guitar is the best tool to achieve that. So in a creative mindset, guitar skills are meant to help us express the music we hear in our heads to create meaningful songs and compositions. This is my definition of a creative mindset in this context. A more general definition can be “think like an artist”. 

        “Arts and crafts” is a good analogy for these two types of mindsets (sports and creative). “Arts” represents the artistic and creative side of music, and “crafts” is the technical and craftsmanship part of playing music. Each one relies on the other and complements it. To convey our emotions on the guitar, we need to be able to execute them well. To give meaning to our finger movements and guitar skills, we need emotional content. So there’s some balance we can maintain between the “arts and crafts”. 

        There’s no shortage of resources for improving technical guitar skills, but it seems that guitar lessons on creativity are scarce. I can understand why. It’s much more difficult to teach guitar creativity! But because this is my true passion and purpose in life, I’ve spent a lot of time, effort, and energy finding ways to teach guitarists to be more creative and expressive. I’ve learned it from my guitar teachers, researched it academically, and tested it in the real world on myself, my fellow musicians, and my guitar students. 

        After discussing the importance of adopting a creative mindset on the guitar, let’s go over ways of achieving it.

        5 tips on adopting a creative mindset on the guitar

        1) Embrace this daily habit

        Enhancing a creative mindset is like adopting a good habit. Like any habit, daily repetition is the key to success. So you can simply allocate time every day to practising it. This kind of practice is about picking up the guitar and playing something you’ve never played before. You can improvise, jam, noodle, and explore the guitar from a new angle. Allow yourself to experiment with it. This can be even just 10 minutes a day, and you can treat it like your daily meditation or your “me time.” 

        • Choosing the right time of day and place can help with incorporating it into your routine and life. For example, I practice mainly at night time when the house is quiet while laying on the living room couch. 

        2) Don’t think too much

        When you practice the above daily exercise (or when playing anything on the guitar), try not to think too much or at all. Mainly, don’t judge and critique yourself by thinking “it’s not good enough”, “it’s not original enough”, or “I don’t know what I’m playing”. We are our worst critics. Being critical is a great type of thinking for other tasks, like making progress and improving our guitar skills. But from an artistic point of view, it adds an unnecessary roadblock to the creative process. So decide that you’re going to clear your mind and enter a state of flow. The great drummer Vinnie Colaiut summarised it well with his mantra: “Thought is the enemy of flow”. 

        • If you ever tried meditation, you probably know that it’s hard to stop our brain from thinking. How can you stop its main function…? But you can enter a mind-wandering state, or daydream. Anything is fine as long as you allow yourself to explore the guitar with no judgment. 

        3) Shut your eyes

        What can help you with the previous tips is to shut your eyes while playing. This simple act can block some distractions and disruptions in your environment. Because music is mainly an auditory experience, shutting down one of your most active senses, sight, can help. You can then focus more on the most important skill for a guitarist or musician: the ability to listen. This type of listening skill allows you to hear the potential of what you’re trying to create and immerse yourself in this creative activity. Besides, playing without looking at your fingers is a great exercise that builds trust with your fingers and the sense of touch. 

        • Other ways to decrease your sight are by playing in a dark room (I even played in caves), or covering your eyes with a blindfold (maybe you have a travel eye mask from your latest flight…).

        4) Do a warm-up

        It can take some time to leave your thoughts behind, find something that excites you, or enter a flow state. So when practising the daily 10 minutes, it might take five minutes or even more to get into “the zone”. The zone is that state of mind where you feel comfortable and curious to explore new things after letting go of any annoying thoughts. This way, creativity is like a muscle that you need to stretch and warm up to exploit its full potential. So be patient with yourself and allow time for things to happen (and they will happen!).

        • You can also do “normal” warm-up exercises before your 10 minutes begin. These can even lead you to a great creative session. For instance, did you know that Guns N’ Roses’ hit “Sweet Child O’ Mine” began as an exercise that Slash practised on his guitar?

        5) Create a safe space

        If you still struggle to get into a creative mood, it might be related to your surroundings. A safe space is a time and place where you feel secure enough to explore the unknown. It’s like the “sandbox” concept in the software development world, where you can try things out, test them, and make mistakes. So finding or creating your own safe space in an encouraging environment can help.

        • I’ve found that these safe places can occur in the context of a lesson with my guitar students. Magic happens when you have trust and are encouraged to get your creative juices flowing. I’ve witnessed many a time students creating amazing music in front of my eyes and ears

        Want to get more creative guitar mindset tips?

        These five creative guitar mindset tips are just a few out of many! I write about them in more depth in my guitar book.

        If you’d like to know what they are and can’t wait for the book, I can show you what they are and, more importantly, how to implement them. Contact me here.

        I’m a guitar teacher in north London who mainly teaches online using a unique music education platform. If you’re looking into improving your guitar songwriting and composing skills – I’d love to hear from you. Use the link above or comment below to schedule a guitar chat with me.

        January 20, 2023

        How to write a song on guitar
        Creative Guitar Challenge  ·  The Guitar Blog  ·  Tips for guitarists / guitar students
        Free guitar lesson: shape-progressions that will inspire you

        How to write a song on guitar that will sound more original and unique? Try the following approach!

        When I learned how to play guitar, my teacher gave me many pages with diagrams of chords and scales that I was supposed to memorise. It’s interesting how learning music can be so visual, and at least some of these shapes had symmetry which was easier to remember. But I didn’t feel inspired, so I thought can I come up with my own shapes?

        I started playing with triangles, squares, and other forms. Some sounded great and others were a bit weird and different. I liked the odd ones, which felt like exciting and unpredictable discoveries. Initially, I used it for creating interesting melodies, and then tried to create chord shapes as well.

        My approach to shape progressions

        The starting point is to simply place the fingers on the fretboard and to create a certain shape. It can be similar to a chord or it can be a more complicated shape. Now play it and try to hear where it wants to go, or where it can go. Then, move that shape right-left-up-down-diagonally, and listen to the interactions while disregarding any “normal” chord shapes you may want to play as a force of habit.

        In standard tuning, playing on different strings results in different combinations of sounds. It’s like the shape is shifting although it remains the same. Once you find a reasonable shape progression, do more experimentation to explore what else you can do with it. For example:

        • Change the rhythm and picking pattern.
        • Apply dynamics and articulation.
        • Add melodic ideas and tensions.
        how to write music on guitar that will sound more original - shape progressions on fretboard
        The L shape I used (e and B strings, 3rd fret; and G and D strings, 5th fret)

        Flip it

        These are just a few common variations we can think of in music. But if you go back to thinking visually, any shape can also be flipped and rotated. So if we alter that shape in some way, it will sound completely different. However, since it originated from the same form, it will bear some relation to the first shape. So this can be a cool idea for a B part.

        Again, it won’t sound the same on all strings, and surprises (nice or unpleasant) will occur. So if something sounds too weird, it’s okay to slightly adapt the shape. After all, it’s music, not graphic design… Although limiting ourselves can be more fun.

        how to write a song on guitar that will sound more original - shape progressions on fretboard
        The Flipped L shape I used (B and G strings, 5th fret; and D and A strings, 3rd fret)

        Now it’s your turn to write a song on guitar

        This is just one way to compose music through visual experimentation and improvisation. Can you use this approach to compose music? Can you think of more cool visual approaches to write music? I’ve just opened a safe space where you can share your thoughts and attempts with a mission to enhance creative thinking on the guitar and to inspire others and to get inspired. Sign up for FREE here: https://creativeguitar.college/unlock-your-guitar-creativity/ and share your attempt there!

        Here’s my attempt:

        Did this article helped you with how to write a song on guitar? Comment below and share it if you’ve found it useful.

        September 30, 2021

        guitar improvisation lessons
        Creative Guitar Challenge
        Improvised compositions

        Very proud of one of my most dedicated guitar students – Ricardo Antolin. In the course of the years we’ve worked on composition and improvisation and lately he began to combine the two in a great way.

        In the following Soundcloud blog he is capturing moments of improvised compositions and uploading them online:

        January 10, 2018

        creative guitar challenge
        Creative Guitar Challenge
        Creative Guitar Challenge – on Instagram

        creative guitar challenge on instagram - udiguitar

        ​Join the month-long #CreativeGuitarChallenge starting 1st March 2017.

        Follow @udiguitar on Instagram to see the daily challenge theme and join in by posting your creative guitar challenge videos using the hashtag #CreativeGuitarChallenge

        Open and FREE to all guitarists internationally. All levels, genres and guitar types welcome.

        In need of inspiration? Want to get your creative juices flowing? Looking to broaden your musical horizons? Want to connect with other guitarists worldwide? Visit @udiguitar to inspire and get inspired.


        February 27, 2017

        creative guitar challenge
        Creative Guitar Challenge
        Blues and Eastern Fusion

         

        Check out my columns I write for Guitar World about Blues and Eastern fusion.

        The first part was about blues and using the east-European feel: https://www.guitarworld.com/spice-it-blues-and-eastern-fusion-part-1

        The second fused blues with middle-eastern sounds: https://www.guitarworld.com/spice-it-blues-and-eastern-fusion-part-2

        The next part will be about far-east and blues…

        January 15, 2014

        guitar improvisation
        Creative Guitar Challenge
        Van Gogh playing guitar

        You can never understand or analyse a piece of art just by using words. Language is limited. That is why painters like Van Gogh expressed their feelings, emotions and thoughts through colours. This is the meaning of art – communicating through different mediums. Music is the same because music, in its most “basic” form, is Art – The art of communication. Birds probably invented music. We just copied and turned it into something else.

        I wanted to explore the use of music as a mixture of art criticism, interpretation and translation from colours to notes. To create a dialogue that cannot exist in real life, but can be real in this virtual existence. Not only in literature, exchange of ideas can sometimes be hidden between the notes.

        I recorded the following improvised piece while looking at Paul Gauguin’s painting of Van Gogh (1888), since this is a very deep dialogue between two painters about art itself. Obviously, focusing on the face area is almost a given. But the hand is also very eye-catching and full of movement although it looks still. The flowers are a bit gloomy however there are some glimpses of optimism. For me, brown is represented well by using the note ‘D’, while the different textures can be expressed by alternating between a few modes, like Dorian 4# and Aeolian, and blending them with other musical shades and some chords…

        But what am I doing…? I should let the notes speak for themselves:

        January 24, 2013