Interesting that you say that as I was just reading an article that says that is the key ingredients for writing a blues song.
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12 bar blues is a great place to start with song writing. You can have lots of fun with the lyrics and regardless of what you say, people will know the structure of the music to bring them along with you.
And I love the sound of a minor 7th.
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@Blobbyblob Just had a quick look few hours ago at 12 bar blues. I will without a doubt look into that. Minor and 7th, oh yes, I luv those sounds already, just those few I know. 
Thnx a lot for the hint. 
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@Socio - Thatâs also what I can read from it all. There is no right way or wrong way, nor right or wrong end goal. Its all about the music. It makes it even more beautiful in my eyes. To luv the same and yet, be so individual. Music is really such an amazing universe. - Also I find it so lovely and inspiring how open and honest people are within the music universe. Beautiful, just beautiful.
I really appreciate all who have given their say on this. My understanding and view have deepened and expanded widely. Itâs mind-blowing in its best and most amazing ways.
Thnx a lot
I have around 20 songs of my own now which Iâve been slowly putting on YouTube and Instagram.
One big problem for me is that it feels like thereâs a vague line between sharing a song and being overwhelmingly self-promotey.I work in software, so in my off-time I want to be far away from screens. That makes it hard to dedicate time for engaging in online communities (such as here) enough so that posting my music wonât come off as âOh he just comes here to market himself.â It doesnât feel quite this way if itâs a cover.
Also, covers will get more attention because itâs music that people already like and trust. People will buy their favorite bands record and listen to all 40 minutes, but many are hesitant to spend more than 10 seconds on some nobodyâs original song.
Wonder if that makes sense. Community engagement aside, I really hate marketing my own music. For one because itâs disappointing since online analytic tools give me objective proof that nobody cares, and itâs also just a drag as Iâd rather be playing/writing more songs than fighting algorithms.
Personal ramblings aside, for this community (and any other, really) we have to realize that while there is so much great talent, people may just not be interested in writing music. Or itâs just something theyâd prefer to keep for themself. Itâs not wasted talent if theyâre making themselves happy. On the contrary, itâd be a waste of talent if they force themselves to put out against their own interest, in turn making themselves unhappy, just because they feel like they have some sort of obligation.
Sorry if any of that came off as negative. Hopefully the last bit is a bit more inspiring and makes up for it.
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Bit late to the party on this one but some interesting comments on views.
Why covers ? Well as folks have said this Community is predominant beginning guitarist or folks who have had a stop start learning journey. So when you are starting out and you want to gauge your own abilities and development, playing over an existing framework ie a cover, gives you immediate feed back. You can not only self analyse but share your recording here for feed back. And that is the primary reason. The further you develop your range of skill the more complex the songs become, as in the addition of soloâs or fills. Using tried and tested songs gives you a reference point against which you can measure.
As to writing songs ? I think it depends on motivation and creativity and we donât all have that. Iâve posted two originals over the years The Reaper back in 2016 and Attestation Blues a couple of years ago. The latter was a bit of fun about the pandemic and was a simple 12BB and pretty lame. The Reaper was a more serious project about mortality but my playing skills and vocal range at that time were both limited and the outcome was something mundane and pretty boring. What I am saying is I did not have the required skill set at that time to create an interesting and captivation framework that would draw the listener in. I still donât have those skills but the biggest issue in my opinion is the ability to create meaningful melody lines.
I have about 4 or 5 projects on hold at the moment for that reason. I can utilise many common chord progressions but always struggle to create a melody that delivers the lyrics in other than a dirge. Exploring Blues improvisation and learning solos, call and answer phrases is giving me a better idea but at the moment I do not have the musical vocabulary to create an interesting finished article that folks âwantâ to listen to and not just hear because I dumped it into AOVYP.
In my many years on the forum/community I have encountered literally 1000s of members but those who have written their own material has always been a small number and those who have written really good material (IMHO) have been fewer. Folks like @Digger72 and Katja spring to mind, along with Marcus and Sandra of Sandmarx whoâs user name I cannot recall on this platform. They are the exception.
Many of us learn to drive but few get to become Formula One racers. But that is not to say you should not have a go if that is something that appeals to you, Iâve not given up yet.
But writing good songs requires a âmagicâ formula and a greater musical knowledge than I have at the moment. So in the mean time Iâll keep honing and developing my playing and vocal skills playing covers. Phew got back there in the end !
My 2 cents.
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Hi Kim,
People primarily plays covers because thatâs how you learn to play the guitar. There is a reason why Justins course has so much focus on learning (cover) songs. When youâre new on the instrument itâs pointless to be talking about creating art. Same as if you wanted to take up painting or photography. It would be beyond naive to believe you could just pick up a paintbrush, or grab a camera, and - through sheer inspiration - fantastic art would come out. Right?
In all things in life there is a learning part, where you build on top of what people did before you, and then - for a lucky few - some will take it further, and eventually contribute to taking the art to new places.
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@eisei - For me it makes total sense. Also I donât see it as rambling nor negative, but you are simply pointing to some facts that is more or less obvious, no matter what area we are getting into. Let it be art, work, hobbies etc. - There are many layers to it also.
Itâs one of those things that kills creativity among those who are not daring enough and donât give a heck about what other people think.
Here in Denmark we have something called âJantelovenâ. @brianlarsen have mentioned it in another post I read some days ago. It is really a creativity killer here in Denmark, but is something that can be seen to a certain extend in other countries as well. âJantelovenâ seem to be something that comes from a very jealous mind. In itself its nothing, but how some have taken it to heart and abusing it towards others is really sad. âJantelovenâ was promoted together with many other things that also makes a lot of trouble in peoples mind, which again manifest in many ways.
Law of Jante
Also the political correctness have just become worse and worse over the years. Now to an extend here in Denmark, that old children songs have been re-written or simply vanished. Books from library have vanished not to be found again. If we speak or do something out of that box, we are getting all sorts of accuses.
Back to the music world.
You are really spot on. If people make a cover and going through all the trouble with copyright and algorithms, it is totally fine and dandy.
If people create their own, hardly any notice and those who do, is often accusing it for showing off, self-promoting or in any other negative way.
I have noticed this already even I have been here for only 5 weeks.
It is a habitual tendency we easy get drawn into, unless we mindfully reject taking that path.
I am very happy for you addition to all this. Because it is some really valid points you address.
We can call it negative or positive or whatever, but objectively it is around us. How things are perceived is always in the eyes of the beholder.
Thnx a lot for your honesty. 
I could say the same about people doing covers. I have never downloaded a cover from the forum to listen to for personal pleasure. Thatâs not the point; not what this forum is about.
There are many good reasons for wanting to write songs. I feel very sorry for anyone whoâs motivation is driven by wanting a large number of strangers to like what they produce.
If I thought âfantastic artâ was the goal in my musical journey, Iâd get rid of the guitar right now 
Your photography and painting analogy is spot on, and whilst it will help you immensely to study theory and practice techniques that others have pioneered, having a go at being creative from the outset is just as educational and can be far more rewarding than trying to recreate or do a variation of someone elseâs picture.
My main point is, if you have a wish to write songs (for whatever reason), you should start now, not wait till youâre âgood enoughâ.
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@Kasper Does it have to be fantastic? Either nothing or fantastic, is that what you mean?
I totally do understand your take on it. Itâs the normal approach to it. But does it mean, that if we donât follow that path, that we are wrong?
Since I already composed my own song 2 month into my journey, does it mean I have gone astray?
I donât train playing other peoples song, as least not so far, as I find them so boring and trivial that it for me is torture for both ears, fingers and mind. So I had to figure out myself how to train.
Am I now on a wrong path? Does it mean I canât learn to play guitar if I donât do covers?
I think you should do both! 
Itâs perhaps not very known around here, because on these forums I only post covers, but I was playing in a band doing original material for many years. And I enjoyed those years a lot, and we did play full sets of original songs⌠even on a number of very big stages in Denmark. So, for sure, writing original music is great and very fulfilling. It just does not replace the need for study or practiceâŚ
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@brianlarsen - I am totally with you on this and also your comment to Kasper.
Because if I only are âallowedâ to make music and compose my own stuff, if itâs fantastic and I get a tons of followers, I think people misunderstand what art really is.
Absolutely.
I guess youâre one of the more proficient players here technically. Itâs a good job they closed the old forum, otherwise I would feel the need to go and trawl through your past posts to see if you shared any of your original band stuff.
Think of uploading something, just to satisfy my curiosity
I am aiming just to be happy with it/them myself, let alone anyone else. And when it comes to listening for pleasure I will always go back to the OA, if its something Iâve covered.
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You do it your way, and I do it mine⌠thatâs the bottom line.
BUT - the quoted part of your post above is really where the chain falls off for me, and I can no longer follow you⌠at all! Thatâs simply a ridiculous and pompous thing to say. And it shows me that you will never go anywhere with your playing. I had a feeling that you were a bit of an oddball, now I know for sure
But best of luck, and give it your best shot!
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I will rest my case. I got my questions answered and much more.
I seriously appreciate all contributions. I think you are all wonderful and have made some serious valid points, no matter your take on it, end goal etc. 
I hope you all have got something out of it as well.
I will continue my guitar journey, song writing and composing and enjoy every moment as I have done so far, with my Japanese beauty made in China. 
I did it my way
Are you still going to learn these songs to have in your campfire locker? Is it just the songs that your learning at the start of your journey donât interest you?
@Socio - I had to imagine being a DJ or something similar, in order to come up with that list of five. I donât have anything in my campfire locker. At a campfire I will be the one listening and join in or play my own songs. Though I most likely will not be able to be at a campfire gathering or any other gathering as such.
I do have a couple of those campfire songs, but I use them as a mean to test how my training is developing. Kind of experiment, on how the training spill over to be able to pick a song like that and play.
I have few songs I would luv to play, but they are further down the path, as I need to train certain techniques in order to play them. But I will not showcase them or play them in public, it is just for my own ears to hear. - âNothing Else Mattersâ Metallica and I have few of Kim Larsen songs as well. Thatâs all. Just for myself. - Else its all about song writing and composing. - Also I have no really interest showcasing those either. - Also again just for my own enjoyment and also to have something fun and interesting things to do, as I no longer can ride my bicycle, do gardening, work as a carpenter which all I loved so much. - Now I finally found something I can do while having fun and enjoying. I luv every moment of this.
Few hours away from my bed and toilet is what the body can handle at most. - So I am very limited in this sense. But I find my ways around it, as good as I possibly can.
What I post in my learning log is not to showcase myself or promote myself, as some might think. It is to show the progress and how I go about things. Nothing more and nothing less.
I composed one song and I will continue develop this and write about how I deal with certain issues, my thoughts behind it and like that. - Kind of showing the process behind the curtain. I might not even want to show the final result here.
Also that is something that have developed and changed since I first came 5 weeks ago and until now. I kind of have settled now and know what direction I want to take and how I will use and benefit from the community and having a learning log.
Not sure if it makes any sense to any of you. But thatâs the road I am taking.
For me it is roughly all coming together, some minor details might change, but over all, I have got all I need to move on in my desired direction.
Hi Brian,
A lot of it was unfortunately lost - simply because weâre talking about OLD stuff, recorded to tape. And time simply slipped by, and a lot of it was never digitized 
I do have some stuff lying around, I might make a post with a selection of tracks, if it would be of interest. I would have to swallow my pride a bit though, because neither tone nor playing skills matches my own standards these days. But if there is anywhere I could safely post such stuff it would probably be on these forums, where people understand
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I have a couple of friends who played in bands when they were younger. Most of them are pleased when they come across recordings from the past 
Whilst that might prove difficult for you, the worse you sound, the more encouraging it might be for those who listen to your lead play in awe, thinking âIâll never be that good!â 
Youâve always struck me as having good balance between modesty and confident self-awareness
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