It may seem like it goes without saying, but this can be easy to forget: one of the most essential parts of a song is it’s intro. A strong intro captivates your listener, uses melodic phrases to hook them in, and ultimately enlivens the song from the get-go.
In his course, Essentials: Acoustic Intros, the lauded singer-songwriter Ellis Paul delves into several inspirational song intros, and the rhythmic and harmonic concepts employed by each of them.
Here are six video acoustic guitar lessons from the course. For the full course, check out Ellis Paul’s Essentials: Acoustic Intros on TrueFire!
Acoustic Guitar Lesson – Essentials: Acoustic Intros – Battle Begins: Overview
Download the tab & notation for this acoustic guitar songwriting lesson
“The Battle of Charlottesville” is a social justice song that tells the story of the riots that happened in my hometown in 2017. I explain the subject matter and mission of the song so the tone of the introduction matches the intention of the song. Standard tuning is used, capo’d at the third fret. The song was meant to evoke a Civil War era guitar part – it begins with a falling down the neck lick that drops into an Am position chord and focuses the listeners ears on the riff that follows.
Acoustic Guitar Lesson – Essentials: Acoustic Intros – Battle Begins: Performance
Download the tab & notation for this acoustic guitar songwriting lesson
Let’s check out the intro to “The Battle of Charlottesville”. I play the drop-in lick and the riff using an Am position walk down.
Check out the accompanying jam for the full studio recording of “Battle Begins.” Listen to how the intro sounds within context of the rest of the song.
Acoustic Guitar Lesson – Essentials: Acoustic Intros – Battle Begins: Breakdown
Download the tab & notation for this acoustic guitar songwriting lesson
Here, I show you how to play through the lick and riff with an easy-to-follow breakdown. You can bend some notes to add to the mojo!
Acoustic Guitar Lesson – Essentials: Acoustic Intros – Sling Start: Overview
Download the tab & notation for this acoustic guitar songwriting lesson
“Sling Shot” is in a variation of open G: CGDGBE capo 4. It’s got a nice lick intro again that matches the tone of travel and provides mood and a musical setting for the topic of the song and the voice.
Acoustic Guitar Lesson – Essentials: Acoustic Intros – Sling Start: Performance
Download the tab & notation for this acoustic guitar songwriting lesson
Here’s a performance to the song “Sling Shot”. Check out the accompanying track to hear how the intro sounds in context with the whole song!
Acoustic Guitar Lesson – Essentials: Acoustic Intros – Sling Start: Breakdown
Download the tab & notation for this acoustic guitar songwriting lesson
Here I take you through a move-by-move break down of “Slingshot”. Again, the tuning is a variation of open G: CGDGBE capo 4. It’s got a nice intro lick that matches the tone of travel. I feel that this provides mood and a musical setting for the topic of the song and the voice.
Digging these free acoustic guitar songwriting lessons? Check out Ellis Paul’s full course, Essentials: Acoustic Intros.