Chapter 9: How to Write a Grunge Song

In the early 90s, an incredible wave of raw, distorted, and passionate music came roaring out of Seattle and completely reshaped the world of rock and roll. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden weren't using complex music theory; they were using a simple, powerful, and honest formula.

Their creative process was beautifully straightforward: take a powerful idea or feeling, channel it through heavy, driving power chords, and let it all out with a simple, melodic solo from the pentatonic scale. It was all about raw emotion, not technical perfection.

You have already learned all the tools these legends used. In this chapter, we're going to shift from practicing exercises to creating music. We'll use the exact same lyric-driven songwriting process to build your very first song from the ground up. Let's get to it!

The Songwriting System

This is our simple, 5-step creative process for building each section of our song. We'll use this recipe to craft a verse, a chorus, and a solo.

1. Capture the Idea: Write down lyrics or hum a melody. This is the raw material for your song.
2. Establish the Rhythm: Record your idea while tapping out the rhythm on a single MIDI note. This translates your idea into a musical grid.
3. Clean Up Your Rhythm: Quantize the MIDI to lock your rhythm into a tight, professional-sounding performance.
4. Select the Notes: Convert your MIDI rhythm into either a power chord progression or a melodic solo.
5. Generate & Master the Tab: Export the MIDI to TuxGuitar to create a professional tab, then practice it until it's second nature.

Part 1: The Verse (Your First Mission)

For this first part, you will follow my lead exactly. I'll provide the lyrics and chords, and your goal is to use our blueprint to turn these ideas into a finished guitar part. This is the core skill: turning an idea into real music.

Step 1: Capture the Idea (Lyrics)

Here are our lyrics for the verse. Try reading them aloud to feel the natural rhythm.

• Bar 1: "This is my moment" (Rhythm: 1, 2, 3, 4&)
• Bar 2: "My first song ever" (Rhythm: 1, 2, 3, 4&)
• Bar 3: "I can shred guitar" (Rhythm: 1, 2, 3, 4&)
• Bar 4: "I will rock always" (Rhythm: 1, 2, 3, 4&)

Step 2: Establish the Rhythm

• Now, let's create a rhythm for your song. Open your music software, Ableton, and get a couple of tracks ready.
• Set up an audio track for your voice.
• Set up a MIDI track.
  • Next, look for the small piano keyboard icon in the top-right corner of the Ableton Live interface. Click on this icon to turn it on. When the icon is lit up, it means your computer keyboard is now active as a MIDI keyboard.
  • With this feature enabled, pressing the "K" key on your computer keyboard will act as the note C on a standard MIDI keyboard. This allows you to tap out rhythms and melodies directly without needing an external controller.
• Next, turn on the metronome and set the tempo to 100 BPM. When you're ready, start recording. As you read your lyrics out loud, simply tap the rhythm on a single key of your MIDI keyboard.
• This process will give you two recordings: one with your voice and one with the MIDI rhythm you tapped out.

Step 3: Clean Up Your Rhythm

• Action: Quantize your MIDI track to the nearest 8th or 16th note. This cleans up the timing and makes it precise.

Step 4: Select the Notes (Chord Progression)

Now, let's turn that rhythm into a riff! We'll use the rhythm you just tapped out as our strumming pattern and assign one power chord to each bar.

• Bar 1: C5
• Bar 2: A5
• Bar 3: F5
• Bar 4: G5

Assign these chords to your MIDI track, and you'll have a powerful chord progression!

Step 5: Generate & Master the Tab

• Your Turn: Export the MIDI file and import it into a tab program like TuxGuitar. Now you have a professional-looking tab of the verse you just created. Time to pick up your guitar and play it!

Part 2: The Chorus (Your Turn to Create!)

Now you create your own chorus. Follow the exact same blueprint, but this time, you make the creative choices.

Step 1: Capture the Idea (Lyrics)

• Action: Write four powerful lines for your chorus.

Step 2: Establish the Rhythm

• Action: Record yourself reading your lyrics while tapping the rhythm into a MIDI track.

Step 3: Clean Up Your Rhythm:

• Action: Quantize the MIDI track to lock in your timing.

Step 4: Select the Notes (Chord Progression)

• Action: Use the power chords (C5, D5, E5, F5, G5, A5) we've learned to create a chord progression, assigning one chord per bar.

Step 5: Generate & Master the Tab

• Action: Export the MIDI to TuxGuitar and start practicing your original chorus.

Part 3: The Solo (The "Anti-Solo")

We use the same system, but instead of lyrics and chords, we use a hummed melody and the pentatonic scale. Grunge solos were rarely about speed; they were about creating a strong, simple melody.

Step 1: Capture the Idea (Melody)

• Action: You don't need lyrics for a solo. Instead, hit record and hum a simple guitar melody.

Step 2: Establish the Rhythm

• Action: As you hum, tap out the rhythm of your melody on a single MIDI key.

Step 3: Clean Up Your Rhythm

• Action: Quantize your MIDI track.

Step 4: Select the Notes (Melody)

• Now, let's find those notes on the guitar using our friendly pentatonic scale. Go into your MIDI editor and listen to your hummed recording. Drag each MIDI note up or down until its pitch matches the melody you hummed.

Step 5: Generate & Master the Tab

• Action: Export your solo's MIDI file to TuxGuitar. You now have a tab for your own custom solo. Master it!

Part 4: Let's Assemble Your Song!

You've built all the pieces from scratch. Now it's time to put them together and play your first song. Remember the classic grunge structure: start with a quieter verse, then kick into a LOUD and energetic chorus.

The Song Structure:

1. Verse
2. Chorus
3. Solo
4. Chorus

A Few Friendly Tips

Before we finish, let's troubleshoot common issues.

• "My power chords are buzzing or sound weak."
  • Try this: This is all about confidence in your fretting hand! Make sure your finger is pressed down firmly and right up against the metal fret wire. Don't be afraid to give it some muscle—it's rock and roll!
• "My solo sounds random and disconnected."
  • Try this: You might be trying to play too many notes. The best grunge solos are simple and memorable. Try focusing on small, 2 or 3-note phrases and repeating them. Repetition is a powerful tool that makes your melodies sound intentional and catchy.

Conclusion

Take a moment and appreciate what you just accomplished. You did something that 99% of aspiring guitarists never do: you stopped just practicing exercises and created a tangible piece of music. Using the very same tools and creative spirit that sparked a rock revolution, you built a complete song from the ground up.

You didn't just write a few parts; you manufactured a grunge song with a heavy power chord riff and a melodic, memorable solo.

This raw, powerful sound is a fantastic tool to have, but it's just the beginning of your songwriting journey. To write songs with even more emotional color and depth, we need to expand our chord vocabulary. Next up, we're going to unlock the seven beautiful "diatonic" chords of C major. It's time to evolve your sound.