Community Challenge 15 | Write something sad (Patreon)

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Hi Everyone,

For this week's Community Challenge: Write something sad

Sometimes writing something sad can make you feel really good! Sometimes writing something sad can make you feel more sad, but in a good way.

How do you write something sad? Sometimes it's about the way you play.

Here is a list of suggestions:
1. Slow tempo
2. Play in a way that is heavy, relaxed
3. Pick a minor key
4. Keep it sparse and simple
5. Melodies with long notes and gentle transitions might work better than staccato or jagged melodies
6. A slow bend up to a note can sound sad sometimes
7. Sliding up or down to a note in your melody can sound tired in a sad way sometimes

This is extremely open ended. You could write a chord progression or a whole song. It could be an instrumental ballad or a single, solitary melody played to some slow acoustic chords. Whatever you do, if your creation feels sad, submit what you've written to the community forum and we'll all have a listen. If you tried to make something sad and you're not sure you've nailed it, submit it anyway! Maybe the community will have some more technical suggestions for how to make it sound sad!

If you're stuck on how to do this, keep in mind that your body language and the way you play will often translate more than what notes you play. So it might help to imagine how it feels to be sad and see how your body feels. Or if you're already feeling sad, pour that into the guitar and see what happens.

Yes, music theory is important, but ultimately music is about expressing yourself. The suggestions above will help, but trying to translate how your body feels when you're sad into playing the guitar can take some practice!

The idea here is to experiment, explore and have fun.