How To Write a Guitar Instrumental - Kevin O'Shaughnessy "Brace Yourself"

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  • Опубліковано 13 вер 2024
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    In this video, I'll share with you how to write a guitar instrumental using a couple of lesser used inspirations from classical music: sonata form, and melodic development.

КОМЕНТАРІ • 41

  • @jordanwhittle8713
    @jordanwhittle8713 3 роки тому +20

    There seems to be a lack of this type of video on UA-cam. There are a lot of videos about creating normal songs but I’m struggling to find good content for instrumental guitar songs. I learned a lot from this, cheers

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  3 роки тому +3

      I've noticed that myself. Part of the reason I haven't been posting anything new to the channel recently is because I'm retooling it to focus specifically on this subject. Stay tuned!

    • @TheMeJustMe75
      @TheMeJustMe75 2 роки тому +1

      I wrote only instrumental music. Been listening to Vai and Satriani since the late 80's and early 90's. I try to mimic their format but don't do such a great job.

  • @curvyplum5733
    @curvyplum5733 2 місяці тому +1

    this def helped alot

  • @JoseMartinez-oe5jj
    @JoseMartinez-oe5jj 3 роки тому +2

    Great video. Thanks

  • @steved9723
    @steved9723 2 роки тому +1

    Great video Kevin, and cool instrumental!

  • @guitarea5158
    @guitarea5158 3 роки тому +2

    Great video

  • @sparky_the_sparky1680
    @sparky_the_sparky1680 2 роки тому +1

    you earned me subscribing just based on that Sex & Religion poster in the background, plus, this was some really good info!

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  2 роки тому +1

      Glad you enjoyed it! I think you're the first person to mention that poster. It's totally invisible on the video but my best friend got it autographed by Steve Vai. It's a big inspiration for me. Thanks for subscribing! I'll be putting out more lessons like this soon.

  • @distorteddejavu5381
    @distorteddejavu5381 3 роки тому +3

    You deserve more subscribers and recognition.... Thanks for your tips man... M really confused about writing instrumentals... Thanks for your tips

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  3 роки тому

      Thank you. If you have any specific questions let me know. I can make them the subject of future videos.

    • @Danumurti18
      @Danumurti18 3 роки тому

      After watch this video, this is what I come up with.. it kinda work! This is my laziest attempt at making sonata 😄 ua-cam.com/video/CZIl8CyI4VI/v-deo.html

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  3 роки тому

      @@Danumurti18 That's pretty good! The sections are clear and the contrast between the them is cool. I could totally hear this fleshed out with a band. :)

    • @Danumurti18
      @Danumurti18 3 роки тому

      @@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar thanks! what really mind opening is the development part, you can play in almost anything as long as avoiding to play in the keys of theme A and B.. I'm not sure though, lol.. I just heard that from another vid about sonata.
      However, in classical, the functional harmony really takes part, like theme B should be in key of V from theme A (if theme A is major key). Also you should play V dominant key in targeted key right before changing part. But again I'm not sure! I'm still little bit confused actually, lol 😄

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  3 роки тому +1

      @@Danumurti18 Yeah, that's basically right. I think I mention in my video that "Brace Yourself" is influenced by sonata form but is not a true sonata (at least, I hope I did).
      In a classical sonata, like you said, the exposition has theme A in the key of I and theme B is in the key of V. If you're in minor, theme B would more commonly be in the relative major. I really messed with mine because it's in a minor key but them B is in the key of bV. :) It moves from G minor to Db Major.
      The development is the trickier part. This section is for musically exploring both themes, and anything goes. You can fragment them, transpose them, flip them upside down, anything. Even the key centers don't need to be fixed. I didn't really do this in my tune. I treated this section more like a traditional solo.
      The recap gives us both themes again only this time they're both in the key of I. Again, I didn't do that in mine either. I present both themes but they stay in their original keys.
      If I remember my music history right, the sonata was considered to be one of the more complicated forms to get right. The first movements of many symphonies were in sonata form. The cool part here is that we can take that influence and adapt it to fit the music we want to express.
      Hope that clears up any confusion. By the way, that Greg Howe tune kicks ass! I'm gonna try to dig into that a bit more in the coming days. Thanks for recommending it.

  • @BobCorraro
    @BobCorraro 2 роки тому

    Very inspiring, thanks!

  • @odysseaspierides7466
    @odysseaspierides7466 3 роки тому +2

    👌🤘

  • @paksi_cansa
    @paksi_cansa 2 роки тому

    finally 🙏 many thx sir

  • @Danumurti18
    @Danumurti18 3 роки тому +3

    Can this sonata form applied to other genre like jazz fusion? Other than sonata, what other form there are in instrumental guitar?
    Btw, maybe you should make more video like this, breaking down the structure of some instrumental guitar song, from yourself or other artist like Guthrie Govan, Greg Howe, Joe Satriani, etc. Make it a series, that would be great for me 😀

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  3 роки тому +1

      Are you a writer in that style? To tell you the truth, I've never really analyzed Jazz Fusion so I'm not sure what its current structural tendencies are. If you could recommend some of your favorite tunes I'd love to hear them.
      That said, I don't see why you couldn't use these structures. I've seen instrumentalists use a verse/chorus structure for their compositions. Rondo form might be a good one to look at.
      And thanks for the tip about the series. I'll definitely start working on that.

    • @Danumurti18
      @Danumurti18 3 роки тому

      @@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar Jump Start by Greg Howe, I feel like it's also have sonata form but I'm not sure..

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  3 роки тому

      @@Danumurti18 I'll check it out.

  • @asherf8107
    @asherf8107 2 роки тому

    I found this video pretty helpful. I would love to see you breakdown a song by bucket head cause that’s the type of music I’m goin for

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  2 роки тому +1

      Thanks. I don't do a lot of analyzing others' music because of the Copyright algorithm. I'll check it out though and see if it's something I can put into a future video. Thanks for watching!

    • @asherf8107
      @asherf8107 2 роки тому

      @@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar of course

  • @TheMeJustMe75
    @TheMeJustMe75 2 роки тому +1

    Sex and Religion, awesome album!

  • @gbfusion
    @gbfusion 2 роки тому

    Letting the development bass and development chords take on the melody from theme A was a really cool move. It makes total sense, but it isn't something I would naturally think of. Cool! Thanks for the video and for sharing. That's a nice song, too. Good stuff. If you are still wanting feedback for future videos, I wonder about the use of traditional/pop structure of verse/chorus/bridge/chorus etc in instrumental music. Is there reason to think that this structure would be less ideal for instrumental music? And this raises the question: Is there an ideal structure for writing instrumental songs that have power? Or is song structure more of a writing and organizational tool? Obviously, just some questions for contemplation.

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  2 роки тому +1

      Glad you like the video. And these are some great questions that I will definitely answer in a future video. As for using a verse/chorus form for an instrumental, look at Steve Vai’s “I Would Love To”. There are definitely some limitations with using that form but Steve addresses them in a very practical way.

    • @gbfusion
      @gbfusion 2 роки тому

      @@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar Hey, Thanks! I've never listened to that song critically, but I definitely hear the form. Perhaps the form of writing is why that song has always seemed to be one of the more traditional sounding songs on the album. Listening to it on headphones really demonstrates the deep layering done for that song in particular.

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  2 роки тому

      @@gbfusion Totally. The more you study form the more it becomes apparent how it can affect a listener without them even realizing it. Also, pay attention to how he handles the “verses” in that tune. There are a few helpful lessons.

  • @johnvlahos2530
    @johnvlahos2530 Рік тому

    Great video. Thanks! Did you master the songs yourself?

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  Рік тому +1

      Thanks. No, I had the album professionally mastered at Peerless Mastering in Boston, MA.

  • @dannycrover8710
    @dannycrover8710 Рік тому

    Writing verses is the hardest😆

  • @Zeus-nu2he
    @Zeus-nu2he 3 роки тому +2

    Kevin o what?

    • @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar
      @KevinOShaughnessyGuitar  3 роки тому +1

      Are you confused by the video or are you asking me how to pronounce my last name?

    • @cheesecrackers1218
      @cheesecrackers1218 3 роки тому +1

      He's referring to this video probably ua-cam.com/video/Dd7FixvoKBw/v-deo.html