Most instrument content on the web is written for people who want to be that instrument’s player – guitarists wanting to be better guitarists, drummers wanting to be better drummers, bassists wanting to be better bassists. That’s fine if it’s what you want. But it doesn’t serve the songwriter who picks up a guitar to write, the producer programming drums for a track, or the artist building basslines into their own arrangements.
This hub is for the working musician’s relationship with instruments – songwriters, producers, and independent artists who use guitar, drums, and bass as tools rather than identities. The knowledge that makes your songs better, your productions tighter, and your records more compelling, without requiring you to become a player.
Three sub-pillars
We’ve organised the working musician’s instrument knowledge into three companion pages, each focused on the specific way that instrument serves songwriters and producers:
Guitar for Songwriters and Producers
Guitar from the writing seat and the production seat. Chord theory worth knowing, voicings that change a song’s feel, scales as a source of melodic and harmonic ideas, and the practical recording and arrangement choices that make guitar parts sit properly in a track. Plus the small set of maintenance and technique skills that actually matter for the songwriter and producer (and what you can safely ignore).
Drums for Producers and Songwriters
Drums from the producer’s chair and the songwriter’s notebook. How to program MIDI drums that feel like a real drummer played them, the fundamentals of how a kit works (so you don’t program the unplayable), and how to write songs that give drums something interesting to do. Plus the rhythm and notation fundamentals that earn their keep many times over for non-drummers.
Bass for Songwriters and Producers
Bass from the writing and producing side. How to write basslines that lift a song rather than just following the chords. How to record and program bass parts that translate across playback systems. And how to think about low end as a deliberate creative choice rather than something that just happens. Plus the small set of bass concepts that any songwriter or producer benefits from understanding.
Why we frame instruments this way
The honest reason: there are excellent dedicated instrument resources elsewhere on the web – Justin Guitar, Drumeo, Ultimate Guitar, and the various manufacturer education portals. They’re better at teaching you to be a guitarist or a drummer or a bassist than we ever will be, and we’re happy to point you to them when that’s what you need.
What those sites don’t tend to do well is serve the songwriter who needs guitar harmony but doesn’t want to learn shredding, the producer who needs drums to feel human in MIDI but doesn’t want to sit at a kit, or the artist who wants their basslines to do real work without spending years learning slap technique. That gap is what this hub fills.
The Songstuff approach is built on a simple principle: learn the parts of each instrument that make your music better, and don’t bother with the parts that don’t. For a working musician, this is usually a small fraction of the total knowledge available, but the right fraction.
How these pages connect to the rest of Songstuff
Each sub-pillar links outward into the primary work areas of the site:
- Songwriting and lyric writing. The chord choices, melodic ideas, and harmonic shapes you find through instrument work feed directly into songwriting. Our songwriting articles cover the wider craft.
- Music production and recording. The recording, programming, and mix decisions for each instrument are part of the broader production picture. Our recording articles cover the full production process from tracking through mixing.
- Music theory. The harmony, scale, and rhythm fundamentals introduced across the sub-pillars connect into broader music theory content useful for all working musicians.
Where to start
If you’re not sure which sub-pillar is most relevant to you right now, here’s a quick guide:
- You’re a songwriter writing on guitar → start with Guitar for Songwriters and Producers
- You’re producing tracks and programming drums → start with Drums for Producers and Songwriters
- You’re writing songs that need stronger basslines → start with Bass for Songwriters and Producers
- You’re a producer working across all three → start anywhere; the three pieces are written as companions
Each sub-pillar is self-contained, so you can dive into any one without needing to read the others first.
Stay Close To The Craft
Songstuff sends regular updates on songwriting, production, and the working musician’s life. Articles, new tools, occasional offers – nothing else.
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The Three Instruments
Working musicians carry three different relationships with instruments. Mostly, we never separate them out. There are the ones you play - where you've played an instrument long enough that we don't need to think of technique. There are the ones you can fake - where retakes and the forgiveness of a DAW let you get a passable part down that holds up in a mix. Live, you'd be exposed inside eight bars. Lastly, are the ones you understand well enough to write for - instruments you might never play, but you understand them, the register breaks, the voicings a player would actually choose. That last category is often underrated.
