There are many ways to start a song—the most important point is that you want to grab the attention of the listener and hint at what’s to come.

To start a song, generally you either hit some notes from the I chord (since this is the point from which you’ll be starting) or you can play a turnaround that resolves in the V chord and then begin your chord rotation.

More often than not, and intro is short and sweet—once you capture the listener’s attention, you’ll want to dive right into the meat of your song.