When he moved on to second grade, folk music was just becoming very popular, and he started learning the guitar. He tried his hand at rewriting Taiwanese folk musician Luo Ta-you's song "Childhood," and even at such a tender age, he wrote a few love songs by himself.
升上國二，民歌風潮正盛，陳建年開始接觸吉他，嘗試改編歌手羅大佑的「童年」，而在情竇初開的年紀，自己也寫起情歌。