Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’: Getting Inside A Great Song
What makes Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ a great song, maybe one of the great songs? Greatness…
What makes Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ a great song, maybe one of the great songs? Greatness…
In last week’s post I covered two of the five general categories I laid out…
Modulations in pop songs… Some people love ’em. Some people can’t stand the sound of…
The first time I heard Robin Thicke and Pharrell William’s Blurred Lines I thought, “This…
Most songs have music and lyrics that match – moody music gets sad lyrics; happy,…
Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of vintage Rolling Stones’ songs in various places… and…
I don’t have one ‘handy’ gene in me, so I’ve always been amazed when I…
When I hear a song I like that’s either new, new to me, or that…
One of the most common things I hear from songwriters is that they’re afraid they…
Buddhists preach non-attachment. Today, though I’m not religious, I will join their ranks, at least…
More than any other part of a song, the Pre-Chorus’s main function is to help…
Skill is a big part of the difference between an amateur and a professional. Just…
The human mind instinctively looks for patterns. It will even make up patterns when none…
There are a lot of reasons – particularly on the business side – why it’s…
“Creative destruction is a process through which something new brings about the demise of whatever…
Nothing great that humans make is ever perfect, even if anyone could figure out what…
It’s not too hard for me to get sick of my own songwriting. Sometimes it…
I’ve gotten interested in the Australian songwriter/artist Sia (Sia Furler) lately, especially her way with…
In a previous post, I explored making a simple melody more interesting by creatively harmonizing…
Pardon the oversimplification, but people tend to respond to songs three ways – emotionally, intellectually,…