How Contemporary Songs Are Different; Part 2: Melody
I gave a talk at our Songwriting Day event in 2016 about the ways in…
NEW Video blogpost: ‘Why Are Songs Different Today?’
Thank you for reading my weekly blogposts! I’m starting something different this week: a series…
Creating Your Habit of Songwriting
It’s hard for most of us songwriters to write a bunch of good songs unless…
When To Start Your Song With The Chorus
Most commonly, Verse/Chorus songs start with the Verse and build into the Chorus. This allows…
Christmas – It’s That Time Of Year… To Hear Everything
Going to various places in New York City during this holiday season, Christmas songs of…
Can You Write A One-Chord Song?
Have you ever tried writing a song with just one chord? This is an assignment…
Jay-Z and Bruce Mythologize Themselves In Their Songs… You Can Try It Too
I recently finished one of the best books on Songwriting I’ve ever read: ‘Decoded’ by…
Improve Your Recordings By Using Contrast
One of my occasional posts about recording and producing songs: Recordings that are great but…
For Bob Dylan, Songwriter, the Nobel Prize for Literature Is Not A Promotion
I love to read; I read compulsively. I get anxious at the thought of having…
What A Difference A Note Makes (In A Chord)
In a song I’m currently working on, there’s an 8 bar section where I started…
Songwriting Is Looking Inside… And Looking Outside
In terms of writing over a longer period of time, if one just writes autobiographically…
How To Make A Song Written In A Classic Style Sound Contemporary
Unless you’re a very strong performer, it’s difficult to make a dent as a songwriter…
How To Use A Minor Chord… When The Ear Expects Major
I’ve been listening to a couple of songs I really like that use the same…
How To Set Up A Song’s Title
Titles are one of the most powerful tools in songwriting. They don’t just help listeners…
Ways To Learn From The Songs You Love
Recently I came across a quote from artist/songwriter Aloe Blacc. What he said seemed almost…
Learn About Songwriting… Then Don’t Think About It
As weird as it may seem to some who’ve read a post or two of…
It’s Usually Good To Know What Your Song’s About
I post songwriting-related quotes on Facebook regularly; not always because I agree with them but…
Sometimes Songs Announce Themselves With A Shy Whisper
That little fragment, that snippet of words and/or melody that comes to mind at odd…
Let Us Now Praise Smokey Robinson
Let’s take a moment to praise one of the 20th Century’s great songwriters, universally acknowledged…
Songs, Like Art, Can Range from Realism to Abstraction
I don’t know much about art but… wait for it… On the wall at my…
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