How To Finish Songs… When It’s Easier To Just Start A New One
In basketball they say about some players, “He/she is a good finisher.” That means that…
Keeping The Listener Off-Balance… And Involved
The two very different great songs we’ll look at today use the same device to…
Not Settling For A ‘Good Enough’ Song
To get going on a new song idea, I have to have a sense of…
Making The Lyric, When Sung, Feel Like It’s Being Spoken
It’s good to remember that writing melodies and words for songs relates very strongly to…
When Is It Time To Give Up On A Song?
Sometimes the moment comes when I realize my song is just not going to work…
Against Punctuation (On A Lyric Sheet)
Not all punctuation. I’ve got nothing against apostrophes. But most punctuation that’s put on a…
How Do You Finish A Song Without A Deadline?
I don’t know how anyone finishes, really finishes, a song without having a deadline of…
Thinking Backwards From The Title
Many people who write and teach fiction, playwriting, screenwriting, etc., suggest that writers not go…
An Explanation Of Not Explaining
I think a reader of this blog, no matter how occasional, might notice how much…
When Starting A Song, 10 Thoughts Worth Ignoring (At First)
1) This sucks. 2) I stole this melody from another song – I just don’t…
10 Cool Things About ‘Refugee’ by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Refugee (Tom Petty/Mike Campbell) In no particular order: 1) Extremely economical songwriting – The Verse…
The Song & The Songwriter’s Emotional Attachment To It: Two Different Things
Many if not most songs start with the writer having a strong emotional connection to…
‘Maybe I’m The Only One Who Feels This Way…’
‘Maybe I’m the only one who feels this… or thinks like this… or sees it…
Listening (Not Going) To ‘Rehab’
Listening again recently to Amy Winehouse’s really good song ‘Rehab’, I was struck by several…
“Shame isn’t for writers. You have to be shameless.” – Philip Roth
The great Philip Roth was talking about being shameless in the writing, not in one’s…
Get the Throat Clearing Done Before The Song Starts!
One of the most common problems/mistakes I run into – in my own songwriting and…
Song Structure: A Way To Express What Is More – Or Less – Important In Your Song
Good structure in a song takes your attention to where the writer wants it to…
The Songwriting Channel – Tune In
Guess what? The Songwriting Channel is on – it’s playing your shows, it’s ‘friending’ you,…
There’s Always A Good Reason To NOT Write
There’s always a good reason to not write. Some of them: To respond to the…
The Most Common Songwriting Mistakes – Part 1 (Titles)
Titles are important because the way we hear a song is organized around the phrase…
Watch the ‘Ask Tony’ Videos
