Bring The Pain – To Your Songs
It’s natural for a Songwriter to worry about things like, “when people hear my songs,…
The Great Leap (In Melodies)
Recently Frank Ocean, a singer and songwriter, has become very popular very fast. I read…
Avoiding Songwriting Predictability
We’ve all heard thousands, maybe tens of thousands of songs. Most of us now know,…
Getting Your Song Stolen
“If I play this song in public and it’s not copyrighted, isn’t there a good…
Build A (Songwriting) Container
I try to be open to ideas whenever they present themselves… I scribble things down…
John Lennon: The Underrated Melodist
People love to categorize, and people particularly like to categorize in dualities – yin/yang, Apollo/Dionysius… …
Is Your Song Happening In The Present Or The Past?
When writing and developing a lyric, a relatively simple yet powerful tool that’s often overlooked…
‘It’s Having A Good Idea For A Song That’s Hard’
Lyle Lovett recently said, “I’ve always thought that writing isn’t really that hard. It’s having…
Have You Tried Outlining Your Song?
If you have the basic idea for a song – the Chorus and/or the Title…
When Is A Song Finished?
Some songs get worked on for years, literally; some come together in a half hour. …
One Way To Break the ‘Rules’ of Songwriting: Iron & Wine’s ‘The Trapeze Swinger’
There aren’t really any ‘rules’ to Songwriting. Maybe one: Don’t bore the listener. But there…
Your Song’s Title – A Missed Opportunity?
Most songs are Title-oriented, so getting as much mileage as possible out of the Title makes…
Songwriting Productivity: The Use of Deadlines
When asked which came first, the music or the lyrics, the great lyricist Sammy Cahn…
First I Tell The Song, Then The Song Tells Me
If I’m lucky, I start out a song with an idea I like – music,…
Themes Obsessive & Habitual
In our lyrics, we tend to write about the same things over and over. We…
The Delicate Balance: Music & Lyrics
Every song, by definition, balances music and lyrics. How well a song works often has…
The Melodies of Adele
Much has been made of the recent success of Adele – her powerful singing, throwback…
Modern Songwriting starts with Chuck Berry
Welcome to a weekly blog I’ll be writing on songwriting- and music-related subjects! I couldn’t…
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