Why And How To Avoid The Root In Your Melody
A good melody tells a story. It doesn’t just help tell the story of the…
Beware The Songwriting ‘Expert’ (Including Me)
I’ve been writing songs for a long time, and teaching and coaching other songwriters for…
The One Unarguable Truth About Songwriting
There’s one fact of songwriting life that I’ve never been able to get around. It’s…
A Cheap Trick That Works… Sometimes
Going into a new key for your Chorus (every time; not just for the last…
What To Do When Your Song… Bores You
I’m working on a song and I lose interest in it because if I’m honest…
Remember… Your Songwriting Doesn’t ALWAYS Suck
There are days… there are days when I just don’t have it. I poke around…
An Easy Way To Do Your Song A Favor
As much as we might prefer it not to be so, the quality of a…
3 Ways To Make Your Chord Progressions Less Predictable
Something we may not think about much is how predictable the rhythms of chords usually…
Can Your Song Work With Three Sections Before The Chorus?
Songs with a Pre-Chorus almost always follow the same basic structure: Verse/Pre-Chorus/Chorus. Sometimes the Verse…
A Way To Make Your Melody Less Predictable
Like everyone, in my songwriting I have patterns I easily fall into. Comfort zone chord…
Is This The Most Overlooked Aspect Of Good Songwriting?
I’ve worked with a lot of songwriters. The single most glaring area of weakness I…
Writing A Song… When You Feel Like You’ve Forgotten How To Write A Song
I did a show about a month ago where I played some new songs of…
Before You Give Up On A Song…
When writing a song it’s practically impossible for me to tell if it’s going to…
How Problems With Your Song Can Fix Themselves
I heard a great quote recently from songwriter Dan Wilson (Adele) about not worrying too…
Why Imitation Is The Sincerest Way To Get Better
I started out playing music on electric guitar and soon enough found a more congenial…
Why Does It Take 7 People To Write A Song?
This is a question I get asked pretty frequently these days. Especially by songwriters who…
Why Good Titles Are More Valuable Than Ever
The component parts of contemporary songwriting are going in many directions at once. While some…
9 Ways To Start A Song
The beginnings of songs are varied and often mysterious. In this blogpost I’ll go through…
4 Ways To Listen To Modern Songs… If You’re Used To Listening To 20th Century Songs
Many areas of modern pop songwriting are extremely innovative, historically speaking. A lot of songwriting…
3 Ways To Finish Songs
There are all kinds of ways to work on and finish songs. No one process…
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