Work On Your Songs AND Your Skills
Every song I write is an opportunity. Not just an opportunity to write a good…
A Simple Way To Make Lyrics and Melodies More Musical
Songs with sections – Verses, Choruses, Bridges – in which every line has a similar…
What Do Nas, Sting, and Metallica Have In Common?
It’s a practical and sensible songwriting convention that, in a Verse/Chorus song, the Chorus will…
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…
Looking For The DNA Of A Lyric? Try Your Song’s Title
When writing a lyric, we songwriters often have trouble answering a very mundane question: What…
If Marvin Gaye Can Do It, So Can You
Writing my post last week about the non-plagiarism of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Got To Give It…
Was ‘Blurred Lines’ Stolen From Marvin Gaye? No.
The first time I heard Robin Thicke and Pharrell William’s Blurred Lines I thought, “This…
When The Words And Music DON’T Match… Sometimes It’s Great
Most songs have music and lyrics that match – moody music gets sad lyrics; happy,…
How To Punch Up Your Song’s Title
Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ – written by her, Max Martin, and Shellback – leaves…
Quality Control: Taking A Song Apart And Putting It Back Together
I don’t have one ‘handy’ gene in me, so I’ve always been amazed when I…
How Do You Get Out Of A Songwriting Rut?
When I hear a song I like that’s either new, new to me, or that…
‘Let It Snow’: Great Songwriting Any Time Of Year
In the summer of 1945 in Los Angeles, on one of the hottest days of…
The Joy Of Cutting
Buddhists preach non-attachment. Today, though I’m not religious, I will join their ranks, at least…
Lorde, Adele, MJ: The Art Of The Pre-Chorus
More than any other part of a song, the Pre-Chorus’s main function is to help…
Songwriting: What Creates Skill? Why Does It Matter?
Skill is a big part of the difference between an amateur and a professional. Just…
Why Is A Song Like A Set Of Directions?
The human mind instinctively looks for patterns. It will even make up patterns when none…
7 Reasons Why It’s Great To Be A Songwriter Right NOW. (Can You Add Another?)
There are a lot of reasons – particularly on the business side – why it’s…
Creative Destruction in Songwriting
“Creative destruction is a process through which something new brings about the demise of whatever…
How Do You Organize Your Song? Around The Title?
Almost all of my songs are Title-based songs. Even though I don’t usually ‘write from…
A Question About Stevie Nicks’ ‘Dreams’
Nothing great that humans make is ever perfect, even if anyone could figure out what…
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