Today’s Top 5 Ways To Make A Song Better
1) Improve The Melody Play the melody by itself, on an instrument. Play it very…
(Bass) Substitutions Allowed – On The Songwriting Menu
Early in the process of writing a song I usually start playing just the melody…
Opening Up Your Chord Sounds – Or Not
I’ve noticed that most writers tend to either stick with triads OR use upper extensions…
When And Why Should I Put A Bridge Into A Song?
Although the Bridge of a song can be delightful, by the time it comes along…
Today’s Top 10 – Most Common Songwriting Mistakes, Part 2
Everyone’s heard thousands of songs. If a songwriter isn’t on her or his game, even…
Keeping The Listener Off-Balance… And Involved
The two very different great songs we’ll look at today use the same device to…
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…
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…
The Most Common Songwriting Mistakes – Part 1 (Titles)
Titles are important because the way we hear a song is organized around the phrase…
Where Do Songs Come From? How Do You Start A Song?
The beginnings of songs are varied and often mysterious. In this blogpost I’ll go through…
Lyrics: Connecting The Dots – Part 2 (Frank Ocean)
Super Rich Kids by Frank Ocean has been my favorite for a few months now. …
The ‘Problem’ Is Not Really A Problem
When I’m working on a song, I try to write down everything that comes to…
What A Difference A Note Makes
Recently I was listening to the great film composer Nino Rota’s music from The Godfather…
You Don’t Need An ‘Idea’ To Start A Song
I’ve worked with many songwriters who’ve said to me, “I’m not writing because I just…
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