Sia, Christina, And The Modern Torch Song
I’ve gotten interested in the Australian songwriter/artist Sia (Sia Furler) lately, especially her way with…
Creative Harmonization – Radiohead’s ‘Karma Police’
In a previous post, I explored making a simple melody more interesting by creatively harmonizing…
Are You Giving Your Song The Steady Groove It Deserves?
Pardon the oversimplification, but people tend to respond to songs three ways – emotionally, intellectually,…
In Praise Of Songwriting ‘Mistakes’
Things sound ‘right’ to us when they’re familiar – when we hear what we expect…
Harmonize Your Song By Not Listening To The Chords
When choosing chords for (harmonizing) a song, you can tell a lot from listening to…
Places To Find Songwriting Inspiration – And Ways To Use It
It’s no surprise that artists get inspiration from other artists, both in their field and…
What Makes A Song A ‘Song’?
Why do songs need structure… and why do they have the structures that they do?…
Slow Down
Once I’ve got the music for a song pretty together – the melody, the rhythm,…
Songwriting: There Are No Rules
I’m a musician and songwriter who for over a decade has also been facilitating Songwriting…
Take Apart ONE Song
Here’s a way to get deeper into the craft, the nuts and bolts, of songwriting:…
We Respond To Songs Primarily As SOUND
When working on a song and concentrating hard on the component parts – lyrics, melody,…
Think Out Of The Songwriting ‘Box’: Drop A Bar!
We’ve all heard tens of thousands of songs. If a song is extremely predictable, most…
Let The Words Change The Melody Sometimes
A very common songwriter’s dilemma is to have a melody line and a lyric for…
One Quick Way To Start Writing a Song From Scratch
Here’s one quick way to get started from scratch on writing a new song: Take…
News Flash: Melodies Can Improve!
It may seem overly obvious to state that melodies, like all other aspects of a…
Staying Off The Downbeat – with The Clash
When I react to a song emotionally, at some point I get interested in looking…
Sing The Words Like You’d Speak Them
This week I’m writing about one of the basic principles of Songwriting… but one that…
“What Should Come Next In This Song?”
Maybe I’ve written a Chorus… now what will the Verse be? Or I have a…
How To Harmonize A Simple Melody Creatively – by NRBQ
Top New York City guitarist Larry Saltzman recently reminded me of a song I love…
Major 7th Chords – Due for a Songwriting Comeback?
Listening to how great it sounds in Frank Ocean’s ‘Super Rich Kids’ made me realize…
Watch the ‘Ask Tony’ Videos
