Getting Beyond Right And Wrong In Song
Even when I’m officially ‘teaching Songwriting’, I shy away from the idea that I’m ‘teaching’…
Using The Title To Write The Verses
When writing a Verse/Chorus song, say I’ve got the Title and Chorus. When it comes…
Songwriting Feelings Aren’t Facts
When writing songs lately, I’ve felt… listless. Uninspired. My ideas seem ‘weary, stale, flat, and…
‘The Elements Of Style’ – In Songwriting
The Elements Of Style, Strunk and White’s classic and still magisterial book about written English…
Joni Mitchell: The Power Of Subtlety And Restraint
Joni Mitchell’s song ‘For Free’ is a superb example of storytelling in a song. It…
Creative Harmonization – Radiohead’s ‘Karma Police’
In a previous post, I explored making a simple melody more interesting by creatively harmonizing…
Right Now This Song Is A Mess… And That’s Fine
Life is a seesaw between chaos and order. Why should Songwriting be any different? There’s…
When THAT Is In Your Song’s Title
If you’re going to use the word ‘that’ in a song’s Title, it’s usually a…
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…
On Doing Something 100 Times In A Row
The only claim I make for my weekly Songwriting blog is factual: this is my…
What’s the REAL Title Of Your Song?
You can call your song anything you want. You can use a word or phrase…
Harmonize Your Song By Not Listening To The Chords
When choosing chords for (harmonizing) a song, you can tell a lot from listening to…
The Title: To Rhyme Or Not? And, If So… Where And How?
In a song I wrote recently I was puzzled, not for the first time, about…
The Eternal Songwriting Question: Stick With What I Know? Adapt? Or Both?
The kind of songs I grew up with, the genres I loved the most, the…
Songwriting Day 2014: Put 40 Songwriters Together In A Room And Shake…
It’s interesting when you get 35-50 songwriters together for a full day, as we do…
Songwriters… Be Impatiently Patient
Ideas and inspiration are indispensable, but for most writers putting in the hours is how…
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…
Confidence + Humility = Creativity
Most of the great musicians and songwriters that I’ve met and worked with have two…
When I Get Sick Of The Song I’m Writing
Songwriting, like recording, is usually a very repetitive process. I have to play the song…
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