Using Bass Lines to Craft a Better Song Melody

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 E-book Bundle. Become a top-level songwriter, starting now. _________ Recently I wrote about the benefits that come from writing a melody first, and then creating a chord progression to harmonize it. In that post, I mentioned that one of the dangers of chords-first writing is that melodies can get neglected, […]

Keith Urban’s “Long Hot Summer” – A Study in Lyrical Layering

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 6-eBook Bundle“, and become a top-level songwriter! ______________ Every distinct section of your song (verse, chorus, etc.) should treat lyrics differently and have a different goal. Lyrics, when done well, should show a clear 2- or 3-level design. Messing this up can cloud your message, and your song can fail to produce […]

Changing Key, and Then Changing Back

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 6-eBook Bundle“, and become a top-level songwriter! ______________ Changing key in the middle of a song is one way you can boost musical energy. More often than not, you’ll move the key higher, since downward-moving key changes are tricky to do as they tend to sap momentum. There are lots of […]

The Truth About “Rules” in the World of Songwriting

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 6-eBook Bundle“, and become a top-level songwriter! ______________  It’s a natural human tendency to find out why something works, and then to use that information to do it again. As you can imagine, this could be somewhat disastrous in the world of songwriting. If you approach every new song […]

Switching from Chords-First to Melody-First Songwriting

There are good reasons why so many songwriters like starting the songwriting process by developing a chord progression first. Chief among those reasons is that one good progression gives you the foundation to develop many potential melodies. The problem is that by focusing solely on chords, melodies can sound a bit aimless. If you’re always starting your […]

Not All Songwriting Formulas Are Bad

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and kick-start your songwriting career! _____________ Songwriting formulas are not usually thought of as the friend of serious songwriters. That’s because the word “formula” implies something rather opposite to “imaginative” or “creative”. Normally when you use a formula, you’re following what amounts to a set of instructions that […]