Setting up your song’s groove is not possible without considering harmonic rhythm. The harmonic rhythm of your song is, in short, how often the chords change. And for the best songs, this rate of change needs to be a constant factor most of the time. It’s what Songwriting Principle No. 5 is all about: There […]
Chord progressions are funny creatures. We spend so much time looking for that elusive set of chord changes that are going to make the listener sit up and take notice. And actually, the best progressions are the ones that stay out of the way of the song. If your progressions are drawing that much interest, they’re probably drawing toomuch […]
You might think that when I talk about “strong” progressions I’m really talking about “good” ones, but that’s not what I’m referring to. A strong chord progression has a particular set of characteristics that contrast with the other category: fragile progressions.Good songs use a combination of strong and fragile progressions. So what is the principle […]
When we speak of the energy of a song, it’s probably obvious what we’re talking about. In short, it’s that unseen force within a songthat causes our body to move with the music. All songs have energy, even the very quiet, serene ones. The successful song does not deal so much with how much energy a […]
When I wrote “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting”, I researched long and hard about what makes good songs; why some songs work so well, while others seem to fall flat. In my preparation for writing the book, I developed a list of what I considered to be the primary principles of successful songs. There are eleven of […]
If your melody dwells mostly on one note, with only a few rises and dips, don’t be surprised if no one remembers it once the song is over. In order for a song melody to be memorable, it needs to have shape. The issue of boring, forgettable melodies, occurs most frequently when you start the process […]
