How Your Songwriter’s Instinct May Be Stunting Your Songwriting Output

Gary Ewer

Do you have a songwriter’s instinct? You likely do, because that is what’s brought you this far as a musician. But sadly, most people who have dabbled in songwriting will eventually struggle, and then will stop. Statistics say that it will likely happen to you as well.

But it needn’t happen. There’s a simple reason for this kind of artistic frustration, and it has to do with instinct. When we talk about having an instinct for something, we mean an innate ability. A natural talent. And we identify instinct usually by the ease with which we can achieve something.

So if you have a songwriter’s instinct, we mean the following:

Songwriting is easy. Songs come together effortlessly, at least most of the time.
Songwriting is fun. You enjoy the times you get to sit down and compose.
Songwriting is artistically satisfying. You feel that you’re expressing something important about your artistic self. It’s gratifying.

Easy. Fun. Satisfying.

The Problem With Instinct

But there is a problem with instinct. Two problems, actually:

An instinct has a way of making us feel that we have nothing left to discover.
An instinct can limit how far we go.

And then there is a third, more insidious problem with instinct: It leaves us with nothing to fall back on when we go through a creative block.

And that could very well be what you’re dealing with right now. Frustration is common in the arts. Where writing music used to be easy, fun and satisfying, you find that it’s now hard, leaving you feeling frustrated and unsatisfied.

The Solution to Writer’s Block is Knowledge

There is a solution, and it’s a simple one:

KNOWLEDGE.

Most writer’s block can be solved by discovering the secrets of good songwriting. And we have music history on our side: literally thousands of songs from the past six decades that have defined the best in songwriting for us.

But what are these thousands of songs telling us? How do we take the successes of other songwriters’ music and learn from them? How do we use someone else’s good music to break us out of our creative block and get us writing again?

The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle

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10 Songwriting eBooks (HIGH QUALITY PDF FORMAT) by Gary Ewer

IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD

TODAY’S DEAL: Get a copy of “Creative Chord Progressions” FREE

$37 USD for the entire bundle of 10 eBooks. PLUS…

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Back in 2005 I wrote the first edition of my eBook, “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting.” At that time, it was a 204-page manual – a booklet for my university music theory students, many of whom were just getting started as songwriters.

But they had problems with their technique, and “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” was a way for them to solve those problems. It succeeded for them, because it did the most important thing a songwriting text can do: it looked at how professional songwriters from the past 6 decades had dealt with and solved the same issues.

Fast-forward to today, and “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” is now a suite of 10 songwriting eBooks. That 204-page manual has now become, in its 3rd edition, a 333-page comprehensive text that describes every facet of songwriting you’re likely to encounter.

The 10 Ebooks Described

Book 1: The Essential Secrets of Songwriting, 3rd ed.

Author: Gary Ewer
Pages: 333
©2005, 2010, 2015, Gary Ewer and Pantomime Music Publications

The flagship eBook is, of course, “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting.” It describes how good music works — WHY it works.

And it starts with the basics:

How the structure of songs means everything to its success.
How to get a chord progression to work.
How to write a good melody that your audience can sing and remember.
What makes a good song lyric.
Why you’re failing at building an audience base.

And it moves on. It describes every bit of the skeleton of a song, from the verse to the chorus to the bridge, and everything in between. It describes the all-important hook, how motifs play a crucial role in gluing a song together, and what role inspiration plays in the songwriting process.

It leaves nothing out. This one ebook alone describes everything you need to know about songwriting, and how to get your songs working.

But, as they say, there’s more. A lot more…

Book 2: Essential Chord Progressions, 2nd ed.

Author: Gary Ewer
Pages: 52
©2007, 2015, Gary Ewer and Pantomime Music Publications

Here’s the thing about chord progressions: when they’re working well, your audience hardly notices them. They’ll notice a great lyric and a great melody before they notice a chord progression. And there’s a good reason for that.

Good chords are like good land that you build a house on. How you know the land is just right is that you notice how great the house looks sitting on it. That describes the nature of good chord progressions in a nutshell.

And that’s why I decided to write up a collection of progressions – ones that really work, in any style or tempo, and in any genre.

What exactly does “Essential Chord Progressions” give you?

All the standard progressions you could want. They’ll keep you busy for days!
Progressions that use secondary dominant chords, modal mixtures, etc.
Progressions that can help you change key (modulate);
Suitable for pop, rock, country, folk – practically any genre.
12-bar blues and other standard progressions.

It includes pages and pages of progressions that you can use right now, as is, or change in whatever way suits you.

Book 3: More Essential Chord Progressions, 2nd ed.

Author: Gary Ewer
Pages: 30
©2008, 2015, Gary Ewer and Pantomime Music Publications

This ebook is a continuation of what “Essential Chord Progressions” has to offer. So, as the title says, you get more:

More progressions, in major and minor keys;
Progressions that start in one key and end in a different one;
Progressions that use suspensions (chords that contain a non-chord tone which resolves downward);
Dominant chord formulas;
Inverted pedal point (an upper note that is sustained throughout a progression)
Circle of fifths progressions;
Chord planing (taking a chord sonority and moving all tones together).

If you’re a chords-first kind of songwriter, you’ll find that these two chord progression manuals will give you more than enough to keep you satisfied.

Book 4: How to Harmonize a Melody, 2nd ed.

Author: Gary Ewer
Pages: 40
©2007, 2015, Gary Ewer and Pantomime Music Publications

Are you the kind of songwriter that can “hear” a melody in your mind, but you’re not sure how to come up with the chords that make it come alive? This is the ebook for you!

Got the melody, and now you need the chords? You’ll learn all about:

how to identify the time signature of your melody (a vital part of applying chords);
how to identify strong beats and weak beats (also crucial);
how to identify the key of your melody.
how to develop a strategy for choosing likely chords based on the notes of your melody;
how harmonic rhythm means the difference between a chord progression that works, and one that might cripple your song;
how root movement of chords can play an important role in working with a good song melody.

What’s the good of a song melody if the chords aren’t supporting it? “How to Harmonize a Melody” cuts through all the confusion and shows you, step by step, how to identify the chords that are likely to work.

And you’ll also be able to use these strategies for coming up with your own unique chord progression for cover tunes.

Book 5: Chord Progression Formulas

Author: Gary Ewer
Pages: 19
©2009, 2015, Gary Ewer and Pantomime Music Publications

As you work with chord progressions, you’ll start to notice something: predictability plays a large role in their success. It’s the one area of songwriting where the word formula isn’t a bad word.

In fact, you want to discover and use chord progression formulas. In most successful songwriting, even complex music (progressive rock, jazz, etc.), you will see that innovative and complex melodies, lyrics and song form will go a long way, but chords will often be treated as the predictable foundation underneath it all.

But what are those formulas? “Chord Progression Formulas” show you many of the standard ones, and then how to create literally dozens of progressions within moments from each and every one.

And it does it using a clear and easy method. The formulas in this ebook will always work, no matter what genre you write in, and no matter what key or time signature.

Book 6: The 9-Lesson Course

Author: Gary Ewer
Pages: 71
©2007, 2015, Gary Ewer and Pantomime Music Publications

You need a way to take all of this knowledge — all of these hundreds of pages of musical principles — and show that you’re understanding it all.

This is where the 9-Lesson Course comes in. Each lesson deals with a different aspect of songwriting – lyrics, melody, chords, form. And each chapter concludes with a set of activities that helps you pull it all together.

Here’s what you’ll be working on:

LESSON 1- FOCUSING YOUR LYRICS
LESSON 2- WRITING CREATIVE LYRICS
LESSON 3- WRITING “FAMILIAR” LYRICS
LESSON 4- WRITING MELODIES THAT WORK
LESSON 5- STRUCTURING MELODIES
LESSON 6- INTEGRATING LYRICS with MELODIES
LESSON 7- CHOOSING THE RIGHT CHORD
LESSON 8- MIXING STRONG AND FRAGILE PROGRESSIONS
LESSON 9- CONSIDERING FORM

Book 7: From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro

Author: Gary Ewer
Pages: 82
©2013, Gary Ewer and Pantomime Music Publications

This is the ebook that will take you to the next level! It condenses everything you’ve learned in the previous six ebooks, and answers 12 questions practically every songwriter asks:

How Do I Sell or Market My Songs?
How Do I Write a Hook For My Song?
How Do I Write Good Vocal Harmonies?
How Do I Protect My Songs?
How Do I Write a Better Song Intro?

If you’ve been doing your songwriting on an amateur level and happy where you are, that’s great. Many songwriters do what they do as a rewarding pastime, and I am a big fan of people who create music as a hobby.

But if you’ve ever had it in the back of your mind that you’d like to move into the professional world — that you want to explore the possibilities — this ebook will help answer some important questions for you.

You’ll need to set attainable goals, and you’ll need to approach songwriting with more discipline than you might have in the past, but it’s there for the taking if you’re willing to put the time in.

Book 8: Hooks and Riffs: How They Grab Attention, Make Songs Memorable, and Build Your Fan Base

Author: Gary Ewer
Pages: 53
©2016, Gary Ewer and Pantomime Music Publications

Hooks and Riffs (AVAILABLE IN THE DELUXE BUNDLE ONLY)

We hear about the hook in songwriting as if it’s the most important element of a successful song. In the pop songwriting world, that’s not far off from the truth. But it can be a tricky element to describe accurately, because for obvious reasons, no two hooks are the same.

But we do know some things for sure. Most hooks blend together three crucial ingredients: an enticing bit of melody, a catchy rhythm, and a short, strong chord progression.

“Hooks and Riffs” discusses this vital element of music, that bit that’s responsible for audiences wanting to hear your song over and over again. It takes a close look at 15 classic hits and discusses how the writers layered hooks for maximum effect.

The eBook finishes with three suggested step-by-step procedures for writing a song based on a hook: by focusing on melody first, rhythm first, and then chords first.

If you’ve been trying to get a hook to work — to get something for your songs that waves a flag and grabs attention — let this eBook show you how.

Book 9: Writing a Song From a Chord Progression

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Starting from a chord progression may mean you’re ignoring your song’s melody.

Are you the kind of songwriter who likes to start the process by vamping a chord progression until other ideas occur to you. That’s a legitimate way to start, but you could be putting other elements in your songs at jeopardy.

A chords-first song can be a great way to write music, but it comes with a set of problems along with the benefits. In “Writing a Song From a Chord Progression”, you’ll discover:

How to get the process started;
Why we like starting with the chords;
How to find a melody when all you’ve got are chords;
What makes a good song melody?

And you’ll get a step-by-step process for writing a song from chords, a process that uses a hit song as a template.

You shouldn’t write every song by starting with the chords, only because starting the same way every time gives your music an unpleasant “sameness” that you want to avoid. But if you’re keen to make the chords-first procedure work, this is the ebook for you!

Book 10: Fix Your Songwriting Problems – NOW!

display_sep_FYSPN (AVAILABLE IN THE DELUXE BUNDLE ONLY)

Not every bad song suffers from the same problems – But here’s a description of the 7 most common ones.

Does songwriting make you happy? That’s the first sentence you’ll read in this important manual. You have a right to be happy, and songwriting can open the door to being artistically satisfied. But if your happiness is turning into frustration, you need solutions!

This eBook addresses seven of the most common problems plaguing pop songwriters today. If you always get that nagging feeling that there’s still something wrong every time you finish a song, let this eBook help to guide you onto the proper path.

Within these pages, you’re going to discover:

How to write a lyric that connects to the audience;
The secret of how a song melody pairs up with the song’s lyric;
What role inspiration plays in songwriting;
How various aspects of song form (including when and how to use a pre-chorus or bridge) can strengthen you music;
Why some chord progressions sound great, while others sound horrible.

This eBook puts a magnifying glass on several aspects covered in greater detail within “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting”. But this eBook gets you moving in the right direction immediately. If you have problems, this is the first eBook in the bundle that you should consult.

The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle

all_10_newJan

10 Songwriting eBooks (HIGH QUALITY PDF FORMAT) by Gary Ewer

IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD

TODAY’S DEAL: Get a copy of “Creative Chord Progressions” FREE

$37 USD for the entire bundle of 10 eBooks. PLUS…

Get a copy of “Creative Chord Progressions” FREE if you purchase the bundle today. READ MORE

You can buy these eBooks separately (visit here), but that will cost more than 3 times what you’ll pay if you get the entire bundle. The eBooks are in high-quality PDF format, which means you can read them on your desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone or any other PDF-reading device. You can study from the screen, or print up the materials for your own use.

You can read them in Adobe Reader, iBooks, Kindle, or any other app that handles PDFs.

Click the “Buy Now” button above, and here’s what happens:

You’ll be taken to PayPal’s secure purchase site. You can use your PayPal account, or you can make your purchase with your credit card. You do not need a PayPal account to make the purchase. The purchase price will be $10 off the regular price, for a limited time.
Once you’ve concluded your purchase, you’ll be taken to a download site, and you’ll click on a link to download the ebooks to your computer or mobile device. It’s that simple. You’ll be reading the materials moments from now. (NOTE: All 10 eBooks are zipped into one file for ease of download. Users of iPad or iPhone should use one of several free apps designed to open zip files, such as WinZip.)

I hope you take advantage of this bundle discount. You’ve probably been writing for years, wondering why things aren’t improving for you. There’s a good reason: With all that writing, you may be inadvertently reinforcing errors instead of solving problems.

Now is the time.

It’s time to take your songwriting to a new level of excellence.

It’s time to see the full extent of your musical abilities.

It’s time to set some goals, do some work, and show everyone the quality of the music you’re able to write. Your happiness as a musician depends on it, and to make it in the music business you need to be able to write excellent music, and to do that consistently.

“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook Bundle was designed specifically to let you achieve your goals.

All the best with your songwriting projects!

-Gary Ewer