Creating Song Melodies That Never Resolve

At first blush, creating musical tension in a song doesn’t sound like something you want to do. We’ve learned in our everyday lives that tension is usually something negative — something that needs to be resolved. But in music, tension is a crucial characteristic of some of the best song melodies written. That’s because musical tension […]

Tom Petty

Creating Musical Energy When You Use the Same Melody For Verse and Chorus

“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook bundle includes “Writing a Song From a Chord Progression”. Learn how to write great songs by starting with the chords, and then avoiding all the potential pitfalls of the chords-first songwriting process. Recently I wrote about the importance of musical energy in all songs, whether they’re loud or soft, and that […]

Instrumental Melodies

Why Instrumental Music Absolutely Needs a Good Melody

If you’ve written a melody and you want to explore the many ways there are to add chords to it, you need to get “How to Harmonize a Melody.” It shows you step by step, with sound samples, how to create the chords that will bring your melodies to life. Here’s a bit of a […]

George Harrison

Musical Energy is More Than High Volume and Fast Tempos

In my songwriting eBooks, particularly “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting”, I list eleven different principles of songwriting — aspects of music that seem to be present in practically all songs, regardless of genre or other performance-related characteristics. One of those principles is this: “In general, the energy at the end of a song should equal […]

Guitarist - songwriter on stage

Your Future in the Songwriting World: What’s Your Plan?

The world of songwriting — in fact, the world of music in general — often rewards dreamers. The hope that you’ll be a big name in the business someday almost seems to be a prerequisite to actually becoming a big name. When you think about it, hoping and wishing is probably an important stage for most […]

guitar - songwriting

5 Tips for Editing Songs That Practically Always Work

“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle” covers every aspect of how to write great songs. Contains a Study Guide that keeps you focused on becoming a consistently better songwriter. Get today’s FREE DEAL when you make your purchase. Click below for details. Here’s the scenario: You’ve just written a song, but you know that it’s not […]