First, a Bit of Basic Theory… For any given major key, there are 7 chords that occur naturally, one built on each note of the scale. In the key of C major, that gives you these chords: C Dm Em F G Am Bdim According to the very popular HookTheory website, the 3 most commonly […]
Many songs have what could be called its “climactic moment”: a spot where musical energy seems to be at its peak. In many songs, it sits there at the beginning of the chorus (“Firework”), sometimes in the middle (“Let It Be”), and sometimes near the end. (“Wichita Lineman”). Sometimes finding that moment may not be obvious. […]
Visit the Online Store for all your songwriting materials, including “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBooks, plus the video-based “Easy Music Theory” course. Songwriters have a tricky relationship with predictability. A successful song is usually one that is innovative enough to stand out from all other songs, but similar enough to everything else (i.e., predictable enough) that […]
There’s a very fine line between good and bad when it comes to songwriting. Your songs may keep missing the mark, but you could be very close to songwriting excellence. “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBooks will help clean up your technique and make you the best songwriter you can be. It could be argued that the […]
There’s a little trick I use when I’m having one of those days where it seems I’m getting nothing done. It works best at the times in my life when I feel that I have nothing to show for how busy my day seems to be: I put the simplest, easiest tasks into my daily […]
The closer you are to finishing a song, the less likely you are to experiment with radical changes. At the start of your process, you might change chords, try different lyrics, and even change the melody. But as your song nears completion, the changes you might try are usually small ones. The song feels “set”, […]
