What Are You Recalling When You Remember a Song?

Listeners remember relationships between musical elements, not usually the elements themselves. _______________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 eBook Bundle, and get “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro” free. Read more.. _______________________ The most important part of a song’s success is its ability to be remembered. If no one is remembering it […]

Getting the Most Out Of the Tonic Note

How you use the tonic note in your song can go along way to controlling musical energy. _______________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 eBook Bundle, and get “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro” free. _______________________ Some might say that it’s not all that important to know the key of your song […]

Songwriting With An Open Mind

Written by Gary Ewer, author of “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle. Follow Gary on Twitter. _______________ This fall I’ll be conducting Symphony Nova Scotia in some school-based concerts, and I’ll start the first ones tomorrow. The idea is to present the orchestra to young people, right in their own schools, with the aim to […]

Making a Line Drawing of… Lyrics?

Line drawings of musical elements are powerful tools for analyzing and solving songwriting problems. _____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 eBook Bundle, and discover the hit potential in your own songs. _____________ One powerful technique songwriters should be using is the making of line drawings to show melodic shape. The concept is simple. […]

John Mayer's "Paper Doll" – Why the Melody Works So Well

Repetition and contrast provide melodic strength to “Paper Doll”. _______________________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 eBook Bundle, and get “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro” free. _______________________ John Mayer’s “Paper Doll”, from his recent “Paradise Valley” album (released in August, 2013), is a beautiful tune that shows songwriters how melodic motifs […]

Are You a "One Good Section" Kind of Songwriter?

The next step after writing a good 8 bars of music is to figure out where in your song it really belongs. ____________ “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle comes with this FREE eBOOK: “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro”. 7 Songwriting eBooks for $37 _____________ Does it frustrate you that you seem […]