Bob Dylan

Your Longevity as a Songwriter

If you’re a songwriter, do you look ahead in time and assume that there will come a point where you’ll simply stop writing? I’ve heard several songwriters talk about this recently, and to be honest, it surprises me a bit. “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle” comes with an excellent Study Guide that’s meant […]

Piano and guitar - songwriter

Chord Advice For Starting a Song’s Bridge

One of the reasons that you might add a bridge to your song is that it can make it just a bit longer, if all you’ve got is a couple of verses. So if, by the time you’ve reached the end of your second go-through of the chorus, you feel that your song would sound […]

Sad songs

How Emotion and Music Intersect

This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, and so I’ll state this up front, and then give you some additional thoughts: Good music is not meant to express emotion; good music IS meant to create emotion. I want to tell you a bit more about this. To say that a good song […]

Frustrated songwriter

Why The Rolling Stone List (or Any List) Doesn’t Really Matter

I’ve been reading all sorts of commentary, both civil and uncivil, about the latest incarnation of the Rolling Stones list of the 500 Best Songs of All Time, released this month. Predictably, most people have something negative to say about it all. If you’re one of the ones who takes issue with which songs are […]

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Using Melodic Direction to Act as Musical Glue

Though for the best part of my music career I analyze songs and pull them apart to better understand them, I’m just like any other consumer of music: I want to be entertained. That means when I listen to music, I’m not always critiquing. Sometimes, like you, I just want to sit back and enjoy what […]