How to Make More of a Song's Hook

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. FOLLOW GARY ON TWITTER The second edition of “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” is out! See the video here. ___________________________________ We all know what a song’s hook is: it’s typically something short and memorable, comprised of a catchy melodic shape married to a catchy […]

The Avett Brothers: Masters of Understatement

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. Download these e-books, and start turning your songs into winners by discovering why hit songs are hits. _____________ The title track off The Avett Brothers’ newest album, “I and Love and You”, demonstrates an important principle: the climactic moment in a song is not […]

How to Use Symmetry to Make a Song More Memorable

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. ____________ Symmetry occurs when matching items either face each other, or if they are placed equally distant on opposite sides of a midpoint. For songwriters, symmetry occurs when elements of a song repeat, especially applying to aspects of melody, lyric or form that occur […]

Crafting a Melody By Using Melodic Cells

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. ___________ Norah Jones released a new album, “The Fall”, this past November. Its first single is “Chasing Pirates.” It’s a great song with an infectious laid-back groove that really hooks into your brain. As a songwriter, that’s your aim – get a song out […]

Song Analysis: Rob Thomas' "Someday"

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. FOLLOW Gary on Twitter, for songwriting tips and news. _____________ Rob Thomas’ latest single, “Someday”, from his “Cradlesong” album, features at least a couple of techniques that will interest songwriters. One is the concept of introducing a new melody as a “replacement chorus” in the […]

Song Analysis: Regina Spektor’s “Eet”

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. Gary is the author of several songwriting e-books that will get you writing better songs. Read more about them here. _______________ When we write music, we often find ourselves fixated on the melody, chords and lyrics. But it’s the controlling of musical energy in […]