Which Chords Work Well in a Song's Bridge?

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and learn the difference between STRONG and FRAGILE progressions. ____________ The bridge is the part of the song that typically follows the second chorus, and it has a few reasons for existing. Chief among those reasons is the chance to leave the verse and chorus melodies and […]

Chord Progression Formulas: Good. Songwriting Formulas: Bad.

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle and learn all you need to know about how great melodies work. A formula is simply a predictable procedure for writing music. In other words, you’re following a formula if you say, “Once I’ve done this, I need to do that…” For songwriters, there are two […]

Strengthening Song Structure by Reversing Melodic Direction

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle and learn all you need to know about how great melodies work. __________ Contrast is one of the most important elements of successful songs. You want to contrast one section (a verse, for example) with another (the chorus) enough so that they’re distinctive, but don’t differ […]

How Melodies Reflect the Form of a Song

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle to learn more about how to create melodies that work. _______________ When we think of a song’s melody, we’re often thinking of it in the singular. The fact is, however, that most songs use a variety of different melodies, each one hopefully connecting smoothly to the […]

The Advantage of Goal-Oriented Songwriting

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and discover how SONG FORM MATTERS! Songs are musical journeys. And like any journey, it’s not just about where you’re going, but how you get there. Making sure that all the sections of your song connect with each other is a crucial part of successful songwriting, and […]

Connecting Verse and Chorus By "Mirroring" Ideas

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and discover how SONG FORM MATTERS! You’ll find that songs have a higher success rate if you can replicate ideas throughout. We do this quite naturally, for example, when we use rhythm. The basic beat that the drums establish at the beginning is usually repeated throughout the […]