Songwriter

Seven Things That Really Matter In Your Songwriting

If you find that someone is able to write a complete song every few days, you might be tempted to think that there’s something magical about whatever process they’re using that helps them be so prolific. But the truth is that good songwriting is rarely about whatever process a writer might have used to create […]

Keyboard and guitar

Your Chosen Instrument Influences Your Songwriting

It’s fair to think that your songwriting ideas come from your musical mind, and so your uniqueness as an individual, including all your life’s experiences, will influence those ideas. But the instrument you use to give life to your ideas also influences your songwriting. In a way, your chosen instrument acts as a kind of […]

Songwriting Excellence

Improving On Your Songwriting Instincts

In practically any human activity you can name, having an “instinct” — what we might otherwise call a natural ability — is an important starting point. For example, you can teach someone the essential skills involved in hitting a baseball, but it’s far better to work with someone who just seems to have a natural […]

Songwriting

Is Your Verse Doing What It’s Supposed to Be Doing?

There is a lot of attention paid to song choruses, and for good reason. A chorus is where the catchy bit is either going to do its job and pull in an audience, or it’s not. So there’s a lot riding on the success of a chorus. If you’re ready to take your songwriting to […]

Songwriter - Synth

Why Chord Progression Formulas Usually Make Songs Better

In songwriting, a formula amounts to a set of steps that are predictable “responses” to whatever has just happened. And in general, they’re not necessarily desirable. What’s so undesirable about formulas? It comes down to this: most of your listeners like to hear musical ideas that are generated in a spontaneous sort of way, and […]

Songwriter

No One Cares How Long It Takes to Write a Song If It’s a Good One

Look around you. You can probably see lots of things that you’ve purchased. Some are inexpensive, like pencils, your comb, and your lamp. Other things represent the most money you’ve ever spent, and depending on your stage of life, that could be your smartphone, your car, or your house. For everything that you own that […]