Feist - 1234

Creating a Song From 3 Short Melodic Ideas

Here’s an alternative to always thinking in the verse-chorus format: try creating three short melodic fragments, all in the same key, and then putting them together to create a complete song. Don’t worry or think about which one is the verse or chorus. If you want a real example of what I’m talking about, you […]

Band rehearsal session

Group Improvisation Ideas to Write Better Songs

Most songwriting processes use improvisation to some degree. Early in the process, improvising can seem aimless and futile. There’s a good reason for that: the best songs are a partnership of ideas. And since you’re just starting, most of the ideas you and your bandmates are coming up with might not be communicating with each other. […]

Freddie Mercury

How to Move From Stale to Innovative as a Songwriter

If you’re trying to develop an innovative songwriting style, a major impediment is one that’s often unnoticeable: you’re listening only to music from your own genre of choice. So if you’re a country-folk songwriter, and you’re only listening to the latest and greatest country-folk singer-songwriters, it makes developing your own style immensely difficult. Innovation is almost […]

paper & pencil - songwriter

Reading a Lyric as Part of Your Songwriting Process

Have you ever tried just reading your lyric out loud, without thinking about the melody you’ve written to go along with it? Reading a lyric can give you a lot of musical ideas, and can also serve as a good tool for diagnosing songwriting problems. Time to fix what’s ailing your songs. Read “Fix Your […]

Songwriter's notepad

5 Ways to Be Sure the Structure of Your Songs is Solid

There’s probably no word less inspiring in the world of songwriting than “structure”. And let’s face it, when was the last time you thought about “structure” when you wrote a song? But the structure of a song can be a vital part of what makes it work. It’s easiest to think about what structure really […]

Songwriting on piano and guitar

Songwriting From the Chorus to the Verse

If you’re ready to take your songwriting to its highest level possible, you need “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle.” Get the manuals that thousands of songwriters are using. Comes with a Study Guide. If you write in the pop genres, you probably make good use of improvisation, whether it’s by yourself or with […]