Written by Gary Ewer, Senior Instructor, Dalhousie University, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. • Follow Gary on Twitter • Good songs sell! Check out “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle – available now at a 50% savings! ________________________________ The pre-chorus (sometimes called the “rise” or “climb”) is an occasionally-used element situated between a verse and a chorus. […]
Pachelbel’s Canon in D is undoubtedly one of the most instantly recognizeable pieces of Classical music ever written. (Just pop “Pachelbel’s Canon” into YouTube and you’ll get hundred’s of versions to listen to). What’s more, it’s loved by almost everyone who hears it; whether they love or hate Classical music, it’s hard to shrug off the beauty and elegance […]
What’s the most serious problem that songwriters face when writing a new song? There are many possible songwriting errors that can lead to a song’s failure, but probably top amongst them is audience boredom. If the listener never comes back to the song, the song has probably failed. Not all listeners will like your songs, because […]
When we talk about contrast in a song, we’re talking about the existence of opposites: one part of a song may be loud, another soft; one part may be loud, another soft. The concept of contrast has been part of music composition for hundreds of years, and so it doesn’t matter what genre of music you write […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: Vocal harmonies can be the perfect touch your song is looking for. Harmonies have a lot to do with controlling energy in a song, so in that sense, how and when to use vocal harmonies is an issue of formal design; you can make your song […]
Lyrics are the main way you communicate with your audience, but it’s not the only way. What we do with chord progressions, melodic shape, rhythm, and the basic mood we convey with all of those elements, all work together to communicate something to the listener. But lyrics probably stand as the most important way we have […]
