Songwriters are correct to think a lot about how to start the songwriting process. How you start often has a strong influence on where things end up. But songwriters typically worry, not so much that they’re starting the wrong way, but more that they’re possibly missing out on a better way. You need to look […]
Yesterday I wrote about how to take old melodies and make new ones. The end result should be a song that bears no resemblance whatsoever to the original tune, and that’s the intent. That method should allow your own creativity to make something entirely new out of something old. Having said that, unintentional plagiarism is […]
You’d be forgiven for thinking that all the good melodies have been taken. Since most songs are tonal (i.e., they exist in a key), that means that the majority of them are comprised of seven different pitches, all arranged in different ways. It makes you wonder, how many melodies can possibly be concocted by using seven pitches? Well, […]
I’ve just published a new songwriting video today, “5 Reasons to Include a Bridge in a Song’s Design“. It’s based on posts I’ve done in the past on this blog about the bridge section, and looks at five situations that arise in a song that can be dealt with by including a bridge. In truth, […]
Every once in a while I take a quick glance through a portion of the Rolling Stone Magazine’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” and I’m looking for similarities. I’m willing to accept, of course, that the list is highly subjective, but that doesn’t bother me much. There’s no denying that the songs on the list […]
One of the most important principles of songwriting (and in fact, the most important part of musical composition whether writing songs or symphonies) is the notion that all elements of a song partner well together. In other words, the melodies, lyrics and chords all support each other, and all work together to reveal and enhance […]
