Songwriter

What Playing Your Instrument and Listening to Music Does For Your Songwriting

Thousands of songwriters are using “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook bundle to polish their songwriting technique. Every aspect of how to make a song better is covered. Stop wasting time — take your songwriting technique to a new level TODAY. Ten eBooks, plus a free one: $37 USD (Immediate download). Probably the best two activities any songwriter can and […]

Orchestral pop music

Using Classical Music as a Model for Writing a Good Song Intro

Because most of my formal training in music and musical composition has been in classical music, I like thinking of ways in which pop songs have borrowed ideas from the classical masters. Chords are one way. Whether it’s a Mozart symphony, a Bach Cantata, or a Brahms sonata, the way progressions work — the way […]

Guitarist - Songwriter

Why is Finishing a Song So Much Harder Than Starting One?

It’s part of human natural ability to understand music, at least to some degree. People with absolutely no musical training can often tell when they’re hearing mistakes as their young child works on their weekly piano lesson. Humans have this musical ability through DNA, bolstered by whatever experiences they might have as a casual listener […]

Metronome

The Psychology of Song Tempo

I’ve always been interested in the tempo of music, and what effect that has on how we “hear” a song. We can measure tempo precisely, usually in bpm (beats per minute), but performers will often slightly alter tempo from one live performance to the next, which might indicate that the need for tempo precision is […]

Piano and guitar

When Your Songs Don’t Fit the Verse-Chorus Format

Progressive rock isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Most prog rock tunes are longer than the standard 3-4 minute length you expect with typical pop songwriting, and that alone will turn some listeners off. Also, it’s not unusual for prog rock songs also to use complex chords and lyrics. In other words, most music that would […]

songwriter waiting for inspiration

Stop Waiting For Inspiration to Hit

Inspiration is whatever excites you enough to start writing. The stereotypical image is something like a waterfall — something that takes your breath away, invades your creative mind, and prompts you to pick up your guitar and a pad of paper to try to set feelings to music. The problem with that kind of inspiration […]