One of the interesting qualities of music is its ability to affect our mood, perhaps even to generate certain moods. Politicians certainly know this; musical choice is an important consideration at rallies and speeches. There are some aspects of music that immediately come to mind when we think about controlling the mood a song portrays. […]
Have you thought recently about why you write songs? Do you find that your reasons for being a songwriter today differ from whatever drove you to being a writer in the first place, however many years ago? Maybe you found songwriting to be a creative outlet, where the writing of melodies, chords and lyrics helped you […]
Songwriters use a variety of terms to describe various aspects of music. The definition of some of these terms are obvious, while others are hard to define, but “you know it when you see it”: groove, riff, pay-off line, the tune… these are words we just all seem to know instinctively what’s being referred to. “Hook” […]
Here’s a tip for you, especially if you’re a chords-first songwriter who works out songs on a guitar. And it may seem like a simple, no-brainer type of tip, but it’s an important one: revoice your chords. Each time you play through a chord progression, you’ll find that your ear gets drawn to the highest notes […]
This is the time of year that many songwriters are heading back to school. Whether you’re a student or a teacher, you’re likely discovering (or are about to discover) that the amount of time you have to write music is becoming increasingly hard to find. Are there any tricks for managing your limited time? Or must songwriters simply get […]
Musical energy is a term that a lot of musicians use but find hard to define. You might use the word energy in a very nebulous sort of way, where it’s synonymous with intensity. With that usage of the word, most listeners of music would know what you mean if you said, “I really like the energy of this song.” They would […]
