Singer - songwriter

Strengthening the Structure of Your Songs

If you look closely at the way Classical composers wrote their music, you’ll find some very sophisticated characteristics that leave you wondering: Did they actually think people would notice? Here’s a bit of what I mean. Musicologists will tell you that Bach had an interesting way of structuring his music: he would write a short […]

Blake Shelton - Boys 'Round Here

The Role of Cleverness in Popular Songwriting

When we use the word “clever” in songwriting, we’re usually talking about lyrics. In that context, a clever lyric means any one of the following: There’s a double meaning going on that might not be immediately obvious. (i.e., the song isn’t about what it appears to be about) There are common words being used in […]

Pink Floyd - Money

Creating Unique Moments in Songs by Changing Time Signatures

A time signature is not something that gets a lot of attention when we think of pop songs, and truth be told, it’s possible to write great music without giving it much thought. Most songs are either in 4/4 time or some other arrangement of strong-beat/weak-beat meter. As you begin the songwriting process, you’ll likely start strumming […]

The Tricky Definition of "Good" In Music

Get “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and take your songwriting to a new level of excellence. Read more.. ______________ If you study Classical music history, determining what’s good has largely already been done for you. Using that great garbage filter we call “time”, the years, decades and centuries have all but filtered out […]

7 Most Common Chord Progression Mistakes That Songwriters Make

When chords work, you usually don’t even notice them. But when they’ve got problems, they can kill a song. ____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and increase your song’s HIT potential. _____________ There are times when I really notice a song’s chord progression, and how beautifully it works. But most of the time, when chord progressions […]

What Songwriters Need to Do To Hit the Target Audience

Are you hitting your target audience? “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” will show you how to get your songs’ structural problems solved. ______________ If you spend any amount of time analyzing hit songs from various genres, you know that there’s a sound that sells. That sound is changing all the time, of course. Hit songs […]