Try this little experiment the next time you’re listening to music on the radio. Put your radio in an automatic scan mode, where it moves through the dial, stopping on radio stations as it finds them, and then plays 7 or 8 seconds before moving on. As it stops at each new station (and assuming […]
If you’re looking to become a better songwriter, don’t forget about improving your ear. Being able to identify chords, rhythms and melodies by ear is helpful in two major ways: It speeds up the songwriting process. You may have a certain chord or melody note in your mind but may not have the ability to […]
When you’re writing a song, one of the best supplies of musical inspiration is your own work! As you come up with new ideas, you get excited and that excitement helps you create even more ideas. That’s normal, and the excitement you feel is what we’d otherwise call inspiration. It’s the worst-kept secret in the songwriting world […]
There’s so much about songwriting that seems random. You could choose practically any chord progression, any melodic shape, any hook, any combination of words for the lyric. So when you look at it that way, it seems that randomness is a key feature of songs. The success of a pop song often comes down to […]
“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle” contains several eBooks that are meant to get you moving quickly in your songwriting process. They’ll give you progressions, formulas for creating your own, and all the info you need to add chords to an existing melody. Many songwriters love the chords-first songwriting process, for several reasons: Chords […]
I love musical complexity. I love how it stimulates my mind and gets me thinking. I love how complexity sounds pleasantly unpredictable. In complex music, I never know which direction the song is going to go, and I love that. Writing complex music, however, is a risk. It’s not a given that complex music will […]
