The title of this blog post sounds like a trick question, because you’d probably think that I’m going to say, “Neither is best – it’s whatever suits the musical ideas rolling around in your mind at any given time.” That, of course, is logically the best answer. But for me, I’ve always found melody-first songwriting […]
Early next week I will have the pleasure of conducting what is arguably one of classical music’s most powerful works: Mozart’s “Requiem.” It was the last piece Mozart composed, and in fact it was left unfinished, completed by one of his former students, Franz Xaver Süssmayr. By the time the Requiem was composed (1791), the […]
Spending your days writing songs might be your dream job, but if it really is a job, you’re going to have to put your guitar down once in a while and deal with the business end of songwriting. But all the words we associate with songwriting business — royalties, copyright, splits, points, etc. — can be […]
The perfect combination: “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle” and a Study Guide! Dig into the songwriting manuals that thousands of songwriters are using to polish their technique, complete with a study guide to show you how to progress through the materials. Every song is a partnership of various elements. Practically every song you […]
When songwriters and other musicians use the term “formula” as it pertains to pop music, they’re usually talking about certain noticeable features of songs that keep appearing over and over. In most cases, it’s a situation where the writer thinks, “Because I’ve done this thing in my song, the next step is to do that thing…” […]
Most songwriters know the benefits that come with creating a word list when writing song lyrics. And though there are several ways this can be done, most lyricists will create a simple list of words that pertain to the song’s topic. The benefit of doing this is that you establish a vocabulary that makes searching […]
