A few posts back, I mentioned that in the creative arts (songwriting and other forms of composition, for example), good editing is more often about what you remove than what you add or change. In other words, the best fixes to bad music frequently happens when you remove stuff, not add stuff. If I’ve written something that’s 5 […]
There’s an obvious problem when it comes to writing lyrics that rhyme: the more diligent you are in creating a rhyme, the more limited your choice of words. The other side of that is this: creating a rhyming lyric that says exactly what you want to say can be quite a treasure. The strength of […]
Your song’s chorus is often going to be the most energetic part of your song, with the possible exception of a bridge that might really take things to new levels. But even in songs where the bridge is energetic, you’ll find that the return to the chorus afterward is all the more dynamic and lively. In […]
As a Canadian — and because this is a songwriting blog — I haven’t had a lot to say about American politics. And believe me, there’s a lot one can say. I align myself firmly with those who are deeply concerned about what is happening in the U.S. “Extreme vetting” is a dangerous doorway to the […]
Do you ever find that while songwriting can be fun and rewarding, you rarely get that “wow, I really like what I wrote” feeling? Without having that feeling at least sometimes, you can feel more and more negative about your songwriting over time. Back in the days when I was teaching in the public school system, […]
Some songwriters have a natural aversion to music theory. That dislike usually goes hand-in-hand with the mistaken belief that the purpose of music theory is to tell you what you should or shouldn’t be writing. That’s never been the purpose or power of music theory. Rather, theory gives you an understanding of the structure and […]
