Shaping Melodies – Does Your Melody Have a Climactic Point?

With a good song, there’s a strong sense offorward motion. How you know that forward motion is there and working for you is by your own sense of anticipation: if you find that at any given moment in your song, you want to hear what happens next, that’s the vital sense of forward motion working for […]

Help! Which Chords Do I Use?

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” Website: Once you know what key your new song is going to be in, it’s a fairly simple process to figure out the triads (chords) that easily work in that key. You’ll find that the I (key) chord, the IV chord (based on the 4th note) […]

Why Are Bad Songs Bad, and What Can You Do About It?

There are two important ways that songwriters can improve. The first way is to learn whatever you can about why successful songs work, andwhy they sell millions. That’s been my particular area of interest – analyzing and dissecting great songs, and helping songwriters learn from the success of others. My five e-books are designed to show in […]

Targeting Your Audience: You May Have a Lot to Say, But is Anyone Listening?

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: The art of songwriting is the art of communication. With songs, we can connect in a way that gets right into a person’s soul. Tell someone what you’re feeling, and they’ve got information. Sing to someone what you’re feeling, and they’ve got the emotions, the very heart and soul of […]

For Today's Songwriters, When it Comes to Melody Writing, Not a Lot Has Changed

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: When you look at the history of melody writing, and I mean going back centuries, you might be surprised to know that verylittle has changed in what makes a good melody.Good melodies need certain things to keep them from feeling like aimless wandering. And whether […]

Looking for that Elusive "Killer Chord Progression?"

by Gary Ewer, From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: Songwriters often go looking for the elusive “killer chord progression”. It doesn’t really exist. Not because there aren’t great chord progressions out there, but more because chords don’t just work on their own. How good a set of changes is depends on what else is […]