When you’re dealing with a creative block, you’ve probably discovered that making a big change in your songwriting process can be rewarding, and you’ve likely tried most of them: Speedwriting (stream of consciousness). Composing on a new (or otherwise unfamiliar) instrument. Partnering up with another songwriter. Changing key from major to minor, or vice versa. […]
Once in a while I look back in my blog archive just to remind myself of the kinds of things I was writing about a few years ago. I came across an analysis I did in 2013 of the song “Thirteen”, by Big Star, which they wrote and recorded in 1971. That’s a song that still […]
Make a little list of what you consider to be the best songs you know, and you’ll probably see one thing that is in common: each song represents a partnership of ideas. What does that term “partnership of ideas” mean? It refers to the fact that all the various components of a song — the […]
If you find it hard to create a melody that works with your lyric, it might be that you find the entire package of the musical side of things (melody, chords, rhythms, etc.) to be difficult. Some lyricists are good at creating images, and saying much with few words, but when it comes time to […]
Experimenting with tempo can provide interesting subtext to your music that you hadn’t considered. ____________ Purchase “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle TODAY, and receive your free eBook “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro”. _____________ Here’s a quick little experiment: listen to Willie Nelson’s version of “Always On My Mind.” Now listen to the same […]
Use the natural inflections of the words of a lyric to help construct a melody. ____________ “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle comes with this FREE eBOOK: “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro”. 7 Songwriting eBooks for $37 _____________ So you’ve got a lyric, but you’re struggling with writing a melody that makes […]
