Good Songs Must Capture the Listener Right Away

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:   For your song to be successful, it needs to capture the listeners’ attention right away, and really make an impact. If it doesn’t, it won’t sell, and it’s as simple as that.   There are three aspects of a song that rise above the others in importance: the […]

Australian Songwriters Association Sponsors "Wax Lyrical" Events

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:   The Australian Songwriters Association is providing a stage for newbie and professional songwriters to present their songs and poetry. “Wax Lyrical” offers 15 minutes of performance time, after which the audience is encouraged to write comments, which are then forwarded to the performers.   “At Wax Lyricals, artists can […]

Finding the Right Chords, Part 2

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:   Any melody you come up with will be able to be harmonized in a variety of different ways. And that’s a good thing. It would be a very boring exercise if there was only one possibility for matching chords with melody notes. In the previous article we came […]

Finding the Right Chords

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:   In the previous article, I discussed strong and fragile chord progressions, and the need to have both in your songs. But how do you actually choose the chords? How do you know which chords go with the key of your song? And how to you get them […]

Making Chord Changes Work

Written by Gary Ewer, Senior Instructor, Dalhousie University, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. • Follow Gary on Twitter • Good songs sell! Check out “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle – available now at a 50% savings! ________________________________ A good chord progression is like a piece of land that you’re planning to build your house […]

Canadian Radio Star – National Songwriting Competition

From “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website:   Canadian Radio Star has announced their National Songwriting Competition for unpublished or self-published aspiring songwriters. The deadline for submissions is December 12, 2008. Applicants should send a CD with 1 to 3 songs with a typed lead sheet and contact info. The Grand Prize is $10,000, along […]