If you ask someone what they like about a song melody that they love, they’ll usually mention one or more of the following: It’s got a nice contour that explores a large range, from low to high. It’s got a moment (the so-called climactic moment) that acts as a point of focus for the entire tune. […]
If you find lyrics hard to write, there could be many issues at play. In general, when I hear someone complain that their lyrics sound “lame”, or “like garbage”, there’s often a problem that’s not immediately noticeable: Weak lyrics often lack focus or a clear message. There are lots of other problems you might encounter when trying […]
In case you were wondering: yes, people do listen to lyrics. I’ve mentioned on this blog many times that if you take a look at “Worst-Songs-Ever” types of lists (all unscientific, of course, but still…), you’ll find that songs are considered bad, corny, or otherwise unsatisfactory based mostly on the quality of the lyric. There has […]
How do you know that the chords you’re experimenting with are going to be the best choice for the song you’re working on? We know that certain chords — it’s probably more accurate to say certain chord combinations — create specific moods and support certain attitudes in a listener. So getting the right chord combinations is […]
Have you ever had anyone tell you that music theory will stifle your sense of creativity? That’s a common fear, but in fact the exact opposite is true. A knowledge of the rudiments of music will actually improve your imagination and make you far more creative. You need to look no further for evidence of this […]
First, a Bit of Basic Theory… For any given major key, there are 7 chords that occur naturally, one built on each note of the scale. In the key of C major, that gives you these chords: C Dm Em F G Am Bdim According to the very popular HookTheory website, the 3 most commonly […]
