Sometimes it’s the case that you’ve written a song, played it for yourself a few times, realized it sounds bad, and your instincts are to trash it and go do something else. The truth is that somewhere between many and most songs start out as something that just doesn’t work. In other words, most songs […]
If you play a musical instrument, it’s a no-brainer that you’ll spend a good deal of time practicing. But as a songwriter, you may not consider practicing to be a big part of improving your abilities. But practicing your songwriting is important. It doesn’t just hone skills, it helps keep writer’s block at bay by giving you […]
I’ve just finished a new eBook for those of you who are looking for a creative solution to the chord progressions you’re experimenting with in your songs. “Creative Chord Progressions” is a free add-on to “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 10-eBook Bundle, and is available now to new purchasers. It is in high-quality PDF format. [NOTE: If […]
I’ve written a fair bit about chord progressions lately, because it’s the most popular topic on my blog. When I take a look at the stats, it’s normal to see that 8 out of the 10 most popular posts deal with some aspect of chords. Recently I received an email from someone who asked me […]
We often speak of writer’s block as being a state of mind that keeps you from coming up with anything useful despite all your best efforts to write. A creative block usually means staring at a blank sheet of paper, watching every good idea fizzle away. But there’s another kind of frustration that occurs: the […]
Take a listen to the following songs, and pay particular attention to the verse melodies: My Little Town (Paul Simon) Don’t Stop Believin’ (Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, Neal Schon) Roxanne (Sting) Jam (Michael Jackson, René Moore, Bruce Swedien, Teddy Riley) Rumour Has It (Adele, Ryan Tedder) These songs were all hit songs in their own time, and […]
