One of the most important principles of songwriting (and in fact, the most important part of musical composition whether writing songs or symphonies) is the notion that all elements of a song partner well together. In other words, the melodies, lyrics and chords all support each other, and all work together to reveal and enhance […]
Just a quick note for you – I have a total of 10 songwriting ebooks that I sell on my online store. The price of the entire set (the “Deluxe Bundle”) has been cut. You can now purchase that entire bundle at $10 off the normal price. That sale started today (Feb. 11, 2016) and […]
A song that we love can seem to have a really enticing chord progression, but when you really dig into the song to find out what they’ve done regarding chords, you often find that they’re very ordinary, and that it’s other things — syncopated rhythms, chord inversions, and melodic shapes above the chords — that […]
If you’re a songwriter, you’ve already dealt with writer’s block. Everyone feels it in its mildest form at least, and most feel it from time to time at a moderate level. For some, writer’s block becomes severe; it digs its heels in and lasts for months or longer, and can be debilitating. It may seem […]
“It’s all about the hook,” you’ll often be told, when it comes to successful pop songwriting. The only problem with that assertion is that it makes it seem as though other song elements aren’t quite as important. A hook grabs attention, to be sure, but doesn’t excuse you from making sure that the overall structure […]
Today’s world of pop music can be a very insular one, in the sense that many “discoveries” pop musicians make about what people like aren’t really new after all. I’ve posted an article from the New Yorker recently, called “The Sound Machine,” about how hits are written today. In that article, Jay Brown (president of Roc Nation) said: “You’ve […]
