Does this describe your own songwriting situation: You sit down with your guitar and start to strum, trying to come up with ideas for a new song. You find your fingers moving to the same chords — the ones your fingers usually like. While you’re strumming, you become aware that you’re using the same basic […]
In music, the tonic chord is the chord that represents the key of the song: C Dm Am G C In that progression, the key is C major, and C is the tonic chord. The psychology of music makes the tonic chord sound like “home” to us. Our brains relax when, after a long sequence […]
Another year is coming to a close, and I sincerely hope that it was a good one for you. I’m not usually one for new year’s resolutions; I try to think positively about whatever is to come, simply striving to do my best on a daily basis. Sometimes I good at that, and at other […]
What are the best ways to improve as a songwriter? Is there a point where you reach your best? A point where no matter what you do you can’t look forward to being a better songwriter? That begs the question: How do we learn anything, in the first place? The best teachers out there are […]
Here’s something interesting: the melody that Paul McCartney uses as his verse melody for “You Never Give Me Your Money” (“Abbey Road” album) serves, for all intents and purposes, as a bridge melody for “Carry That Weight.” True, the fact is that its appearance as a bridge melody is overshadowed by the fact that its main […]
I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas! I hope that this time of year allows you to relax a bit, and spend precious time with your family and friends. As a songwriter, you may be giving the gift of music — a special song written for someone close […]
