“Moves Like Jagger”: Developing Melodies from a Killer Hook

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and kick-start your songwriting career! _____________ There’s a very catchy little instrumental hook that  happens right at the beginning of Maroon 5’s hit, “Moves Like Jagger” (see link below). It’s part scale, part arpeggio, and instantly appealing. Partnered with an energetic disco-pop accompaniment, the hook is almost strong […]

Building a Climactic Moment: the Tonic Note and Chord

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and kick-start your songwriting career! _____________ Adele’s hit, “Someone Like You”, demonstrates an important feature of melody; specifically, how the power of a melody is, in partnership with vocal range, governed by how the tonic note and chord are used. Most songs will exhibit an important principle of […]

Song Form: 5 Options for What to Do After the Bridge

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and kick-start your songwriting career! _____________ There are several benefits to creating a bridge for a song. In the first place, it’s a great way to “gain mileage”, as it’s an easy way to extend the length of your song. It helps avert listener boredom by introducing new […]

Starting the Songwriting Process With The Title

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and kick-start your songwriting career! _____________ If you’re going through a bit of writer’s block these days, and you’re finding it hard to get anything started let alone finished, here’s an idea that’s bound to help: start with the creation of a song title, and then work frontwards […]

Songwriting: Creating Harmonic Tension and Release

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and kick-start your songwriting career! _____________ How does tension and release work in the world of songwriting? Tension usually means creating an “artistic stress” that needs some sort of resolution. In yesterday’s blog posting I wrote about the crucial differences between verse and chorus design. In most cases, […]

5 Ways a Song’s Verse and Chorus Should Differ

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-ebook bundle, and kick-start your songwriting career! _____________ There are important differences between verse and chorus structure in a song, differences that are not usually clearly obvious to the listener. But as a songwriter you need to get this bit of compositional architecture right. Done correctly, a verse features […]