You can write a lot of songs without even thinking about “structure.” But if you’re not at least giving a passing thought to how the various elements your music are organized, you could be unintentionally confusing listeners, and ultimately turning them off. Structure, also known as form, governs everything from the overall formal plan (verse, […]
Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle for only $37, and get back to writing better songs! I’m happy to announce that this week AppsForSongwriters.com went live. It’s a convenient online portal for browsing the various musical products I’ve been offering for more than ten years. In addition, I’ve been working with the […]
Ultimately, what causes the connection between a song and a listener is the emotional response of the listener. The listener needs to hear something that makes them go, “I’ve been there before..”, or “I can imagine that happening to me..” That kind of empathy is important; if the audience isn’t putting themselves in the shoes […]
Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-book bundle, and learn to write better songs! We usually think of good melodies as having a distinctive shape and a climactic high point. It may surprise you to know, however, that it’s possible to have melodies that use very few notes, almost no distinctive contour, and seem to […]
Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-book bundle, and learn to write killer songs! How frequently your chords change in your song is called the harmonic rhythm. In general, there should be a consistency with this throughout each section of a song. Chord progressions help to establish the feel and mood of your song, and […]
Taking a look at the lyrics of the current top hits in North America, it’s easy to conclude that lyrical quality just isn’t that important. “You think I’m pretty/ Without any make-up on/ You think I’m funny/ When I tell the punch line wrong…” are the opening lines of “Teenage Dream.” Or how about this rumination? “You know […]
