With a good song, there’s a strong sense offorward motion. How you know that forward motion is there and working for you is by your own sense of anticipation: if you find that at any given moment in your song, you want to hear what happens next, that’s the vital sense of forward motion working for […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: A non-diationic chord is one which does not normally belong to your key of choice. In the key of A major, the seven naturally-occuring chords are: A, Bm, C#m, D, E, F#m, and G#dim. Of those chords, there are countless ways of modifying them by adding tones (Aadd9, […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: I’ve devoted considerable space in my e-book “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting“ to describing the differences between verse melodies and chorus melodies. Nothing in the arts is exact; it’s not a science. If it were, I don’t believe we’d have a lot of interest in it. Songwriting would […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” Website: Once you know what key your new song is going to be in, it’s a fairly simple process to figure out the triads (chords) that easily work in that key. You’ll find that the I (key) chord, the IV chord (based on the 4th note) […]
There are two important ways that songwriters can improve. The first way is to learn whatever you can about why successful songs work, andwhy they sell millions. That’s been my particular area of interest – analyzing and dissecting great songs, and helping songwriters learn from the success of others. My five e-books are designed to show in […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: The art of songwriting is the art of communication. With songs, we can connect in a way that gets right into a person’s soul. Tell someone what you’re feeling, and they’ve got information. Sing to someone what you’re feeling, and they’ve got the emotions, the very heart and soul of […]
