Contrast is an important part of what pulls listeners in and keeps them listening to songs. Contrast works even if the listener isn’t aware of its presence. But knowing the importance of contrast isn’t going to do much for you if you aren’t sure how to create it. So how do you create contrast? It’s […]
Imagery is an important part of writing good lyrics, but it’s hard to teach imagery. There are probably lots of ways to define it, but for me, imagery means that you’ve been able to generate a complex picture with very few words. “Use Your Words! Developing a Lyrics-First Songwriting Process” is FREE with your purchase of […]
Songwriters sure can put a lot of pressure on themselves to be constantly great. Consistent excellence is in fact something I talk a lot about, and through this blog and through online sessions I try to help songwriters to achieve that goal. But success can be measured in many ways. If a song needs to […]
This is a bit of an addition to yesterday’s post, in which I gave some thoughts on the melody and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart“. There’s one other aspect of this song that deserves a quick mention: the key change at the song’s instrumental bridge (at 1’38”). The song is in C# major. We […]
A few articles back I gave some advice on what to consider when you’re trying to write a good chorus hook (“Creating Effective Song Hooks“). But what do you do when your verse and chorus use the same or very similar melody? How can a chorus hook do its job if the verse is using […]
It’s not unusual to notice similarities when you take a close look at the songs you’ve written over the years. You want your songs to be unique, of course, but you should be expecting those similarities. It’s all part of developing a writing style. And it’s always been that way in the writing of music, even […]
