by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: Like most songwriters, you’re probably looking for ways to look at melody construction. One aspect of melody-writing that we don’t think that much about is what it sounds like in the opposite mode. Here’s what I mean by that. Let’s say that your melody is […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: One way to inject some interest into your chord progressions is to experiment with substituting one chord for another. But rather than making it a mindless activity, consider chord categories. The three basic categories that we will consider for this article are thetonic, dominant, and predominant […]
by Gary Ewer All it takes is one glitch with your chord progression, and your song can die the death. And one aspect of harmonizing your song that isn’t considered enough is the song’s tempo. Here’s how that works. In short, here’s the basic rule: the faster your song, the fewer chords it needs. And […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: Looking for chords to harmonize your minor-key song? There are actually two different ideas out there for what it means to be “in a minor key.” The one idea is based on traditional harmony, while the other is a more “modal” approach. I’ve put some […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website: There’s nothing random about a good chord progression. Starting on any chord, descending by 3rds will give you a great one to try. Let’s use the key of A major as our example. Starting on the tonic chord (A), then allowing the progression to descend […]
by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. Let “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” turn your songs into hits! _________________________ Ever been on a roller coaster? It’s not about the scenery. It’s about the excitement. “Just Dance” is all about the energy of the ride, and if you’re looking for something profound, it ain’t […]
