As you know, an earworm melody is one which gets stuck in the mind of the listener which, even with great effort, won’t easily relinquish its grip. When we’re experiencing a melody as an earworm, we don’t usually describe it as a pleasant experience. There’s an interesting recent study on earworm melodies, “Dissecting an Earworm: […]
I’ve been offering private songwriting sessions for the past few years to interested songwriters, and every spring I put out a reminder of my availability. The fall and winter are very busy times for me as I do a lot of conducting, writing and adjudicating. But once May hits, I find my schedule pleasantly freed […]
Do you typically write your music in a neat room, or a messy one? I wrote about this a number of years ago, and when I did, I received a comment or two by songwriters that argued against the notion that it’s good to have a tidy workspace. You may be one of the few […]
New year’s resolutions are hard to keep, mainly because the determination to fix something about your life needs more than an arbitrary date to inspire you. If you’re like me, you’re good for a week or two, but then you slide back into doing whatever it was you were trying to fix. As a songwriter, […]
As a Canadian — and because this is a songwriting blog — I haven’t had a lot to say about American politics. And believe me, there’s a lot one can say. I align myself firmly with those who are deeply concerned about what is happening in the U.S. “Extreme vetting” is a dangerous doorway to the […]
In the classical music realm, there is a notion that composers at some point reach an age of maturity regarding their compositional abilities and style. It’s a bit of an odd term in the sense that it implies that the music they wrote up to that point might be “immature.” But there is a validity to […]
