Point Blank Online Music College is currently running a songwriting competition that looks interesting, and has some great prizes. If you’re an up & coming writer, it’s definitely worth checking this out. The competition offers the opportunity for entrants to write a song onto an instrumental backing track created by songwriter/producer Jony Rockstar, who has […]
No matter how proficient a songwriter you are, it will happen. You’ll go through a protracted period of time where the ideas just seem to dry up, and you can’t seem to get beyond a few unrelated musical thoughts that go nowhere. Writer’s block hits everyone, but the good news is that there are things […]
The term “tonic” refers to the first note of a scale, and also to the chord that is built upon that note. In A major, A is the tonic note, and the chord built on it (A-C#-E) is the tonic chord. It’s an important note and chord because it so happens that they usually appear […]
There are numerous ways to write songs, and there is certainly no one correct way. Many songwriters like to start with a chord progression because it can inspire melodic shapes and general mood. Starting with a melody, or at least with a melodic fragment, will help to ensure that melody plays an important part in […]
People who don’t write songs, or don’t involve themselves in the arts of any kind, might be forgiven for believing that inspiration is one of the biggest aspects of the songwriting process. It must seem, to those who don’t do it, that songwriting starts with an immense rush of ideas, followed by a flurry of […]
Written by Gary Ewer, Senior Instructor, Dalhousie University, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. • Follow Gary on Twitter • Good songs sell! Check out “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle – available now at a 50% savings! ________________________________ Are you a non-stop songwriter? Sometimes, in the music world, moving forward happens best when you take […]
