Got a melody but can’t figure out how to add chords to it? You need to read “How to Harmonize a Melody.” Complete with sound samples to guide you. Get it separately, or as part of “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle” Recently I wrote a blog post about organizing your songwriting sessions. In […]
Chapter 5 of “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” deals with how great melodies work, and shows you how to write tunes that partner up well with your lyrics. Right now, “Use Your Words! Developing a Lyrics-First Songwriting Process” is free with your purchase of the bundle. Here’s an interesting bit of melody-writing technique that comes […]
I’ve just completed and uploaded a new video to my YouTube channel, called “5 Characteristics of Great Song Lyrics.” Please click here to watch. If you take a look at the songs that make it to the “best songs ever” kinds of lists, most of them are there because of the quality of their lyrics, at […]
If you don’t like a progression you’ve just come up with, the obvious solution, of course, is to toss it and go looking for another one. But there’s actually another option: try one of the following three chord progression treatments. For each of these ideas, you keep the basic progression the same, but you make […]
One of the best ways to come up with creative chord progressions is to: make a very simple one as a first step, and then… modify certain chords within that progression. That way, you start with something that works well, and then the slight modifications you make have the potential of creating entirely new moods. […]
Hooks feature prominently in pop songs because they grab immediate attention. If it’s a chorus hook, it’s not going to be heard until you get to the chorus, but that should happen before the 1-minute mark in most mid-tempo or uptempo songs. Because songs in the pop genres are relatively short, a lot is riding […]
