Songwriting - List

Being Creative With Word Lists, For Better Lyrics

Most songwriters know the benefits that come with creating a word list when writing song lyrics. And though there are several ways this can be done, most lyricists will create a simple list of words that pertain to the song’s topic. The benefit of doing this is that you establish a vocabulary that makes searching […]

Songwriting - Form

Unguided Practice in Songwriting Might Be Your Biggest Problem

Like starting the songwriting process by working out the chords first? There are benefits and dangers. Read “Writing a Song From a Chord Progression” to get this process working properly for you. Let’s say you’re a guitarist and you want to improve. It makes sense that your best way forward is to practice. But if that’s all […]

Taking a break

Songwriting, Decision-Making, and the Need for Breaks

As a songwriter, if you’re not taking regular breaks from your writing activity, you’re probably not getting the most from your creative brain. It’s been well-researched and well-documented that we’re more likely to have bursts of creativity immediately following a period of downtime. (Read this interesting article, How Resting More Can Boost Your Productivity.) There’s […]

guitar - keyboard - headphones

Looking Past Myths to Improve Your Songwriting Skills

I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I have a somewhat cynical view of the things I see online. I’ve learned (and hopefully you have learned as well) that you have to take much of what you see with a grain of salt, and do a bit of research. But of course […]

songwriting technique

The 5 Best Things You Can Do To Improve Your Songwriting Skills

I don’t know of a single songwriter who doesn’t want to improve on what they’re doing. But how do you do that? And in the songwriting field, what does improvement actually mean? It doesn’t often take much; sometimes improving just one aspect of your songwriting — the lyrics, let’s say — will take an entire song […]

Headphones and keyboard

How Objective Listening Improves Your Songwriting

The more curious you are about the songs you hear, the more likely it is that you’ll improve your own songwriting technique. If you’re the kind of person who always wonders, “What was that chord?”, “How did they do that?”, or “What’s going on at that spot in the song?”, you’re also likely to be […]