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When a Song Sounds Bad, Take a Look at the Structure Underneath

When a song sounds great, we like to think that there’s a certain magic involved. But if you are a student of songwriting, as most good songwriters consider themselves to be, you’ll know that it’s not magic that makes a song great. A song sounds great when it follows basic musical principles. And we love […]

songwriting and architecture

The Architecture of Songwriting, and Changing Your Mind

Building a structure means having a plan before you start. If you’re not an architect, you’ll likely hire one, someone who knows how to create something beautiful while also being mindful of the laws of physics; you want to be sure it doesn’t fall down. Songs have a structure as well. And while I think […]

In Songwriting, What is a Strong Foundation?

One of the problems that songwriters often unwittingly face comes from being so intimately connected with the song they’re working on. Because we tend to focus on the parts of a song that are giving us the most grief, we can lose sight of some of the more important elements of basic song construction. For […]