songwriter - lyricist

Being Your Own Best Critic

“Hooks and Riffs: How They Grab Attention, Make Songs Memorable, and Build Your Fan Base” shows you how a good hook can make the difference between songwriting success and failure. With great examples from pop music history. If you’re like most songwriters out there, you’re probably dealing a lot with your “inner critic.” That term simply […]

Moon Taxi

Repeating a Short Melodic Fragment: The Chords Keep it Interesting

There’s more to a song hook than meets the ear… a lot more. “Hooks and Riffs: How They Grab Attention, Make Songs Memorable, and Build Your Fan Base” is a vital manual for any serious songwriter. American indie rock group Moon Taxi’s 2015 single “All Day, All Night” is a good reminder that you can […]

Songwriting collaboration

Legal Issues to Think About When Forming a Songwriting Partnership

If you’re the kind of songwriter who goes through regular bouts of writer’s block, forming a songwriting partnership can be a good solution. When you’re stuck, you’ve got another person (or persons) that might be able to fill in the blank spots. But before you go rushing into a creative partnership, you should get some […]

Bob Dylan

Your Songs: Do You Have Anything Interesting To Say?

If you’ve got the gift of gab, you’ve an an ability to engage others in conversation and to keep them interested. If you think about the people in your life that you love having a conversation with, the following statements are probably true: They find interesting things to talk about. They can speak eloquently. They […]

Songwriting - chord choices

Blending Major and Minor Chords Within a Song Section

For whichever key you choose for a song, there are certain chords that you’ll use because they exist naturally in that key. Then there are the chords you’ll choose, not because they belong to that key, but because they add a bit of musical interest. Stuck with how to get chords that fit the melody […]

Keyboard - Headphones

Creating Verse and Chorus Progressions That Work

If you like the chords-first songwriting process, you need to read “Writing a Song From a Chord Progression.” It will give you important step-by-step descriptions of how to make this method really work for you. Get it separately, or as part of “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle” If you’re having a day when […]