Singer-songwriter

Using Other Songs for Musical Ideas (Without Crossing the Line)

It appears to me that issues around plagiarism are becoming more numerous, and also more complex. In pre-internet days, it seemed that whether that new song you’d written had crossed the line into being plagiarism was a bit more obvious. Get this eBook FREE when you purchase “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting”10-eBook Bundle package. Eleven songwriting manuals […]

Marvin Gaye

“Blurred Lines” – The Appeals Court Decision

No doubt you’ve heard that the district court legal decision regarding the apparent fact that the writers of “Blurred Lines” (Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and Clifford Harris Jr) plagiarized Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” has been upheld the U.S. Court of Appeals. I have to say, I’m still confused, particularly considering that the […]

Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams Copy a Feel, And Get Nailed

Can you plagiarize the feel of a song? The jury in the “Blurred Lines” case seems to think so. _____________ “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle (plus a FREE copy of “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro”) is written by Gary Ewer, designed to straighten out your technique and get you writing better songs. ______________________ […]

The Blurred Lines Controversy: What Do Songwriters Have to Fear?

Copying a performance style is not usually enough to win an infringement case. ____________ “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle comes with this FREE eBOOK: “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro”. 7 Songwriting eBooks for $37 _____________ This summer’s big hit, “Blurred Lines,” is in the news these days, as you likely know, […]

Building Song Energy by Avoiding, then Using, the Tonic Note

By saving the tonic note for the chorus, you create a pleasant sense of unrest in a verse, which equates to momentum. ____________________ “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle now includes a free copy of “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro.” ____________________ If you ask someone to sing a line from a […]