Beyoncé’s latest hit single, “Break My Soul” (written by Beyoncé, Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, et al) is currently at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Every hit song balances standard fundamentals of songwriting with something unique and innovative. So let’s take a look at three songwriting innovations that set “Break My Soul” apart and make […]
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. A bridge is an optional section of a song that usually happens either: …after the second chorus in songs […]
The perfect combination: “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle” and a Study Guide! Dig into the songwriting manuals that thousands of songwriters are using to polish their technique, complete with a study guide to show you how to progress through the materials. Harmonic rhythm is the term we use to describe how frequently you […]
At first blush, creating musical tension in a song doesn’t sound like something you want to do. We’ve learned in our everyday lives that tension is usually something negative — something that needs to be resolved. But in music, tension is a crucial characteristic of some of the best song melodies written. That’s because musical tension […]
A song melody is made up of notes that either move by step (i.e. adjacent notes: C-D-E-D-E-F…) or by leap (i.e. skipping a note, or several notes, to get the next note: C-A). It’s probably correct to say that most song melodies use stepwise motion more than leaps. Some songs might use mostly leaps in […]
How much thought do you give to the note you choose to start your song melodies on? It may seem trivial because from that first note you can move in any direction you want, and so it may not feel as though it matters a whole lot, once you’re a few notes in. But I […]
