Take advantage of the repetitious nature of the circle of fifths to create strong, memorable melodies. _____________ A circle of fifths progression is one of the strongest types of progressions we use in music. There’s something about chords where the roots move by 5ths — it’s what we might call “pleasantly predictable.” You shouldn’t worry […]
Avoiding use (or at least overuse) of the tonic note in verses is a natural energy builder for songs ____________ It’s an important songwriting principle that the energy at the end of a song should be as great or greater than the energy at the beginning. There are many ways to boost the energy level […]
Here are some ideas for taking a short 3-chord progression and turning it into something a little longer, and more interesting. _____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-Ebook Bundle. 11 Songwriting Principles That Will Turn Your Writing Around – Guaranteed. _____________ If I did a blog post listing all the 3-chord songs that have been written in […]
A good chord progression’s best quality is that when it works well, you hardly even notice it. ____________ It’s not easy to attribute the success of a song to just one song element. As you hopefully know, all components of a song must work together to ensure its success. It is, however, possible to attribute […]
“Progression” in music causes expectations. What things other than chords progress in your songs? _____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-Ebook Bundle. 11 Songwriting Principles That Will Turn Your Writing Around – Guaranteed. _____________ The idea of chords progressing is a well-known one to us. But other song elements also progress. I’ve mentioned in this blog many times […]
Melodic repetition is a good thing, but works best if the chords are different with each repetition. Here’s an idea for achieving that. _____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-Ebook Bundle. 11 Songwriting Principles That Will Turn Your Writing Around – Guaranteed. _____________ Recently I wrote about creating chords and melodies in the dorian mode. It got me […]
