Why Writing From a Title Works So Well

In considering the many ways that songwriters start the songwriting process, working from a title is, in my opinion, one of the best. The reason comes down to one word: focus. To tell you more about what I mean, consider one of the other common ways to get the process started: working from a chord progression. […]

Guitar and Piano - Creating a Melody and Bass Line

Songwriting: Working Out the Melody and Bass Line

The composer Mozart almost always composed by finding a catchy melody as a first step, and then finding a bass line that supported it. Filling in all the missing instruments was, for him, something closer to a final step in composition. We can infer two things from this kind of compositional process: He considered melody […]

Songwriting - Piano and guitar

Tips and Tricks for Making Chord Progressions Better

“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 10-eBook Bundle contains 5 eBooks that pertain directly to chord progressions: how to create them, add them to melodies, and start the songwriting process with them. “Use Your Words!” is free with your purchase of the bundle. For most chord progressions, it’s often the case that the chord you start […]

Finding Good Chords Starts With Tapping Your Foot

Looking for an easy way to discover the chords that could potentially go with a melody? It’s not a random process; it really depends mainly on what notes are happening on strong beats. There is a bit of instinct involved, particularly with regard to how often you should change chords. You’ll notice that most songs, if you […]

Guitar chord

When You’ve Got The Verse, But the Chorus Isn’t Happening

Check out The Essential Secrets of Songwriting 10-eBook Bundle When it comes to writing melodies, it’s not actually that hard to come up with a chorus that works well with its partnering verse, as long as you follow certain basic principles. But if you’re in a situation where your chorus just doesn’t seem to be […]

Eric Clapton

With Good Songwriting, Everything Progresses

Talk about progressions to musicians, and they automatically make the assumption that you’re talking about chords. Of course, that makes sense. The chords in a song aren’t just randomly selected; each chord within a sequence needs to make a kind of musical sense, and that’s in fact why we use the word progression. But in fact, […]