When songwriters and other musicians use the term “formula” as it pertains to pop music, they’re usually talking about certain noticeable features of songs that keep appearing over and over. In most cases, it’s a situation where the writer thinks, “Because I’ve done this thing in my song, the next step is to do that thing…” […]
A cliché is an overused expression. We use them most frequently in casual conversation, and it’s why they might appear too often in your songs: the best lyrics tend to be the ones that sound like casual conversation. In songwriting, a cliché sounds lazy. It sounds as though you might have come up with something […]
Starting a song by coming up with the title first can be a great way to get your musical imagination working. The title of a song is usually part of the lyric, and it’s often an integral part of the hook. When song titles occur as a prominent part of the chorus — either at […]
I’m a fan of Genesis, but enjoyed the older incarnation of that group more than the one in the mid-80s. That’s not a criticism at all because I think Genesis wrote brilliant pop music. I just happen to like their older prog rock style. Genesis wrote and recorded “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” for their 1986 “Invisible […]
There’s probably nothing worse to you as a songwriter than discovering that people are bored with your songs. If you’re like most, you’d rather have a split between people loving and people hating your music. But boring your audience? That’s pretty bad. Your fans will likely be unmotivated to say why your songs are boring them, […]
It’s not hard to find songwriters who find the writing of the lyrics to be the most difficult part of the process. You know what you want to write about, but every time you try to put it in the form of a lyric, your words sound confused, disorganized, or just plain corny. It’s time to […]
