How Note Length Affects a Lyric’s Emotional Punch

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle, and kick-start your songwriting career right now! ____________ You’ve probably noticed that songs that stir up deep-set emotions commonly use slower tempos. A slower tempo means that note-lengths, in real time, will be longer. Generally speaking, longer notes have the potential to generate more emotion than shorter […]

The Relationship Between Vocal Range and Energy

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle, and open your mind! Become the songwriter you’ve always wanted to be! ____________________ You’ll often hear the word “tessitura” used when talking about a singer’s basic range. In short, your best notes are your tessitura. Every singer hopes for a good wide range within which they […]

Lyrical Emotion: There's a Time and a Place

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle. Here’s how to get your songs working right away! ______________ The simple “I’d do anything for you” lyric is usually a winner in the pop song world. Because you want your lyrics to make a personal connection with the listener, story lines that have to do […]

Dealing With Emotion in a Lyric is Tricky

Ultimately, what causes the connection between a song and a listener is the emotional response of the listener. The listener needs to hear something that makes them go, “I’ve been there before..”, or “I can imagine that happening to me..” That kind of empathy is important; if the audience isn’t putting themselves in the shoes […]

How Important are Lyrics to the Success of a Song?

Taking a look at the lyrics of the current top hits in North America, it’s easy to conclude that lyrical quality just isn’t that important. “You think I’m pretty/ Without any make-up on/ You think I’m funny/ When I tell the punch line wrong…” are the opening lines of “Teenage Dream.” Or how about this rumination? “You know […]

Song Lyrics: Give the Listener Some Credit For Their Brains

Written by Gary Ewer, Senior Instructor, Dalhousie University, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. • Follow Gary on Twitter • Check out “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle ________________________________ If you want lyrics that really connect with listeners, you’ll want to choose a universal theme such as love, politics, social justice, etc. These […]