How Song Tempo Affects Chord Choice

No song elements act in isolation from others. So it’s no surprise that chords and tempo are closely linked. ____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and build your audience base! _____________ Back in the early days of the existence of chord progressions, composers discovered (or at least instinctively knew) that the tempo of a piece of […]

Song Structure: When a Pre-Chorus or Bridge Is a Good Idea

Here’s how you know that a pre-chorus or bridge will help your song’s structure. ____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and increase your song’s HIT potential. _____________ The verse-chorus form is probably the most common in pop song genres, songs in the 3-6 minute time frame. Of those, many use bridge sections – that shortish part […]

Forward Motion, and 5 Ways to Create It

Forward motion grabs listeners, and keeps them listening. Here are some ideas for how to create it. ____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and discover how the world’s best songs can help you improve! _____________ There are several words and terms relating to songwriting that get used almost interchangeably: forward motion, momentum, energy, power, […]

A Guideline for Song Form and Design

No two songs are the same, but here are the basic design elements that show up in most hit songs. ____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and build your audience base. _____________ Songwriting, especially in the pop song world, is a tricky tightrope act. On the one hand, every song you write needs […]

5 Ways to Demonstrate the Power of Opposite Ideas

Placing opposite ideas near each other is an important feature of good songwriting. ____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and get back to the basics of why hit songs sell. _____________ A colleague of mine was once asked what music was. His reply was, “Anything written with musical intent.” In context, his answer made sense, […]

Song Structure: When It’s Right, You Don’t Notice It

Song structure is hard to define in any specific way, but songs can die when it’s missing. ____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and get back to the basics of why hit songs sell. _____________ Back in 2004 I started doing research into pop music in preparation for writing “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting.” At […]