songwriting

Making Sure Your Song Has a Clear Message

If you find lyrics hard to write, there could be many issues at play. In general, when I hear someone complain that their lyrics sound “lame”, or “like garbage”, there’s often a problem that’s not immediately noticeable: Weak lyrics often lack focus or a clear message. There are lots of other problems you might encounter when trying […]

Sixpence None the Richer - Kiss Me

Where Should a Song’s Climactic Moment Occur?

Many songs have what could be called its “climactic moment”: a spot where musical energy seems to be at its peak. In many songs, it sits there at the beginning of the chorus (“Firework”), sometimes in the middle (“Let It Be”), and sometimes near the end. (“Wichita Lineman”). Sometimes finding that moment may not be obvious. […]

Describing Your Song In One Short Sentence – That’s Important!

If you can’t express or sum up the main concept of your song — what the song’s all about — in one sentence or less, you’re going to have trouble connecting to your audience. Lyrics may take the listener on a journey, but there needs to be one concise way of describing that journey. It’s like […]

Do You Know What Bliss Is?

Do your song melodies have a focus? ____________ “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle comes with this FREE eBOOK: “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro”. _____________ In 1996, Charles O’Rear took a photo of a landscape in Sonoma County that became famous as the Windows XP desktop picture. The story is that the […]

Balancing the Major/Minor Focus of Your Chord Progressions

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website Follow Gary on Twitter One of the more important preliminary decisions you make as a songwriter is to settle on a key. And that means you’re either going to choose major or minor. But why not try something that the writers of Jordin Sparks’ […]