When I was a first year university music student many years ago, I had about 50 classmates. I was planning to be a composition major, but in my classes, there was every possible music discipline represented. Some were training to be singers, others were aspiring teachers, and still others were learning sound recording techniques, music […]
What do you do when you’ve got a day — or a week or a month — where your creative juices are letting you down? What do you do when songwriting, which used to be fun, exciting and fulfilling, is now frustrating? Feeling that you’re getting nowhere with your songwriting often comes from setting the […]
Occasionally I write about goal-oriented songwriting on this blog, but haven’t done so for quite a while, and I think it’s worth describing it and encouraging you in that direction from time to time. In songwriting, a goal-oriented approach means that you write one particular section of your song, and then you write the section […]
There are the kind of deadlines we’re always setting for ourselves, and then there are the real ones. For songwriters, here’s the difference: A deadline comes about when you say, “This year I’m going to release a new EP”, or “This year I’m going to write 15 new songs.” Sure, those are deadlines, but let’s face it […]
By working backwards to create progressions, you ensure that the progression will make musical sense. ____________ Purchase “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and get this eBook FREE OF CHARGE: “From Amateur to Ace: Writing Songs Like a Pro”. _____________ To create progressions that have a strong sense of forward motion and harmonic goal, it is best […]
J.S. Bach’s ideas of how good music works still apply today, and (believe it or not) work amazingly well for today’s pop music. _____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-Ebook Bundle. 11 Songwriting Principles That Will Turn Your Writing Around – Guaranteed. _____________ For all intents and purposes, it’s easy to think of a melody as a […]
