Creating and Using Palindromic Chord Progressions

Chord progressions are like clothes, in the sense that you usually want your shirt to coordinate with your trousers, and you similarly want your verse progressions to work with your chorus ones. One way we coordinate progressions is to use many of the same chords, but usually in a different order in the various sections […]

The Psychedelic Charm of Beach House

Sounding as though at any minute they’re going to break into a cover of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” the music of Beach House is at once hypnotic, delightful, and utterly spellbinding. They’re the quintessential dream pop band, often using traditional harmonic structures that suddenly take a left turn, with warping accompaniments and drawn-out […]

The Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, and Vocal Harmonies

There are many songs that use the same or similar melody for the chorus as is used for the verse. It works if you’ve come up with a good, hooky sort of melody. But using a similar melody presents you with a problem: how do you make sure that you don’t simply bore your listeners […]

5 Subtle Ways to Build Song Energy

Written by Gary Ewer, Senior Instructor, Dalhousie University, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. • Follow Gary on Twitter • Good songs sell! Check out “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle – available now at a 50% savings! ________________________________ Songwriters know that energy should build as a song progresses. Song energy is one of those musical […]

Even in the Songwriting World, Opposites Attract

Written by Gary Ewer, Senior Instructor, Dalhousie University, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. • Follow Gary on Twitter • Write great songs consistently with “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle ________________________________ Some of the features of good songwriting have been with us for centuries. For example, composers have known for a very long time […]

Melody and Bass: They Need to Work Together

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 ______________________ It is a very useful exercise to sing through your latest song, accompanying yourself with just the bass line. How melodies and bass lines […]