Nice Song, But Where Are the "Hooky Bits?"

Get FANTASTIC RESULTS! – Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle and START WRITING GREAT SONGS! __________________ A discussion on songwriting usually centers on the usual suspects of song structure, melodic shape, chord progression, and getting all those things to work together properly. Lately, however, I’ve found my mind focusing on the part of songwriting that […]

Writing a Hook and Making it Work

Get FANTASTIC RESULTS! – Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle and START WRITING GREAT SONGS! ____________________________ Hooks are many things to many songwriters. For some, the hook is that neat little rhythmic/melodic idea that gets stated at the beginning of a song, and then keeps on keeping on. Think “Smoke on the […]

Letting a Hook Disappear Boosts its Effectiveness

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-book bundle – You could be writing hit songs! When I hear a song I don’t like, more often than not it’s because I’m bored, not because there’s anything explicitly unlikable about the song. That’s a scary situation for songwriters, because it’s possible to do nothing “wrong”, and end […]

5 Great Song Intro Ideas

In songwriting, you really only get a few seconds to impress the listener enough to make them want to keep listening. If you haven’t done something that captivates them within the first 7 – 10 seconds, you’ll lose them. It’s why intros can be such an important section, and require some serious thought. If all […]

Limiting The Number of Ideas Within a Song

If you were to give a speech, you’d first establish what you should be talking about, limiting yourself to a small number of related ideas. You’d then present those ideas to an audience. Once you’ve presented the ideas in general terms, you’d develop and expand on them in (hopefully) interesting ways. You’d likely then finish […]

Songwriting: Working From the Title

There are numerous ways to write songs, and there is certainly no one correct way. Many songwriters like to start with a chord progression because it can inspire melodic shapes and general mood. Starting with a melody, or at least with a melodic fragment, will help to ensure that melody plays an important part in […]