Rihanna's "Only Girl (In The World)": Implied Harmonies and More

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle and discover how to write great songs. __________________ It’s important to hear things repeat within a song, but the danger is if something repeats so much that it becomes boring. The obvious answer is to have things repeat in slightly different ways, so that each time […]

5 Ideas for Creating Better Song Accompaniments

Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-book bundle, and FINE-TUNE your songwriting skills! ____________________ There’s a lot for songwriters to learn from Classical music. I’ve made the point before that the biggest difference between the way Classical composers wrote their stuff, and today’s good songwriters write, can be accounted for by performance style. Just look […]

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 […]

Starting a Song: So Little Time to Make an Impression

Written by Gary Ewer, Senior Instructor, Dalhousie University, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. • Follow Gary on Twitter • “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6 e-book bundle is available now at a 50% savings! ________________________________ It’s impossible to know exactly how long listeners will stick with a bad song intro before moving on, but it’s […]

4 Easy Ways to Power Up Your Songs

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 ________________________________ When someone gets me to listen to their song to assess it, I always use that first listen to determine one thing: does the […]

What Does it Mean to "Keep a Song Fresh"?

by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website. Find his songwriting e-books here. __________________________ There are many catch-phrases bandied about in the world of songwriting, and you’ll often see the term “fresh” used when discussing the staying power of a song. Songs that make you feel bored by the second minute need an […]