Cream -Sunshine Of Your Love

Changing Key to Keep a Great Melody Going

Let’s say that you’ve got a verse that consists of a short melody and chord progression that repeats several times before it reaches the chorus. That might start to sound boring to you, and I want to suggest a way to alleviate that boring sense of repetition. How much a short melody can or should repeat before moving […]

Keyboard & Guitar

How to Change Key in Mid-Stream

Songs, especially in the pop genres, normally end in the same key they start in. But every once in a while you’ll come across songs that feature key changes in various spots. This is called modulation in music theory circles. One of the most common key changes happens in the final chorus repeats, when the key […]

The Three Tenors

Intensifying the Emotional Power of Your Songs With Vocal Range

Yes, there is a trio called “The Three Basses“, created on the coattails of the much more famous “Three Tenors.” The bass voice appears less able to generate the kind of wow-factor that the tenor voice is able to create. The three tenors were able to have audiences on their feet even before the music was finished. […]

Guitar - Songwriting

How Common are Key Changes in Songs?

When we talk about a song’s key, we’re usually talking about the key of the chorus. That’s because it’s not that unusual for various parts of songs to have different key centres. The chorus, the part that gets the most attention, is the section we usually think of when assigning an overall key to a song. […]

A Chord Progression to Brighten the Mood

Here’s an easy way to make 2 key changes as you move from verse to chorus. It’s a very common technique for songwriters to move from minor to major as they move from verse to chorus. A classic example is Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend“, the verse for which is in F minor, switching […]

Extending a Melody With a Key Change

Changing key is a good way to keep song energy moving in an upward direction. _______________ Thousands of songwriters are now using “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook Bundles to improve their technique. Includes two volumes of chord progressions, the very popular “Chord Progression Formulas”, and the 10-eBook Deluxe Bundle includes “Hooks and Riffs: How They Grab Attention, Make Songs […]