Guitarist - Songwriter

The Problem With Stream of Consciousness Lyric-Writing

Let’s say that you’re working out a lyric that tries to explain to your listeners how you’re feeling about some aspect of your life. It might be that you’re going through a rough patch, let’s say, and you want the audience to feel something of what you’re facing. So the lyrics come to you quickly […]

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen, 21 September 1934 – 7 November 2016

I was very much saddened, as I know most of my blog readers were, to hear the news of Leonard Cohen’s passing. His contribution to the world of poetry and popular songwriting is immeasurable; his music will be studied and performed for centuries, there can be no doubt. Over the past 8 or so years of […]

What Do You Love About a Good Melody?

Last week I wrote about the similarities between classical and pop music, and what today’s songwriters can learn from the classics. Today I want to look specifically at song melodies, and see to what extent the structure of a pop melody resembles that of a classical work. There is a book that is in great […]

Verse Melodies: Choose Your Starting Note Carefully

Starting verses on the dominant (5th) note can help entice audiences to keep listening. ______________ Take your songwriting to a new level of excellence. Buy “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 10-eBook Bundle, written by Gary Ewer. And get an 11th eBook FREE, “Creative Chord Progressions.” Time to become the best songwriter you can be!  ______________ Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne” […]

Music as Wallpaper, and Lessons Learned

“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle covers every aspect of songwriting, from creating chord progressions, to writing melodies and lyrics, and much more. Now with a 7th FREE eBook. Read more… ______________ There is a new video out there that’s probably going to get millions of views today around the world. It uses the […]

How Plateau Pitches Can Help You Write Better Song Melodies

Not only can plateau pitches improve your melody-writing technique, it can simplify the process. _____________ Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and find out which songs become hits, and why they sound so good. _____________ It’s possible to simplify the notion of writing song melodies by simply saying that most good melodies move in a […]